Football London

The Tottenham CEO has taken part in another interview after the club's horrendous season and we've taken a deeper look in it

There's been a rush this week in members of the Tottenham Hotspur hierarchy looking to explain the club's dreadful season and promise a brighter future.

First up was non-executive chairman Peter Charrington with an open letter to the fans, then came a statement from the owners, the Lewis family, before two interviews with CEO Vinai Venkatesham, one with the BBC and the other with Spurs, as well as a club interview with Roberto De Zerbi.

Venkatesham's second interview might have gone unnoticed by many Tottenham supporters because it was not promoted by the club on any of its social media channels. We published a full transcript of it which fans can read by heading right here and below we've analysed the interview and the answers from the CEO..

Communication but buried

Although it hasn't felt particularly coordinated, we've can't really complain about suddenly having so much communication from those at the top of the north London club after almost a quarter of a century of barely hearing a peep out of the hierarchy when it came to the decisions made.

Daniel Levy and his board never seemed particularly fussed about discussing how and why they did what they did with the fanbase. The biannual written addresses, in the financial results and the end of season 'chairman's message', rarely if ever accepted any accountability for mistakes made.

So to suddenly have a flood of communication has to be a good thing, although it's odd that both Venkatesham's club interview and the Lewis family letter to the fans were not promoted across Spurs' social media channels. The supporters would not have even known they were there unless they happened to be browsing down the homepage of the club website or told by the media.

Perhaps it was due to the expected response from the fanbase after the replies to Charrington's letter but, especially after a near disastrous season like this, the supporters deserve to have their say about their club.

Beaten down Venkatesham

The immediate thing to notice about Venkatesham in the video interview is that he looks exactly as you would expect a man who has had a bruising first season at the helm to look. This was not the job he thought he was signing up for before he walked through the doors and, in keeping with the situation, this version of the CEO is far removed from the bubbly, excited chap talking about wine with Levy last year.

Now he is rightly using words like "embarrassing" and "unacceptable" while understanding how tough it has been for the supporters to watch and process.

Venkatesham left Arsenal as a popular figure among club staff and fans but his experience at Spurs has turned sour this season with the chaos that has spilled into his watch. He has faced criticism on social media and no doubt in person as well at games, with that background with the Gunners probably not helping his cause.

However, that background will have given him an insight, along with the increasing numbers of heads of department brought across from the City Football Group, into how a top club should be structured and run and hopefully the changes made behind the scenes will start bearing fruit and create something better in N17.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Levy finger pointing

The consistent theme of the many messages from the hierarchy has been 'it was Levy's fault'. His name has not been mentioned and in Venkatesham's club interview he even goes as far as saying "none of this is meant to be a criticism, by the way, of anyone or anything".

But it is, because everything has been a criticism of what came before and all of that, for 24 years, was guided by the micro-managing hand of one man - Levy. So if the past is being said to be bad, he signed off on it.

"I need to say it as I saw it," said Venkatesham. "I think it's fair to say that the club was in a much worse state when you're able to look at it from the inside than I thought when I looked at it from the outside. So it was going to be a much bigger challenge than I thought it would be."

He added: "On the football side, a big gap between where we were and where we should be, and what has happened in football over the last five years is there's been an unbelievable acceleration of quality across all Premier League clubs and football operations, big, small or medium and Tottenham has been left behind in far too many of those areas.

"So we have been doing a really, really big reset of the club from September to fix that, because this is not going to be fixed by a tweak here, a player here, a member of staff here, an investment here. It needs a fundamental rebaselining, a complete reset, which is going to take time to deliver.

"These challenges, the reason why we're in this situation, have developed over many years and I wish I could just click my fingers in September and go from where we were to where we want to be. But it's just not realistic."

September is of course pertinent because it's when Levy left the club and Venkatesham took full control. There's no doubt that major elements of what happened under the former chairman's watch and what was allowed to stagnate has snowballed into the mess the club has become but he's not the only one at fault.

Huge January swerve

The questions were good in this interview with the Spurs CEO, but the answers weren't always the ones that matched them.

For example after a long but strong question about the January transfer window and that near disastrous decision not to buy any attacking players in the winter after selling the previous season's top scorer while more and more of the squad were getting injured, Venkatesham pulled off a shimmy, swerve and a feint that David Ginola would have been proud of in his prime.

The answer was long but incredibly general and never actually admitted any fault in the decision-making during that weak window or really even spoke much about it at all. It was as close as possible to how you would imagine a politician would answer the question, with lots of talk around the subject but never actually answering its core.

It cannot be overstated just how pivotal that transfer window, with no attacking players bought as they were dropping like flies, could have been. One more West Ham win would have ensured it was the decision that got Tottenham relegated.

Missing accountability

That's perhaps the theme of this interview. There's plenty of talk about what needs to be done but not once do the words "sorry" or "apologise" appear at any point in relation to the fans who have paid huge sums once again this season to watch an absolute chaotic mess of a football club.

Perhaps there's been PR advice not to apologise or admit any fault, and instead point to the past, but that's simply treating the fans like they're daft and haven't seen four head coaches in charge over the past year, a failure of a transfer window at the first time of asking under the new regime and almost the club's first relegation in half a century.

