Football London

Tottenham face one of their biggest games in recent history on Wednesday night as they take on Manchester United in San Mames in the final of the UEFA Europa League.

The Champions League final of 2019 - which was an unmitigated disaster of a match - is the only other clash in the last 30 years which surpasses Wednesday night's match for magnitude.

A diabolical Premier League campaign can be salvaged by winning the first piece of silverware in 17 years and a first European trophy in 41 long years.

The season and perhaps Ange Postecoglou's future - although there are plenty of rumours that he will depart N17 no matter what happens in Bilbao on Wednesday night - hinges on the result.

But while a trophy is the main thing on the agenda, particularly for the long-suffering Tottenham supporters, there are a number of other things in the background that rest on Spurs lifting the Europa League trophy.

A place in the Champions League

Rightly or wrongly, and it does feel like far too many pundits are having their say on this issue because United and Spurs find themselves in 16th and 17th place respectively in the Premier League table, winning the Europa League brings with it qualification to next season's Champions League.

Europe's premier club competition is where every team yearns to be, playing against the biggest teams on the continent for the biggest prize of all.

As we've mentioned above, Spurs have made the final once before in 2019 and going all the way will be high on the agenda for an ambitious chairman like Daniel Levy.

Financial gain

Speaking of Levy, winning the Europa League will lead to a huge payout.

The Europa League champions take home €8.6million, which equates to £7.2million. That's not a massive figure in the grand scheme of things, but there is more to it than that.

In this season's Champions League, every team that qualified for the league phase received a windfall of €18.62million (£15.7million).

And then there's the money you get for winning games and qualifying for the knockouts in the top tier competition, which is much more than in the Europa League.

Spurs will immediately pocket almost £23million if they lift the trophy, with the promise of more to come in the Champions League.

Transfer help

Every player wants to play in the UEFA Champions League and qualifying for the league phase will help Tottenham in the summer transfer window.

The Lilywhites will have something more to offer potential signings and as mentioned above, will actually have more money to spend on new players.

Being in the Champions League - as well as having lifted a trophy which would show prospective signings Spurs are a club that can actually do that - opens new doors and will put Tottenham on a similar level to the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United when negotiating with stars.

The 2024/25 season has already come to a conclusion for a handful of Tottenham players who spent the campaign away from the club. For those not involved in the EFL play-offs, the season ended at the beginning of the month.

Manor Solomon finished his time at Leeds United by helping the West Yorkshire club win the Championship title on the final day, Will Lankshear and West Brom missed out on the play-offs and Ashley Phillips played his part in Stoke City avoiding the drop down to League One. Yang Min-hyeok was another Spurs man to play in the Championship after joining QPR on loan at the end of January.

It proved to be a very good loan spell across the capital for the South Korean youngster and this summer he will have the opportunity to get his Tottenham career firmly up and running. Amid question marks over how the teenager would fare in the Championship, he finished his time at QPR with two goals and one assist in 14 games.

Yang wowed in his performances on the wing and he has certainly left plenty of Tottenham fans excited about what he can bring to the team in the years ahead. Confirming the arrival of the winger from Gangwon FC in late July, it wasn't until the end of December when the teenager would make the move to N17 following the end of the K League season.

Given time to adapt to his new surroundings and life under Ange Postecoglou, Yang did in fact make the matchday squad on three occasions for Tottenham prior to joining QPR. He was an unused substitute in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg win against Liverpool and also the Premier League defeats against Everton and Leicester City, though.

Following his time with QPR, this summer could be viewed as a fresh start for him at Tottenham as he bids to become a regular member of the first-team squad in the 2025/26 season. An opportunity should be there for him to pull on a Tottenham shirt for the very first time in pre-season as the head coach will want to give his players sufficient minutes and take a close look at them.

