Football London

min claims he's found a place that's 'so much better' than Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

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Son Heung-min claims he's found a place that's 'so much better' than Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - Football London
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Son Heung-min believes he's finally found an arena that is "so much better" than the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Los Angeles.

In July, Son left Tottenham after 10 years at the north London club, having scored 173 goals and registered 101 assists in 454 appearances. He became the first Asian player to score 100 goals in the Premier League and in May the South Korean star managed to do what so few before him have managed at Spurs in lifting a European trophy as captain of the club.

The 33-year-old told his new head coach Thomas Frank that he wanted a new challenge and joined LAFC in an MLS record fee of more than £20million and has quickly brought his superstar quality to the American stage with eight goals and three assists in his first nine matches.

Son has also been doing the rounds in getting to know the other Los Angeles sports teams and after throwing the first pitch at the Dodger Stadium in August before making another visit last month, he switched from baseball to NFL to make a recent trip to watch the LA Rams in action at the SoFi Stadium in the city.

In a video released by the Rams from his visit, the South Korea captain can be seen on the touchline wowed by his surroundings and saying in conversation: "I've never seen a better stadium than Tottenham but this one....So much better."

Son then met up with the Rams' star wide receiver Puka Nucua before the duo exchanged shirts.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is one of the best football stadiums in the world and cost £1.2billion to build before it was opened in 2019 but that cost is just over a quarter of what was required to construct the arena in Los Angeles.

The SoFi Stadium opened its doors about 18 months after Spurs' home in 2020 and hosts both the Rams and the LA Chargers. It holds 70,240 people, compared to Tottenham's 62,850, and it cost a whopping $5.5billion (£4.1billion) to build. With that price tag it is the most expensive stadium ever built and Spurs' former captain could certainly see where the money has gone.

What Tottenham's £100m cash injection means for January transfer window plans

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The Lewis family, Tottenham's owners, have injected £100million into the club and that has plenty of knock-on effects going forward for head coach Thomas Frank and CEO Vinai Venkatesham.

On Thursday it was announced by Spurs that "we are pleased to announce that our majority shareholder, the Lewis family trust, has, through ENIC Sports & Development Holdings Ltd injected £100 million of new capital into the club".

The statement went on to say: "This equity injection will further strengthen the club's financial position and equip the club's leadership team with additional resources to continue the focus on driving long-term sporting success. This additional capital is part of the Lewis family's ongoing commitment to the club and its future."

Here are some of the key questions surrounding the new injection of money and as many answers as possible.

Who has splashed the cash?

This has come from the Lewis family, who have taken a more public-facing role in backing the club since the departure of chairman Daniel Levy last month after 24 years at the helm. Siblings Vivienne and Charles Lewis, the children of former Tottenham owner Joe Lewis, have come to the fore alongside Vivienne's son-in-law Nick Beucher.

All three have been spotted in the director's box regularly at recent Spurs matches, with Vivienne accompanying the club on their summer pre-season tour to Asia and Beucher joining her in Bodo last week for the Champions League game and at Sunday's NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

What have they said?

The Lewis family have not spoken publicly but a source close to them said on Thursday: "This is initial additional funding. As the club's management decides what's needed to deliver success, more money will be available. The Lewis family is committed to backing the club to be successful."

Has anyone at Spurs spoken?

Tottenham's new non-executive chairman, Peter Charrington, has given his view about the cash injection as part of the initial club statement.

"As I stated a few weeks ago, our focus is on stability and empowering the management team to deliver on the club’s ambitions," he said. "I know the Lewis family are also ambitious for the future. Today’s capital commitment reflects that ambition and I would like to thank them for their ongoing support. We will continue to do all we can to ensure that Vinai [Venkatesham] and his team are supported in the best way possible to take this club forward."

Do ENIC own more of the club now?

Fractionally yes. football.london understands that the new percentage of ownership for ENIC is 87.62% with documents filed at Companies House reflecting an allotment of millions of shares.