It was only in Venkatesham's BBC interview that Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor were asked about and he had to touch upon them, two men that he and Johan Lange heavily put their faith in and played a major part in selecting. The CEO went as far in that interview as saying Tudor was a mistake without actually saying the word but never admitted that Frank was clearly the wrong man for the club.

That is despite their exhaustive selection process clearly being utterly flawed in landing upon a man who, while a good coach, did not play the football they claimed he would and had no understanding of how to communicate with the fans of a bigger, more expectant club.

In the club interview it's like those appointments never happened and instead what a wonderful decision it was to appoint Roberto De Zerbi.

All it would have taken was an acknowledgement that "we messed up as well but we've learned a lot from this season and we will be better going forward for you".

Transfer vow and positives

It's important to make it clear that there were positives in this interview and plenty of them in respect to what comes next and how much within the club has been identified as needing improving.

That includes improving the wage structure, which Venkatesham said "hasn't been fit for purpose" and spending transfer money, with backing from the Lewis family, to bring in the best players possible within the financial fair play regulations. There's also fixing the training ground to become one of the best in the world for footballers rather than hotel guests.

There was also talk of investment in the academy and women's team as well as the medical and performance departments and world-leading people to come in at all levels.

"We will fix this, and that is the absolute focus of everybody here. Not just me, the owners, the board, everybody who works at this club is completely focused on getting the club back to where, not just where it should be, where it absolutely has to be," said Venkatesham.

The Tottenham fans are watching. They've been listening for a quarter of a century to words with no real action behind. That must change.

The Tottenham Hotspur CEO has spoken in another interview which the club has decided not to promote on their social media channels

Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham admits this season was "embarrassing" and "unacceptable" in an in-house interview that has not been promoted by the club.

Venkatesham's first season at the helm of the north London outfit after stepping in following Daniel Levy's departure after 24 years has been a bruising one. Spurs finished 17th again in the Premier League table and only escaped relegation by two points and a final day victory against Everton in front of a packing and noisy Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which instead sent West Ham down into the Championship.

In the days since there have been open letters and interviews galore with those involved in the hierarchy. While the letter to the fans from non-executive chairman Peter Charrington and Roberto De Zerbi's club interview were promoted across Tottenham's X and Facebook channels, a letter from the owners, the Lewis family, and a wide-ranging 15 minute interview with Venkatesham, following his first interview with the BBC, was not, as of yet, pushed out to the fans and instead simply sit on the club's website.

There is plenty to digest in Venkatesham's interview so here is the full transcript as the CEO looked to explain the mess of this season, how things went wrong and what will be done to fix it.

We sit here at the end of what has been probably the worst season that our club has had in the Premier League era. It's really important, I think, to address as many of the different issues that fans would have had and experienced this season. So to start with, can you outline why we found ourselves in this position? And then further from that, why is this group of individuals that are now responsible for steering our club in the right direction, the correct group of people to lead the club forward?

Well, I think to start with, I just wanted to just be obviously completely clear that the season has been completely unacceptable. The men's first team should never, ever be involved in a relegation battle. It is just so far beneath the standards that this football club has. And I know for our supporters, it has been impossibly difficult. It has been exhausting. It has been painful. It's just been embarrassing.

It's just not where this club can ever, ever be again. So I just wanted to say thank you, first of all, for our supporters for sticking with the team all the way through to the end of the season. It has been critically important, but home and away, the team have really felt that support and felt it really genuinely.

I know the club has grown really significantly over the last decade, but I need to say it as I saw it. I think it's fair to say that the club was in a much worse state when you're able to look at it from the inside than I thought when I looked at it from the outside. So it was going to be a much bigger challenge than I thought it would be.

None of this is meant to be a criticism, by the way, of anyone or anything. I want to be clear on that. Some areas of strength on the commercial side, the stadium operations, very important because they drive the revenue to invest in the team, and in today's world of football, importantly, the financial fair play headroom.

But on the football side, a big gap between where we were and where we should be, and what has happened in football over the last five years is there's been an unbelievable acceleration of quality across all Premier League clubs and football operations, big, small or medium and Tottenham has been left behind in far too many of those areas.

So we have been doing a really, really big reset of the club from September to fix that, because this is not going to be fixed by a tweak here, a player here, a member of staff here, an investment here. It needs a fundamental rebaselining, a complete reset, which is going to take time to deliver.

These challenges, the reason why we're in this situation, have developed over many years and I wish I could just click my fingers in September and go from where we were to where we want to be. But it's just not realistic.

It's going to take some time to get back to where we need to be. We are in the process of delivering this reset, and we need to complete this reset to get the club to where it wants to be. It might not be the answer that everybody wants. It might be that everybody wants and feels that we should have to fix all of this straight away, but it's just not the reality of the situation.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Straight away, the question that comes to mind is, why hasn't football been at the centre of everything? Why hasn't football come first as the first priority?

In all the big decisions that the club has made, I don't think it ruthlessly prioritised is this decision going to be a decision that's going to help us get more points on the pitch, which is going to help us be successful? And quite a lot of the challenges and quite a lot of things we're trying to fix actually are just by, if you are absolutely focused on, laser-focused on, is this going to help us win football matches? It's a great lens to make your decisions, because you then start making different decisions.