Plenty of Tottenham youngsters have been given regular pitch time in pre-season in years gone by, with Alfie Devine, Jamie Donley and Lankshear featuring heavily for the club last summer. As things stand right now, Tottenham have only confirmed one pre-season friendly, with that coming against north London rivals Arsenal in Hong Kong on Thursday, July 31.

Spurs' summer schedule should become clearer in the weeks ahead and it may prove to be the period where Yang really makes Tottenham fans sit up and take notice. The Gwangju-born player certainly has plenty of competition for a place in the team, with Son Heung-min, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore, Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson and Richarlison all options out wide.

It remains to be seen what will happen with Solomon after his Leeds loan success and Tottenham have to decide whether or not to sign Mathys Tel on a permanent contract. Spurs splurged £143.5million on Odobert, Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall last summer and all eyes will be on their business in the months ahead given their disastrous Premier League campaign.

For Yang, all he can do is take his opportunity when it comes his way in pre-season and hope that is enough to become part of the first-team plans in 2025/26. The wait to make his first appearance for Tottenham may not be too far away at all now that the current campaign is coming to a close.

Dejan Kulusevski has broken his silence for the first time since Tottenham confirmed the forward had undergone surgery on a knee injury suffered in the Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace.

The Sweden international was forced off against the Eagles on Sunday afternoon, coming at the worst possible time for Spurs ahead of next week's Europa League final with Manchester United.

Kulusevski joins James Maddison as key players out for the rest of the season with Lucas Bergvall also unlikely to be back for the showdown in Bilbao.

A club statement on Wednesday evening read: "We can confirm that Dejan Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella in our Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace last weekend.

"Following further specialist consultation, the midfielder has undergone surgery today and will commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff immediately. We're all with you, Deki."

Speaking out for the first time since his season ending injury was confirmed, Kulusevski posted a compilation of his best goals and assists for the north Londoners throughout the season on social media.

Alongside his volley against Liverpool, flick against Manchester United and glorious strike against West Ham, he put: "Realest one u ever seen. For the people that I gave joy this year. Thanku I appreciate you and I love you.

"I pray for you. Don't be sad we will be back and we coming for everybody."

Ange Postecoglou will face the media on Thursday ahead of Friday night's Premier League clash with Aston Villa. The Spurs boss is likely to rest as many of his preferred starters at Villa Park with Wednesday night in mind.

Dejan Kulusevski is going to miss the Europa League final.

Tottenham have not actually ruled the Swede out of the big game in Bilbao, but an injury update on Wednesday - a week before the clash with Manchester United in San Mames, has all-but ruled him out.

Kulusevski has undergone surgery on a patella injury suffered in the first 15 minutes of the Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend and will now begin his rehabilitation work.

With the Europa League final in seven days, Kulusevski is simply not going to make it.

"We can confirm that Dejan Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella in our Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace last weekend," read a Tottenham statement that was published on Wednesday evening.

"Following further specialist consultation, the midfielder has undergone surgery today and will commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff immediately. We're all with you, Deki."

With Tottenham already missing James Maddison to a knee injury picked up in the semi-final first leg with Bodo/Glimt, Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou has something of a headache when it comes to selecting his team for the big game with United.

Wilson Odobert played in the No.10 role after Kulusevski went off against Palace but did not cover himself in any glory. So who plays there against United in the biggest match of the season?

There is a surprise option in the form of Lucas Bergvall. Bergvall has not been ruled out of the clash in San Mames, but is highly doubtful to make the contest, having damaged ligaments in his ankle prior to the second leg clash with Bodo/Glimt.

The Swede has been seen wearing a protective boot over the last few days, but reports have suggested he is working hard to make the final. His teenage body may recover quicker than older teammates but it would be a huge surprise to see him in the starting lineup.

It would be a massive boost for Postecoglou and Spurs though, who could then name Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma in the No.6 and No.8 roles.

Speaking last week, Postecoglou said: "That is unlikely. If we had another two weeks, potentially he could. I am sure he will be trying."