Before today's events, ENIC's ownership was 86.91 per cent, which was up from 86.58 per cent after shares were allotted back in December 2024. Of that ENIC slice of Spurs, the Lewis family trust owns 70.12 per cent of it while Levy and certain members of his family are potential beneficiaries of discretionary trusts which own the other 29.88 per cent.

How did the new investment come about?

This has been in the works for a long while and football.london reported back in June about a likely cash injection into the north London club. That's because it came after a thorough independent review of the club's operations and running from the top, initiated by the Lewis family, which resulted in those changes at the helm.

There have also been recent takeover expressions of interest that were all rejected and eventually withdrawn. On Monday, Brooklyn Earick and his 12-strong consortium from the USA announced that they would not be proceeding with a takeover approach despite claims of a planned £3.3billion bid and a further £1.2billion set aside as transfer funds for head coach Thomas Frank.

Earick was the third and final interested party to withdraw their interest in the past month, after Amanda Staveley and PCP International Finance did the same along with an Asia-based consortium of investors led by Dr Roger Kennedy and Wing-Fai Ng through Firehawk Holdings.

Those rejected approaches and this big cash injection with more to come appears to be further backing to the statement that the club is not for sale and the Lewis family are in it for the immediate future at least.

How does the cash injection help the club?

This is about improving Spurs' financial strength, sustainability and solidifying the financial foundation at the north London club. It's not just about creating transfer funds, although certainly it will help Venkatesham, technical director Johan Lange and Frank when it comes to moves in the future.

The money is going into the club now to strengthen the squad, both its current iteration and in the future, and what's important about this for Tottenham is that it's investing in the club through additional equity, not adding to the debt, so it boosts the balance sheet and financial strength.

The Lewis family's plan is understood to be for the club to have more equity and less debt, helping to ensure it's sustainable for generations to come. That is hoped to come through better structured capital and a reduction over the long term in reliance on debt funding.

Is this connected to the recent loan?

In case you missed it, Spurs took out a loan last month from the Australian-based Macquarie Bank in a practice known as industry standard receivables factoring.

In layman's terms it's the common practice of selling outstanding invoices to a third party to get the money up front for something that a club expects to get over a period of time. So for instance, in many cases football clubs have used banks like Macquarie to get their expected television revenue in advance.

In this case with Spurs, while the amount was not stated, the Companies House document at the time referred to receivables being "all of the central funds due or owing to or which maybe due or owing to or purchased or otherwise acquired or received by the borrower from the Premier League for the period from and including December 2025 up to and including May 2026 (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the amounts from the Merit Payments Funds (as defined in the Premier League rules) payable around May 2026), in each case together with all ancillary and security rights thereto."

The document was signed at its end by Venkatesham as well as operations and finance director Matthew Collecott.

Macquarie are one of a number of global investment companies that Premier League and Championship clubs have used over the years to get money from things like future TV earnings up front.

So in short that's a separate thing. The bringing forward of TV money is debt to be serviced over time but this additional money from the Lewis family is not to pay that off.

What does it mean for the January transfer window?

With £100million coming in and more to follow, Spurs fans will immediately be dreaming about how that translates into the transfer market to help Frank and first up the January window.

It's fair to say this will help in the transfer market but it's not going to suddenly turn Tottenham into Chelsea-like huge spenders in the next window. January is rarely a time that anyone spends big, even those with the deepest pockets, because clubs are reluctant to sell, even at big prices because they can lose more in other ways if they sell their best players.

The current profit and sustainability rules will also govern what teams, including Tottenham, can do over the coming years, particularly with the north London club's inability to sell players for good money.

This immediate cash boost might however help Tottenham line up some deals they want to do in advance. The absence of Levy from the front line of negotiations will also be an interesting new development in how that impacts matters in club-to-club talks, either positively or negatively.