You then start investing in different areas. You then start doing different things and that's a lot of what we're doing now.

We opted not to strengthen in January beyond a couple of signings, particularly in an area of the field in attack, where we had a number of long-term absentees. And there was the hope that the players that were injured would return. In actual fact, we ended up losing players to further long-term injury. What was the kind of failsafe rationale there in January and again, is there an acceptance there that that was the wrong strategy to not go out and ensure that there was more support for our playing staff, particularly in the forward areas of the team?

If I look at the squad, I absolutely accept that the squad has not got the right blend of youth, experience, leadership characteristics and robustness. And you need to get that balance right if you're going to have a squad that can compete for a season in multiple competitions, and the club hasn't got that right mix at the moment. And that is what we need to do, and that's what we need to strengthen in transfer windows.

And predominantly, your opportunity to do that is in summer transfer windows. That is the reality. So absolutely accept that we don't have the mix correct in our squad today, and we need to look across those four lenses and more to get the mix right.

We also, if we want to get the right level of player in our squad, need to look at our wage structure, which hasn't been fit for purpose in terms of trying to achieve what we want to achieve. And we also need to have a different approach around how we do player transactions to make sure that we can land the players that we want to land as efficiently as possible in a very competitive, in a very difficult market, and also be able to sell the players at the right time that we don't think have long-term futures at the club.

To that end then, will we be looking to help Roberto this summer to ensure that he has the tools at his disposal in order to achieve the aims that he and the club has?

Yes, absolutely. So the summer transfer windows are the opportunities to strengthen the squad and I'm sitting here saying we don't have the right balance in that squad, so we need to act in the summer transfer window and summer transfer windows going forward to get the balance right.

People are aware of the fact that January is harder to do business in, but what is our model and what is our strategy to try and bring the best talent to Tottenham Hotspur?

So we have a plan around what are the positions that we want to strengthen in the next few windows and what are the characteristics of the players that we will want in those positions and those players are continually tracked. That is, of course, all driven by our technical team in conjunction with the head coach.

So the technical people make technical decisions. You will never get somebody that is non-technical making a technical opinion on we should strengthen this position or we should sell this player or we should buy this player. So there's always a technical plan. Then you overlay that technical plan with what's the financial reality of what we're able to do, both in terms of a cash perspective.

And the Lewis family have been very, very clear, they will support the club from a cash perspective to get the squad to where it needs to be, but also, how does that work against the financial regulations and what you are able to do by the rules.

I know there are big plans for the next season and beyond in terms of our medical department. We suffered a lot of injuries last season and a lot of injuries this season. Is there a reason for that and how do we go about ensuring we are not a side facing a situation where we have the most injuries in the Premier League?

There's, of course, reasons for it. There are lots of things that contribute to the injury burden that we have. There are predominantly two major things that we are focused on.

One is putting together a world-class team of individuals in the performance team, so we have the best talent and the best people and the best expertise to work with and manage our players, structured and organised in the right way to be effective. So that's one piece.

And the second piece is going back to what I was saying earlier about making sure that performance is used as the lens that we make our decisions. Our training ground is amazing in so many ways, but it has to change and it needs to adapt to become much more focused around performance.

But if you think about what's important to a player, the pitches I'm going to train on, the room I'm going to get tactically briefed in, the gym where I'm going to do my strength work and the place that I'm going to be with the others in my team to eat and fuel. And three of those four things, we feel that we need to fundamentally change to be more focused on performance.

We now go into the summer and I think have one eye very firmly fixed on the future and one eye also looking back at the mistakes that have been made over the course of a long time. What does the beginning of this reset look like? I know you've already started and it started for you last year, but what does this phase look like now in the short term?

Sure. Well, I think the really important thing is I don't want anyone to take away from this that we've just been sitting around this season, waiting for the season to end, season has been unacceptable and now we need to suddenly spring into action as a reaction to what's happened during the season. That's absolutely not true.

It was completely clear to me in September last year that a reset needed to happen and the reset started then. Have we learned some stuff along the way during the season that will inform that? Absolutely. I'm not for a moment saying we knew all the answers in September.

We've been really focused on recruiting a group of world-leading experts across the club in lots of departments. Some of those people are already here and we're seeing the impact of what they're delivering. Some of those people have only joined recently and some of them will be joining in the next few weeks.

We talked about the squad, we've also got a very important summer transfer window to address the balance issues in the squad. Those areas I've talked about, youth, experience, leadership and robustness. We need to make sure we've got the right tools.

Obviously, recently we've brought in Roberto as our new head coach, an excellent tactical coach. I've been really, really impressed with him and his staff and the working together of the club staff that he wanted to work with and his staff. We really, really believe in Roberto and think he will be a really important part of our future.

Finally, I just wanted to spend a bit of time also talking about the women's team. If I go back to that diagnosis in September, what was very clear was the women's team were not given the right level of prioritisation here. That has completely changed over the last nine months, last year.

We've obviously brought in Martin Ho as the new head coach, a significant investment in the January transfer window, which is much more significant in women's football than it is in men's football. The women's team obviously had a very good season, maybe their best ever, and we'll be investing and going again in this summer transfer window for the women's team.