Archie Gray has revealed that Tottenham's 3-2 defeat against Galatasaray was a key point for the team on the way to securing their place in the Europa League final. Next Wednesday evening will see Ange Postecoglou's side come up against Premier League rivals Manchester United in the showpiece finale in Bilbao.

Amid Tottenham's struggles domestically this season with the team remarkably losing 20 times in the league, only two sides have defeated them in the Europa League since their campaign got underway in late September. The first of those came in early November as Galatasaray won 3-2 in Istanbul in what was an extraordinary game at RAMS Park.

Playing in such an intense atmosphere, Postecoglou's young Spurs team found themselves 3-1 down at half-time. They were perhaps lucky it was only three prior to Dominic Solanke's goal 21 minutes from time given the hosts had 28 shots on goal compared to Tottenham's five over the course of the 90 minutes.

A first for players such as Gray and Lucas Bergvall with the youngsters experiencing a very hostile welcome to Galatasaray's home, the former has revealed that it was a "big learning curve" for the team in Europe. Only losing one more time against AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of their round of 16 tie, Tottenham will now be doing everything they can to avoid defeat in Bilbao next Wednesday as they bid to put an end to their trophy hoodoo for good.

"Starting against Qarabag, it was a really proud moment," Gray told Tottenham's official website. "Playing in a European competition for this club and playing in Europe in general is something a lot of people don’t get to do in their careers, so I’m very grateful for that.

"Galatasaray, obviously with the atmosphere, I’ve never witnessed anything like that in football. We couldn't hear ourselves... every time we touched the ball it was just whistles. We couldn't hear a thing! It was a tough game, and we learned from it.

"It was crazy, and a big learning curve for us, especially in Europe, experiencing different ways of teams playing, stadiums, atmospheres and just getting used to it all. I'll probably say that was the point we realised, ‘right, we're in for a journey here’ and from there, we’ve looked solid.

"I loved every second of it. You don’t get to experience atmospheres like that too often. That adds more to the game as well. It was an intense game, we had a red card, then we almost brought it back. It’s an experience I’ll never forget."

So what would winning the Europa League in his debut season at the club mean for Gray? The former Leeds United man said: "It would be a very proud moment for me and my family, to us all as a team, especially for my brothers to be able to look up to me and for me to be able to say I’d won a trophy."

Tottenham have confirmed that Dejan Kulusevski has undergone surgery on a knee injury suffered in Sunday's defeat against Crystal Palace. The news regarding the Swede comes at the worst possible time for Ange Postecoglou as it means the attacking midfielder is now set to miss next Wednesday's Europa League final showdown against Manchester United.

Spurs have already seen James Maddison ruled out for the season with a knee injury and Postecoglou recently revealed that it is unlikely Lucas Bergvall will be back for the final following an ankle injury picked up in training at the start of May. That in turn gives the north London club a real headache in terms of creativity from midfield going into next week's European final.

"We can confirm that Dejan Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella in our Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace last weekend," read a Tottenham statement that was published on Wednesday evening.

"Following further specialist consultation, the midfielder has undergone surgery today and will commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff immediately. We're all with you, Deki."

Kulusevski has been a pivotal figure for Tottenham over the course of the season and he will be a huge miss for the team in Bilbao next Wednesday. Prior to making the trip to Spain, Spurs have Aston Villa away to come in the Premier League on Friday evening and that presents Postecoglou with the opportunity to try and find a solution as Spurs look to end their long wait for a trophy.

The Spurs boss is due to hold his pre-match press conference at Hotspur Way on Thursday afternoon and the news surrounding Kulusevski will be top of the agenda.

Much has been made of the teams in 16th and 17th in the Premier League facing off against one another, not just to win the Europa League, but also to secure a place in next season's Champions League.

For one of Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester United will save their dismal domestic season and claim a much-needed piece of silverware and with it qualification for the Champions League.

A number of pundits and former players and managers have had their say on whether or not it is right that either team should be in next season's top European tournament, but the fact is one of them will be, because those are the rules.