The extra capital could also bring about an increase to the club's wage structure, if Venkatesham sees that as the way forward having come from a club in Arsenal that had a higher ceiling for weekly wages. If that change were to occur at Spurs through the new investment then that could also influence who they could target in the January window and beyond.

There was lots of talk about a big transfer kitty as part of Earick's noisy approach, and plenty of Tottenham supporters' eyes will be on what the current owners now provide. This £100million move is certainly a start, but the fanbase will be keen to see whether this new leadership is truly something bright and shiny or simply an extension of what came before.

Tottenham boost as Lewis family pump £100m into Spurs with promise for the future

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The Lewis family have pumped £100million into Tottenham Hotspur with the promise of more support for the Premier League club in the future.

Spurs and the family, through the controlling company ENIC, have rejected three approaches from potential takeover candidates in the past month. Now the Lewis family trust, through ENIC Sports & Development Holdings Ltd, have injected £100million of new capital into the club.

Tottenham said in a statement: "This equity injection will further strengthen the club’s financial position and equip the club’s leadership team with additional resources to continue the focus on driving long-term sporting success. This additional capital is part of the Lewis family’s ongoing commitment to the club and its future."

Spurs' new non-executive chairman, Peter Charrington, added a promise for more backing in the future: "As I stated a few weeks ago, our focus is on stability and empowering the management team to deliver on the club’s ambitions. I know the Lewis family are also ambitious for the future.

"Today’s capital commitment reflects that ambition and I would like to thank them for their ongoing support. We will continue to do all we can to ensure that Vinai [Venkatesham] and his team are supported in the best way possible to take this club forward."

Mauricio Pochettino 'constantly speaking' about Tottenham star with 'special aura'

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USMNT centre-back Mark McKenzie has claimed he and Mauricio Pochettino are "constantly speaking" about Tottenham captain Cristian Romero. The no-nonsense Argentine is now widely recognised as among the best defenders in all of world football.

So much so, he has become somewhat of a reference point for ex-Spurs boss Pochettino. McKenzie, who is currently playing in France with Toulouse, revealed while away on international duty: “I think it’s about having a certain level of toughness, a certain level of aggression, when you’re on the pitch.

“At Tottenham, there’s a player like Cuti Romero. He’s a player Mauricio and I talk about constantly. It’s a balance between being a good guy off the pitch, very humble and calm, but as soon as he steps on the pitch, you feel his presence.

“He has a special aura. Any player who faces him will think it’s going to be a long day. So that’s an example of a player Mauricio and I sit down together and watch videos of. That’s the style he wants me to adopt. Once on the pitch, it’s about doing everything possible to benefit the team and get a win.”

McKenzie is looking to consolidate his place in Pochettino's squad for next summer's World Cup. Studying Romero will certainly help his cause given the 27-year-old appears to have taken his game to the next level in 2025.

Any lingering questions over the World Cup winner's club future have now been put to bed after Romero penned a new long-term contract with Spurs in August.

The deal will keep him in N17 until the summer of 2029 and Romero has since clarified that he never wanted to leave Spurs despite interest from Atletico Madrid.

He said: "I never said I wanted to leave the club. Nothing came from me to that effect. It is important what the manager and president say.

"I am very happy here, it is like a family. I like the manager. I like the way we work, the way we train. Things can always improve, but I think everyone here is taking the right steps to improve. I am very happy here."

Tottenham’s Cristian Romero fires brutal four

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Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero has sent a cheeky yet brutal message to two of his Argentina team-mates.

The centre-back has joined up with his national team for the current international break. He is expected to be involved in the two Friendly matches against Venezuela (Saturday, 1am kick-off) and Puerto Rico (Tuesday, 12am kick-off).

Romero goes into the games having played every minute in the Premier League for Tottenham so far this season, including last weekend’s 2-1 win over Leeds United.

Joining up with Argentina has seen him reunited with some familiar faces from Premier League rivals.