Because ultimately, where we want to be is we want to have two teams that are competing at the top end of the English game and the top end of the European game. We really want to be seen as one club with two teams.

I think there are a lot of big changes coming and also a large scale of change as well. To make this perhaps more short term, when will fans hear from our leadership over the next few months? What comes next that's tangible that fans can see and experience? What do we do over the course of the next few months to ensure we are taking those right steps in a way that is visible to our supporters?

It's a good question. I think communication is important. You've obviously heard from Peter, our chairman, immediately from the season ending, obviously hearing from me today, and there'll be a few other bits of media work I'm doing around this time as well. And we have our fan advisory board in June, where we'll be sitting down, myself and Peter Charrington, our chairman, will both be there in person to hear from our fan advisory board.

So engagement and communication is important because I also recognise that there is a massive disconnect between the club and its supporters. And we're not going to be able to achieve what we all want to achieve unless we can close that gap and unless everybody can feel together.

It feels like that disconnect, lack of trust, people feeling like the club is here and too corporate, not really here to win. I don't want to speak on behalf of all fans because all fans have got different opinions, but that's the feedback I hear, has built up over a long time.

We need to find a way to try and bring everybody together and that's on us.

Finally, I wondered if you had a message for our fans who I think, home and away, have been absolutely magnificent for the team this season?

Well, the first thing I just wanted our supporters to know and reassure them is that we absolutely understand their pain. So we're not sitting here in an ivory tower, not understanding what our supporters feel. We're at games, home and away.

Most of us work in Tottenham, lots of us live in the local area, so we absolutely understand the supporters' pain and it's not been a short, sharp pain. It's been a long, long season that has been torturous at times, embarrassing, unacceptable. So we completely get the supporters' pain and they are right to feel all of that.

We will fix this, and that is the absolute focus of everybody here. Not just me, the owners, the board, everybody who works at this club is completely focused on getting the club back to where, not just where it should be, where it absolutely has to be.

Tottenham defender Pedro Porro is being eyed up by Manchester City as a potential summer transfer, four years since he left the Etihad Stadium

Manchester City have 'initiated contact' about signing Tottenham full-back Pedro Porro this summer, it has been claimed.

The 26-year-old endured a difficult season in north London but was one of Roberto De Zerbi's most consistent performers after the March international break as Spurs retained their Premier League status.

In total, Porro, who has spent the last three-and-a-half years in north London, made 46 appearances across all competitions in 2025/26, scoring twice and providing six assists.

But he could leave Tottenham in the summer transfer window. According to Spanish outlet AS, City are interested in signing Porro and have started talks around a move for the Spain international.

City are desperate to strengthen the right side of the back four with Matheus Nunes the first-choice in that position this season and Porro has been identified as a top target when the window opens.

Both Porro and Tottenham are aware of City's interest and Spurs have set a minimum starting price of around £50million, £10m more than what the club paid Sporting CP for him in January 2023.

Porro once spent three years as a player at City, but didn't make a single first-team appearance. In August 2019, he signed for City for £11m but was soon loaned out to Real Valladolid and then Sporting.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

It's at Sporting where he cemented a spot in the senior set-up and helped Ruben Amorim's side win the Primeira Liga and the Taca da Liga. But less than six months after Sporting made his move permanent, Porro wrapped Lisbon for London as Tottenham came in and captured his services on a long-term deal.

Porro has been at Spurs since, and was an instrumental part of the team that won the Europa League last season. Overall, the ex-Girona man has made more than 150 appearances during his time at Tottenham.

De Zerbi and Spurs are desperate to keep hold of Porro, who was used as a right winger in Sunday's 1-0 win against Everton, but the Spaniard might decide to move elsewhere and seek pastures new.

And when asked about his Tottenham future earlier this week, Porro appeared to shut down talk around a move away from north London. "I have a contract with Tottenham," he said in an interview with Onda Cero Extremadura.

"I haven't even had time to glance over. We've been focused until the last minute. I don't want to hear anything; I want to switch off and enjoy myself."

With the Premier League season now over, Porro's immediate attention will be on the upcoming World Cup, as Spain look to win the trophy for the first time since 2010.

Spurs have secured their place in the Premier League for another season and now fans can get a classic jersey with a huge 91% discount

Tottenham Hotspur have secured their place in the Premier League for another season as Roberto De Zerbi’s side secured a 1-0 win against Everton on the final day. To celebrate the club’s top flight survival, we’ve found a way to pick up an iconic Spurs retro shirt for £4.

The deal is available when stacking deals at Sports Direct, which has reduced both the Tottenham Hotspur 1994/95 Home Shirt and 1992 Away Shirt from £39.99 to £20. However, Spurs fans can secure a bigger discount when they sign up for a free TopCashback account, as this comes with a £15 welcome bonus for new members.

It also pays cashback on Sports Direct orders, meaning both shirts can be effectively reduced to £4 after cashback, saving of £45.99 or roughly 91% from the original price. This deal is only available for new TopCashback members, while existing members will pay £19 after cashback.