Ange Postecoglou is under immense pressure at Tottenham and there are rumours that no matter what happens in the Europa League final in Bilbao next week his time in N17 may be up.

Manchester United have already made a managerial change this season, replacing Erik ten Hag with Ruben Amorim, but away from the Europa League, things have arguably got worse under the Portuguese.

Speaking on the Overlap Fan Debate, United legend Paul Scholes delivered a damning verdict of Amorim and the way he plays football.

He said: "We talk about the system as well, how many times have we talked about the system and he's still not getting results? OK Europa League, yeah, but surely you can't just carry on doing the same thing every week? You don't even watch games at the weekend anymore because you know they're going to lose."

The same can be said of Postecoglou at Spurs. Supporters have grown tired of the same high defensive line, attacking football that has failed to yield results in the Premier League..

The Australian has changed things in the Europa League and there have been good away performances against the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt that have been more pragmatic.

Sheikh Jassim could have another opportunity to invest in a Premier League club with Manchester United and Tottenham as the two main options.

The Glazer family have just surpassed 20 years as the owners of Man United but full takeover talk has arrived in the last few years. Qatari banker Jassim attempted to purchase the club and take full control but a deal never materialised.

Instead, INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe instead became minority shareholders with their 33 per cent stake in United finalised in February 2024.

Despite that, he could actually lose his stake in the club as the Glazers will soon have the power to activate their drag-along rights. That means the majority shareholders could force minority shareholders, such as Ratcliffe, to sell their shares when the majority sells their stake to a third party, according to The Athletic.

Their report adds that those rights will come into effect in three months. This development could see Jassim return to try and buy the football club with it having been made clear he is still interested.

An advisor, back in December, shared with the Daily Mail: "Sheikh Jassim is still a rich guy. He is still a United fan. He is not going to rush off and try another Premier League club.

"If the opportunity to buy the whole of Manchester United arose again at some point in the future, it is hard to see there not being a big level of interest. The plans are still there."

That stance remaining the case would likely rule out a takeover attempt of Tottenham following Daniel Levy's honest comments about accepting outside investment.

Just over 12 months ago, Levy was quoted saying: "To capitalise on our long-term potential, to continue to invest in the teams and undertake future capital projects, the club requires a significant increase in its equity base. The board and its advisors, Rothschild and Co, are in discussions with prospective investors."

However, he also admitted the process will not be rushed. "Any recommended investment proposal would require the support of the club's shareholders," he clarified.

Jassim's interest in Spurs was first suggested back in 2023. Speaking to The United Stand YouTube channel, journalist Mark Ogden said: "They want the Premier League footprint.

"Somebody told me recently, they said that if the Qataris don’t buy Manchester United, they'll be back and they might end up buying Tottenham. "He said, look, if you've got Manchester City owned by Abu Dhabi, you've got Newcastle owned by Saudi Arabia, if Qataris maybe buy Tottenham, then you've got three clubs who can pull away.

"Every year, it would be United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal fighting for fourth spot, which is quite a terrifying prospect for (them)."

It all comes down to Wednesday evening for Jamie Donley, Josh Keeley and Leyton Orient. Triumph at Stockport County and they will take their place in the League One play-off final. Lose, however, and their Championship promotion hopes will come to a devastating end.

Playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the capital on Saturday afternoon, the sides meet again at Edgeley Park later tonight with a place at Wembley up for grabs. Dave Challinor's side are the favourites to progress but you certainly cannot write off Richie Wellens' Orient team.

After all, they've picked up some notable results this campaign, including impressive victories over high-flying Wrexham and Wycombe Wanderers, with Keeley and Donley at the heart of their promotion push. The former has been a commanding figure in goal with 16 clean sheets from 36 League One appearances, with the latter pulling the strings in the final third and contributing with eight goals and ten assists in 39 league appearances.