The defender shared a picture of himself alongside Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez and Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez from the Argentina camp. And alongside the picture, he added a caption that translates to: “Y’all don’t contribute anything.”

He also added two laughing emojis with the comment no doubt tongue-in-cheek, despite being a little savage.

Like Romero, Fernandez has started every league game for his club so far this season. The midfielder played the full 90 minutes of Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Liverpool last time out.

Striker Alvarez has played in every league game for Atletico Madrid. In his nine appearances in all competitions, he has scored seven goals and provided three assists.

Of the three, Alvarez was the only one to feature in both Argentina games in the last international break last month. Fernandez missed the first game through suspension and was not included in the squad for the second match.

Romero, meanwhile, played the full 90 minutes of the first game, but was not part of the squad for the second.

All three will hope to contribute to the team in the two upcoming games as the team prepares to defend their World Cup.

The priority for their clubs will be them coming back fit and healthy for the upcoming games. Romero missed last week’s Champions League draw against Bodo/Glimt with an injury before making his return against Leeds.

Chelsea learn Nottingham Forest's sack decision on Ange Postecoglou ahead of Blues clash

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Despite a rocky start, Nottingham Forest are reportedly leaning towards retaining Ange Postecoglou at the City Ground for the time being. The former Tottenham boss has found himself under immediate scrutiny after failing to secure a single victory in his first seven matches, and Chelsea lie next in wait.

Postecoglou stepped into the role following Nuno Espirito Santo's departure from the Midlands, after club owner Evangelos Marinakis dismissed the Portuguese coach due to a deteriorating relationship. Last season, Nuno led Forest to Europa League qualification.

Currently, the Tricky Trees find themselves in 17th place in the Premier League, having not tasted victory since their opening day triumph over Brentford.

Since taking the reins at the City Ground, Postecoglou has suffered three losses in four league games, along with a draw against Real Betis and a home defeat to Danish outfit Midtjylland.

The Australian manager has already been on the receiving end of chants from Forest's own fans, predicting his imminent dismissal. In response, Postecoglou stated: "The fans are disappointed. They're allowed to have their opinion on it and I heard their opinion."

However, according to the Daily Mail, the club is currently inclined to keep Postecoglou for the upcoming clash against Chelsea at The City Ground on Saturday, October 18 (12.30pm kick off). Forest intended to use the international break to consider their decision.

This call, however, does not seem to be finalised. The report suggests that the situation could still change, despite Marinakis being unlikely to take action during the remainder of the international break.

Forest are reportedly eyeing Fulham boss Marco Silva as a potential replacement. The 48-year-old has made quite an impression at the helm of the Cottagers, securing their position in the top flight.

However, Marinakis, during his tenure at Forest, has only ever appointed managers who are without a club. This approach has saved the Greek owner from engaging in protracted negotiations over compensation.

Silva's contract is due to run out at the end of the season. The former Everton and Watford coach does have a substantial release clause, but this won't be necessary if Marinakis can wait until next summer to make his move.

Postecoglou, on the other hand, confessed that he 'expects' to have a conversation with Marinakis and the Forest board about 'what we have embarked on here, where we are at and what we are going to do'.

Speaking last weekend, the former Spurs manager stated: "If people want to make an assessment after three and a half weeks, after we have had seven games, there's nothing I can do about that.

"At the same time, there's nothing wrong with things being tough. I did have an option - I could have been sitting on the couch watching the game and not be in the middle of it. I'd much rather be here. I love a fight."

Former Tottenham star finally finds new club three months after being released

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Sergio Reguilon has finally found a new club over three months on from his Tottenham exit. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United full-back is set to sign a three-year contract with Inter Miami after reaching a verbal agreement with the MLS side.

Reguilon looks poised to replace Jordi Alba, who announced his retirement from football earlier this week. Javier Mascherano's men finished third in the Eastern Conference as they prepare to depart Chase Stadium for the Miami Freedom Park Stadium.