England fans can snap up classic £50 retro shirt for £9.79 ahead of the World Cup with deal

NFL UK tickets and how to buy them for Tottenham Hotspur games

It’s worth noting the deal can only be claimed once, so fans must choose between either the home or away shirt. Also, Sports Direct will apply a standard delivery charge from £4.99.

Despite the extra fee, the TopCashback deal undercuts rival retailers like Fanatics, where the 1992 away shirt costs £28.80 (was £40). This yellow jersey is a replica of the iconic Umbro kit, featuring nostalgic details such as Holsten sponsor branding and the classic club crest.

The 1994/95 home shirt is designed in crisp white with navy accents, while the shielded club crest sits proudly on the left chest. It comes as Tottenham’s Djed Spence prepares for his trip to the USA as part of England’s World Cup squad, who get their campaign underway on June 17 against Croatia.

Fans still have time to pick up the new England 2026 kit before the Three Lions kick off in Dallas. Until then, here’s how to get a retro Tottenham Hotspur shirt for £4.

How to get a retro Tottenham Hotspur shirt for £4

Sign up to TopCashback here.

Search for Sports Direct and click ‘Get Cashback Now’.

Shop and checkout as usual.

Cashback will track and appear in the TopCashback account within seven working days of purchase.

The cashback will become payable and available to withdraw and spend after Sports Direct has paid TopCashback the commission for the purchase.

More than 160,000 TopCashback members have rated the site on Trustpilot, where it holds a 4.6-star score. One five-star review says: “So easy and clear, love the simplicity and its flexibility.”

Another reads: “Excellent and easy service even for a technophobe. Have earned cashback on everyday purchases.

This shopper left a four-star review due to the time taken to pay out, saying: “The site is good but the time you have to wait for the reward to become available for payout is far too long.”

Nevertheless, another member wrote: “Pays out on time. When an order isn’t tracked and I raise a claim it’s followed up without me having to chase up.”

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have both been linked with a summer transfer swoop for Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, whose future is uncertain as Barcelona are now focusing on Anthony Gordon

Arsenal and Spurs have reportedly discussed a possible move for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford following an impressive loan spell at Barcelona.

The La Liga side agreed a £26m option-to-buy the England international, but want to add another striker to their ranks.

Hansi Flick's side would prefer another loan move for Rashford, leaving them financial wriggle room to bring in another forward, with Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon on the brink of a move to Barcelona.

The Daily Mail claims Man United and Rashford are set for talks about his future this week, with the England star looking for some clarity on his future ahead of the World Cup.

Rashford impressed with 14 goals and 14 assists in 49 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona, and he's made it clear his dream is to move to the Nou Camp permanently.

FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE!Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Aston Villa have also reportedly discussed a move for Rashford this summer, having impressed at Villa Park on loan at the end of last season.

Barcelona are admirers of Chelsea forward Joao Pedro, but the Blues have no plan on selling the Brazilian.

Arsenal are understood to be in the market for a winger this summer, as they look to bolster their forward line after winning the Premier League title.

However, the Gunners will likely have to offload several first-team players, with the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Ethan Nwaneri and Ben White linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium.

As for Tottenham, they're looking to add some quality to their squad after narrowly avoiding relegation on the final day of the season.

Speaking about his recruitment plans this summer, De Zerbi said: "Listen, we have a great relationship with Johan and Vinai and the whole board. I have no doubt, but it's right because I came to start a new plan, a new project, and the plan was not in Sunderland.

"It was after Everton, staying in the Premier League. My target was very clear at the beginning. I gave all my best. I pushed to arrive at today. From today, we have to start to work.

"Look, my target when I came was today, to arrive today, after the last game and planning the next Premier League. I'm sure we have not to change too many players. It's not right. It's not right because we are lucky to have a lot of good players, a lot of good guys.

"I think we have to complete the squad in the best way, with the first level of players, with the right behaviour of the players, because now the qualities of the players are important, but more important is the spirit, the mentality of these players - and now the job starts."

Andy Robertson is set to leave Liverpool at the end of the season after reportedly reaching a verbal agreement with Tottenham Hotspur on a Premier League transfer

Former Liverpool defender Andy Robertson is edging closer to his next destination after reportedly reaching a 'verbal agreement' with Tottenham Hotspur. The Scotland international looks set to remain in the Premier League, with Spurs having maintained their pursuit following an unsuccessful January approach.

Fabrizio Romano has reported that a late intervention from Juventus has been rebuffed, with the full-back honouring the "pact". The ex-Dundee United and Hull City left-back saw his opportunities at Anfield diminish during Arne Slot's challenging campaign, as summer acquisition Milos Kerkez, 10 years Robertson's junior, became the preferred option.

Spurs escaped the drop by the skin of their teeth with a win over Liverpool's neighbours, Everton, on the final day. It appears that the club are not resting on their laurels after surviving the drop with reports intensifying over an early double swoop for both Robertson and out-of-contract Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi.

Robertson delivered an emotional farewell to the Anfield supporters on Sunday during the 1-1 stalemate with Brentford, receiving a guard of honour in his final appearance for the Reds. However, he won't be venturing far from a return to L4, as Roberto De Zerbi's side secured their top-flight status on the season's final day with a 2-0 victory over Everton.