Donley is going to be a pivotal player for the team at Stockport and he will be intent on conjuring up some more magic to ensure that he has one more Orient game remaining on the calendar. Ahead of his return to Tottenham in the summer, it would be the perfect way for him to bow out by guiding his loan club to the Championship with a win at Wembley later this month.

It has been a quite remarkable season for the Tottenham youngster as there was a point earlier in the campaign when he wasn't even getting in the matchday squad. Since forcing his way back into Wellens' plans in late November, the attacking midfielder and the team haven't looked back.

Donley in fact topped the League One charts for the most assists across the season after registering 10. Add in his eight league goals, as well as a Northern Ireland senior debut, and it has been some season for the 20-year-old.

What makes it even more remarkable is that it is his first loan spell away from Tottenham and his first real taste of senior football on a consistent basis. Donley has certainly whetted the appetite of Spurs supporters and many are looking forward to seeing him in Tottenham colours next season.

What comes next for the player remains to be seen as he will want to build on a fantastic year away from N17, with another loan spell in a higher division something that cannot be ruled out. A chance will be there for him in pre-season and that may well open the door to become part of Tottenham's first-team plans in 2025/26.

Tottenham have struggled with a lack of creativity at times over the course of the season and Donley has proved that he can be the creator in the final third going on the excellent numbers he has posted for Orient. That will all come down to Ange Postecoglou - or whoever is in charge of the team next season amid question marks over the Australian's future - giving him that chance to show what he can do in the first team.

It is a big summer coming up for Donley and all will be hoping it leads to the Tottenham first-team opportunity he has been dreaming of. Before that, however, he has League One play-off matters to see to first as he attempts to deliver another masterclass and guide Leyton Orient to promotion via Wembley.

While the current Premier League campaign has been one of misery for Tottenham Hotspur fans, the Europa League final and a potential spot in next season’s Champions League offers the chance to end on a major high.

Looking for other positives from the season is more of a challenge given the fact that Spurs could yet finish just one place above the relegation zone, something that a club of Spurs’ stature, with the resources and infrastructure, should not be delivering. Next year they face a real battle to get back to competitive success to ensure that their position as one of the so-called ‘big six’ doesn’t become challenged.

Recruitment at Spurs in recent seasons has come under scrutiny, with some big-money signings not delivering the return on the investment that was expected, with Richarlison being a case in point.

Finding players at the right price point, of the right profile, with a high ceiling for growth is important for any club wishing to work the transfer market effectively, and while those additions have been in short supply at Spurs, the addition of Swedish teenager Lucas Bergvall last summer was an important one.

Bergvall arrived from Djurgarden as an 18-year-old last summer in an £8.5m deal. The midfielder has this season gone on to establish himself in the Spurs first team, making 45 appearances in all competitions, netting once.

His exposure to Premier League football and European football, showcasing his talent and skill set despite a challenging season has given some reason for hope moving forward as he continues to develop and improve. It has also provided a major boost to his valuation, which while Spurs fans won’t want to consider the prospect of selling him, shows the direction the club should be following in the Premier League. After such a poor campaign, maybe rebuilding in this manner may offer a greater chance of success in the years to come.

Bergvall, who turned 19 in February and signed a contract extension at Spurs in April that runs until 2031, has seen a huge increase in his value over the last year. Arriving for £8.5m, analysts at CIES Football Observatory in Switzerland have pegged his current market value at €55.4m (£46.7m), a rise of £37.6m, up 449% since his signing. That is a huge mark-up in such a short space of time, and one that places him ninth on the overall list of players who have seen the biggest capital gains since moving to a new club over the past 12 months.

The statistical model adopted by CIES to reach their findings included a number of variables, including; contract, age, sporting level, domestic minutes, international minutes, goals, results, starting 11, position, international status, releasing club selling potential, releasing league selling potential, destination club buying potential and destination league buying potential.

Other players to appear in the top 10 included Kylian Mbappe, Dean Huijsen, Michael Olise, Savinho and Desire Doue.