They will have fresh blood amongst their ranks next term as Reguilon looks set to team up with the likes of Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul. Luis Suarez is also set to make a decision over his future as Sergio Busquets is following Alba into retirement, too.

Reguilon has endured a notable wait to find a new club since quitting Spurs at the end of last season.

It's understood he has rejected a raft of offers since becoming a free-agent including a lucrative proposal from Iranian side Persepolis.

The Spain international joined Tottenham from Real Madrid in the summer of 2020 - following Gareth Bale (loan) to N17 where they would join forces with boss Jose Mourinho.

Reguilon would also enjoy a six-month loan spell with Brentford in January 2024 - where he worked under Thomas Frank - before returning back to his parent club Spurs.

The Dane was incredibly complimentary about the defender during his short stint in west London, declaring after the player's arrival:

"Sergio is a perfect fit for us: a proven Premier League player in every aspect. He fits what we want. He's very offensive, has a very good cross and a very good left foot.

"He's got the experience we need to complement the rest of the squad and he's a good character. We need him, but I also think he needs us to show how good a footballer he is. I'm convinced that this will be a positive partnership."

Reguilon's career in north London began to nosedive in the summer of 2022 when Antonio Conte left him behind for the club's pre-season tour of South Korea.

He was handed a brief lifeline last season, however, by Ange Postecoglou. While he wasn't part of the team's historic Europa League campaign, he made four appearances in the Premier League plus one in the FA Cup and EFL Cup.

Back in December, Reguilon appeared to mock himself after entering the pitch in the closing stages of Spurs' dramatic 4-3 Carabao Cup win over Manchester United.

He wrote on Instagram after the game: "Look mum, I played a football game yesterday," despite only playing around one minute.

Tottenham star pictured training with national team despite club blocking call

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Tottenham centre-back Radu Dragusin has been pictured training in the gym with his Romania team-mates this week after Spurs advised that it was too early to hand the player a full international call-up.

The defender is continuing to step up his recovery from a ruptured ACL and is expected to return to full team training in the forthcoming weeks.

Romania boss Mircea Lucescu wanted to select Dragusin for this month's camp - his side host Moldova (friendly) and Austria (World Cup qualification match) during the break - but he's since claimed Spurs made it clear they do not want to rush the 23-year-old's recovery following a lengthy lay-off.

Dragusin has been sidelined since late January but the crux of his rehabilitation work has now been completed, though Tottenham's medical staff want to nail his return to avoid experiencing any potential setbacks.

Interestingly, it appears the ex-Genoa man has in fact joined up with his international colleagues this week, even though he won't be available for their upcoming fixtures.

Posting on their official Instagram account (@Echipanationalala), Romania uploaded several pictures of Dragusin training in the gym, captioning the post: "The Dragon is back! Nearly returning from the long-term injury he suffered, Radu Dragusin came to Mogosoaia to encourage his colleagues and for a workout in the gym. #GeneratiaDeSuflet."

Dragusin has not been part of the international fold since last November when he played 68 minutes of a 4-1 victory over Cyprus. Providing his return goes as planned, there is a chance he might be available for selection next month.

During his time in his homeland, Dragusin has been speaking about the process and also shed light on why he was unable to feature for his country this week, stating: "Mircea Lucescu wanted me back in the team of course. I wanted to be together with my teammates again and to play for Romania. But, on the other hand, I understood that a couple of weeks more, a month more of waiting will help me for the future.

"Of course, I think I am already ready now, but in the long term it will help me to have more stability and safety for a longer career. Tottenham is taking all measures to come back stronger than before. I tell you that I'm gonna come back in better shape than I was before the injury and in a better position to continue my career.

"ACL is one of the worst injuries in football, if not the worst. You need a longer time to recover than most people imagine. You cannot doubt what the medical staff of Tottenham is doing or the physiotherapists or especially the surgeon who made the surgery. They have the best knowledge and the greatest experience."