It appears the Liverpool legend may have offered a subtle indication about his future plans in his parting message to fans following his departure. Writing on social media, the Scotland captain told supporters, "it's not goodbye, it's a see you soon".

The 32-year-old's time at Liverpool will draw to a close at the end of the campaign when his deal runs out. He secured two Premier League crowns, lifted the Carabao Cup twice and also claimed Champions League, Super Cup, FA Cup and Club World Cup silverware during the club's period of supremacy under Jurgen Klopp.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE!Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Robertson will captain Scotland at a World Cup for the first time since 1998. As the defender approaches the latter stages of his playing days, international glory will also be firmly in his sights. The left-back is now just 10 caps short of matching Liverpool icon Sir Kenny Dalglish's tally of 102.

From a Tottenham standpoint the intent to sign Robertson and make him a Spurs player from July 1 backs up De Zerbi's commitment to changing the tide in North London.

He told the club website: “We closed one page and we opened another page today, because we have no time, we have to organise the next season, we have to build a stronger team, but I'm very happy and very proud of what every one of us did. It was incredible, I think, but it's finished. Now we have to move on and to prepare the future of our club.

"I love smart people. The smart people learn from the mistakes. If this season was like this, it's because we made many mistakes and sincerely, from the mistakes, you have to find the reason to improve, to work harder and to understand the mistakes. Otherwise, you can't compete.

"We have a great relationship with Johan and Vinai and the whole board. I have no doubt, but it's right because I came to start a new plan, a new project, and the plan was not in Sunderland. It was after Everton, staying in the Premier League. My target was very clear at the beginning. I gave all my best.

"I pushed to arrive at today. From today, we have to start to work. Look, my target when I came was today, to arrive today, after the last game and planning the next Premier League. I'm sure we have not to change too many players.

"It's not right. It's not right because we are lucky to have a lot of good players, a lot of good guys. I think we have to complete the squad in the best way, with the first level of players, with the right behaviour of the players, because now the qualities of the players are important, but more important is the spirit, the mentality of these players - and now the job starts."

World Cup countries have begun naming their squads for the tournament and there are some high-profile absentees

Tottenham Hotspur star Mohammed Kudus has been left out of Ghana's World Cup squad after failing to recover from injury. It's a blow for the Black Stars, who take on England in the group stage.

Kudus, 25, has scored 13 goals in 46 appearances for Ghana and netted twice for his nation at the previous World Cup. He also contributed two goals and two assists during qualifying for this edition, but has been unable to return to full fitness in time to secure a place in Carlos Queiroz's squad.

The winger joined Tottenham from West Ham last summer and had been a mainstay for club and country but has not featured since January owing to a hamstring injury. He suffered a frustrating setback while approaching full fitness in the spring, prompting Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi to deliver a concerning assessment in April.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE!Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

"Kudus, for this season, has gone," the Italian said in April. "I am sorry for him, first of all, because he is a good guy. Should be very important for us, but we lose time if we speak about the past."

That spell on the sidelines will now extend into the summer, with Queiroz naming a 28-man squad — which will be trimmed to 26 ahead of the World Cup's opening fixtures — with no room for Kudus. There is, however, a place for Ernest Nuamah, who made his return for club side Lyon in May following a year on the sidelines with a cruciate ligament tear.

Premier League and EFL clubs are also well represented within the Ghanaian contingent. Antoine Semenyo scored 17 goals for Bournemouth and Manchester City this season, while Coventry's Brandon Thomas-Asante is set to join him in the top flight next term. Leicester's Jordan Ayew and Abdul Fatawu also make the cut despite the Foxes dropping down to League One.

Ghana are scheduled to face England in their second group stage fixture on June 23 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. They open their campaign against Panama in Toronto before rounding off the group stage against Croatia in Philadelphia.

Former Real Madrid manager Queiroz only took charge in April following the sacking of Otto Addo. The former Borussia Dortmund man had been in his second stint at the helm and guided the side to World Cup qualification, but was dismissed following back-to-back defeats during the March international break.

While the African nation must trim their squad by two players ahead of naming their final selection, England have already confirmed their full 26-man group. Kudus' Tottenham team-mate Djed Spence has secured his place, however there is no room for colleagues Dominic Solanke and Conor Gallagher, despite both having received call-ups from Thomas Tuchel in the past 12 months.

Tottenham are set to make some big transfer decisions in defence this summer, with updates on Luka Vuskovic and John Stones emerging

Luka Vuskovic is unlikely to join Hamburg on loan for the 2026/27 season but could head elsewhere on a temporary basis, football.london understands. The talented central defender spent the 2025/26 campaign at the German club, with dominant displays at the back and six goals, earning him a place in the Bundesliga team of the season.

The 19-year-old's long-term future has been unclear over the last few months as Spurs fought relegation. Multiple big clubs, including Bayern Munich and Barcelona, have been circling Vuskovic, with Manchester United the latest interested party to emerge.

However, the teenager, who Spurs already value at £60million, is part of the club's long-term vision and is unlikely to depart permanently. Instead, he could head out on another loan to aid his development further, with Roberto De Zerbi set to turn to the transfer market to address his immediate concerns at the back.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

According to The Independent, England international John Stones, who said his goodbyes to Manchester City after a decade at the club this past weekend, is being targeted on a free transfer in order to bring in some much-needed leadership.

Stones, 31, and a multiple-time Premier League winner, is exactly the profile of player Vinai Venkatesham suggested the club would target this summer.

He told the BBC: "The squad needs work and the squad hasn't got the right balance. We need experience and leadership, and also that kind of physical robustness to play in the most demanding league that exists. We need to strengthen the club over multiple transfer windows but this transfer window, in particular, is going to be critical."

The Lilywhites have already made moves in an attempt to strengthen their defence with Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson reported to have agreed free moves, though those deals are not yet confirmed. If they were to join, Stones could become Spurs' third free signing of the summer.

Robertson has also since emerged as a target for Italian giants Juventus, but Tottenham appear to be frontrunners, having first identified the Scotsman as a potential signing in January.

Senesi was also earmarked as a possible addition earlier this year following an excellent season on the south coast. Though Spurs are firmly in the driving seat for his signature, the 29-year-old has been linked to Liverpool and Manchester United.

In addition to Stones, Brazilian winger Savinho is another City star wanted by those in north London.

Tottenham tried to sign him last summer, but Pep Guardiola pushed to keep him before injury derailed any transfer in January.

Brighton trio Jan Paul van Hecke, Bart Verbruggen and Carlos Baleba have also been linked with moves to Spurs which would see them reunite with De Zerbi.

Wholesale exits are also likely to take place with Cristian Romero, Richarlison, Guglielmo Vicario, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr among the senior players that could depart.

Vinai Venkatesham, the Tottenham chief executive, has opened up on his first 12 months in the role after fan backlash and a torrid 2025/26 Premier League season

Tottenham chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has hit out at reports the club was "passive" during Thomas Frank's reign in north London and claimed it's "not true".

Spurs decided to sack Frank in mid-February, following a 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle United, as the club dropped closer to the Premier League relegation zone. Before Frank's departure, Spurs had gone on a woeful run of just one win in 11 top-flight matches dating back to December.

Many Tottenham supporters felt the club waited too long to axe Frank and thought a decision should have come much sooner, given results and performances had been below-par for some time. But Venkatesham and the Spurs board believed a change needed to happen after the Newcastle loss, with former Juventus man Igor Tudor appointed as his replacement on a short-term contract.

Now, in an interview with the BBC, Venkatesham has fired back after claims emerged that Spurs were inactive and passive throughout a time that saw them dragged into relegation danger. "There's been plenty of coverage that the club was passive during this period. And that's absolutely not true," Venkatesham said.

While Tudor was given the job on an interim basis until the end of the season, Roberto De Zerbi, now the club's permanent head coach, was wanted by Spurs after his exit from Marseille.

But, at the time, Tottenham were unable to persuade De Zerbi to jump straight into management and instead went for Tudor, who left Spurs by mutual consent after just seven matches.

Tottenham then went for De Zerbi and the Italian managed to keep the club in the Premier League, winning three and drawing two his seven matches at the helm. It was a run that helped them finish 17th in the table, two points behind 18th-place West Ham, who have been relegated to the Championship.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Venkatesham has accepted that a fourth-bottom finish isn't good enough and admitted he understands the frustration from supporters, after attracting increasing anger from irate sections of the fanbase.

"I understand the frustration around supporters," ex-Arsenal chief Venkatesham added. "I think Tottenham supporters have been frustrated for some time. This is two 17th-place finishes in a row.

"It's clearly not good enough. I think that is rational, normal, sensible, and, is what we would expect from supporters. The club had some serious challenges that it needs to address on the football side. We know what those are. We are addressing them. We are fixing them. Those challenges have not disappeared overnight.

"They built up over many years. I wish I could wave my magic wand and fix them overnight, but that is not possible. It takes some time to fix those issues. So I have complete confidence in what we're doing, how we're doing it. But supporters are rightly impatient. So I have to weather that storm."

With a huge summer ahead for Tottenham, as they look to improve on a dour campaign, the club are said to have held talks with Borussia Dortmund's departed sporting director Sebastian Kehl. As well as this, Venkatesham has confirmed the club have raised their wage bill in the hope of attracting the best players.

"The squad needs work and the squad hasn't got the right balance," he continued. "We need experience and leadership and also that kind of physical robustness to play in the most demanding league that exists. We need to strengthen the club over multiple transfer windows but this transfer window, in particular, is going to be critical."

Tottenham have launched an internal review into their wretched Premier League season which includes bringing in a psychologist to banish 'Spursy' thinking, ending their horrendous injury record and even an investigation into their retractable stadium pitch.

The north London club escaped relegation on a nervy final day thanks to Roberto De Zerbi turning their season around with 11 points from their final six games. football.london reported on Tuesday that Spurs sporting director Johan Lange's future at the club is in serious doubt as the main football figurehead of a disastrous 12 months with four different head coaches employed and the Dane could end up in a supporting or handover role to an incoming new world class sporting director.

Just two points stopped Tottenham from plunging into the Championship this season and they were not helped by suffering more injuries than any other Premier League club, many of them serious.

James Maddison, who has just returned after his partially torn anterior cruciate ligament fully tore last summer, hit out at the problems.

"Our situation with the injuries has been worse than any other club," the midfielder told reporters following Tottenham's win over Everton. "People try and say 'Oh, but we've got this and that', but ours is astronomical and we need to look at why that is."

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

football.london understands that a major internal investigation has been ongoing behind the scenes at the north London club, led by new performance director Dan Lewindon after he arrived in February from the City Football Group and found significant challenges within Spurs. He joined the club after serving his notice period with City and walked through the doors at Hotspur Way the day before Thomas Frank was sacked by the club.

Tottenham's medical and performance departments have also undergone huge turmoil in recent years. After a long period of stability under head of medicine and sports science Geoff Scott, the New Zealander left in 2024 following more than two decades of service and is now at Nottingham Forest.

Then director of performance services Adam Brett and head of sports science Nick Davies both left Tottenham after only a year in charge of their departments. Nick Stubbings joined Spurs last summer as medical lead of the men's team after 11 years at Brentford, following Frank and various other former Bees across the capital to north London.

It is Lewindon though who is the man leading Tottenham's changes. He has a background in performance, science and medicine across the top levels of football, tennis and rugby and Spurs believe he will finally rid them of the injury woes that have brought double figures in players out for too many matches of the past three seasons.

De Zerbi is believed to have already struck up a good relationship with Lewindon, with the pair known to regularly chat about the improvements that need to be made to the club's performance and medical departments to bring them in line with the world's top clubs.

Non-executive chairman Peter Charrington confirmed on Monday that moves will be made to "modernise our football operation, with a significant focus on raising standards across medical and performance".

It's not just on the pitch that De Zerbi's way have had an impact. The 46-year-old is understood to have impressed many in the medical department already by being clear and consistent in his approach, despite the pressure he was under to get results, that he did not want to take unnecessary risks with players.

Those who have been in rooms with the Italian say he has been keen for as much feedback as possible to make the right decisions over when to bring players back into the fold as he looked to prioritise the individual over the need for victory.

The new man Lewindon has already been involved in an investigation into whether the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium's retractable pitch - which slides under the south stand for NFL games and concerts to take place - has played a part in the string of ACL injuries - with five at Spurs in recent years alone which is accepted within the club as being too many. Real Madrid have also suffered from a large number of injuries since the installation of their retractable surface.

To ensure that is not just a coincidence, early external independent tests on each match day are understood to have so far shown no difference to the bounce and spring of Tottenham's stadium pitch to the Hotspur Way training turf, but more detailed analysis is set to take place over time to ensure a deeper review.

Some ACL injuries are just unfortunate as with those to Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert. As with all injuries, the way Xavi's at Molineux was dealt with by the physios was reviewed and backed, with the player having been keen to continue but unable to do so. The right precautionary steps were believed to have been taken and no additional damage done to the Dutchman.

There is also the mental side of things as well as the physical. At a club often slapped with the term 'Spursy' due to their tendency to self-destruct, Lewindon has been central in pushing for a new lead psychologist to be recruited and come in to work full-time with the players and staff who work with them to help them all deal with the pressure of top level sport.

De Zerbi has made it clear to those inside the club that he sees part of his role as being a psychologist to his players and that has been evident with frequent individual meetings with them and restoring confidence at every turn in that vital run of results towards the end of the season, including the use of video footage of their best moments from Spurs matches and at past clubs.

To increase the focus on individuals, Lewindon is also believed to be looking to change the way Tottenham deal with injuries and recovery with a switch towards a more integrated style, involving a pod-based model where four to six players have an integrated approach around them with a physio and sports scientist concentrating on that small group rather than having a wider remit.

Like teachers with less students to focus on, that switch is expected to help staff better understand the players' needs as individuals and their positions on the pitch which should lead to better shared decision-making about training and physical preparation.

That fits in with De Zerbi's beliefs that the club must deliver better support to players at an individual level and properly understand them personally, in their family lives, and in their position on the pitch, to enable them to challenge at a high level.

Spurs are also looking to improve the trust the players have with their medical department, with some choosing to put their faith at times in staff from previous clubs or their international medics.

All football clubs work in conjunction with the growing number of performance staff that modern players employ individually and also their international counterparts and Tottenham are looking to increase that bond between all parties to ensure the player gets the best treatment with one singular plan that everyone involved agrees on and approves.

There could be changes behind the scenes to staff once Lewindon's review is complete, with fresh ideas and new personalities expected, and better integration between departments, more emphasis on understanding individuals and also changes in the type of transfers Tottenham make in the market to bring in more robust players for De Zerbi energetic style.

There is also an acknowledgement within the club that the high turnover in managers has contributed to the injuries, with frequently changing training sessions, the new head coach sometimes pushing their players harder, as well as players pushing themselves beyond their limits to impress the new man each time.

Tottenham know they cannot suffer another season like the one just gone and having more players available for De Zerbi to select will go a long way to helping that. Results are unlikely to be seen instantly, but over time Spurs hope that Lewindon's course correction will bear fruit and far fewer injuries.