When each of Thomas Frank's Tottenham stars return from international duty to train for Aston Villa

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Thomas Frank will be looking to continue Tottenham's strong start under him with the visit of Aston Villa in the Premier League after the international break.

Spurs welcome Unai Emery's side on Sunday October 19 with a 2pm kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Frank will be sweating over the fitness and availability of the 19 players currently off around Europe and the world on international duty.

The North London side have 16 players on senior international duty in Djed Spence for England, Micky van de Ven and Xavi Simons for the Netherlands, Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson for Wales, Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie for Italy, Cristian Romero for Argentina, Mohammed Kudus for Ghana, Pedro Porro for Spain, Lucas Bergvall for Sweden, Joao Palhinha for Portugal, Rodrigo Bentancur for Uruguay, Richarlison for Brazil and Pape Matar Sarr for Senegal.

Yves Bissouma is back after a a knee injury and has accordingly been included in Mali's squad. However, it is unclear whether suggestions he may join up for their second match against Madagascar will come to pass or instead the midfielder will remain at Hotspur Way throughout the entire break.

There are also a trio of U21 call-ups for Tottenham with Archie Gray heading with England and Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert travelling for French duty.

Due to the staggered nature now of international matches, the Spurs players will be returning to Hotspur Way at different times. A string of players are facing their second matches on Sunday so could be in training on Tuesday depending on their minutes after a recovery day in between.

They include Xavi and Van de Ven with the Netherlands playing a World Cup qualifier at home against Finland, while Danso is with Austria away that night in Romania. In Africa, Kudus will be playing for Ghana at home against Comoros with Bissouma potentially in action for Mali at home against Madagascar if he makes the trip.

The next batch of Spurs stars play on Monday night and could be back in training within 48 hours. They include Bergvall with a Sweden home qualifier against Kosovo, Davies and Johnson at home with Wales against Belgium, while Odobert and Tel are involved in a France home European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Estonia. Archie Gray will be with Spurs loan player Ashley Phillips, currently at Stoke, as England welcome Andorra.

That night, although technically 12am UK time on Tuesday, captain Romero has a friendly with Argentina against Puerto Rico in the USA.

Then at 11.30am UK time on Tuesday, Richarlison could be involved in Brazil's friendly in Japan, while later that night Palhinha may play for Portugal at home against Hungary, as could Porro for Spain at home against Bulgaria and Spence for England in Latvia. Italians Udogie and Vicario take on Manor Solomon's Israel in Italy while the latest returnee to Hotspur Way could be Sarr who faces a Senegal home qualifier against Mauritania on Tuesday night UK time.

NFL star believes Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could host Super Bowl by the year 2030

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The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could host the Super Bowl within five years reckons an NFL star who has won that game's biggest prize.

Spurs' home in N17 is the only purpose-built NFL stadium outside north America and on Sunday afternoon a 61,082-strong crowd, including Tottenham stars Djed Spence and Xavi Simons, packed into the stadium for the first of the two NFL London Games this month. The Minnesota Vikings claimed a 21-17 victory against the Cleveland Browns thanks to a Jordan Addison touchdown with 25 seconds left on the clock.

Tottenham's NFL deal was extended in 2023 until the end of the 2029/30 season and one of former chairman Daniel Levy's dreams was to have a double-header day with Spurs playing a Premier League game at lunchtime and then the grass pitch withdrawing for the artificial surface underneath to host an NFL encounter later that evening.

Levy's other hope was to have a London NFL franchise based full-time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium one day alongside Spurs. There are hurdles galore to be jumped over before any NFL franchise could exist outside the USA, but the Premier League club have placed themselves in pole position to have one if that ever happens, with some experts tipping it to be a possibility within a decade.

In the mean time the next logical aim would be for a Super Bowl to be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and having the game in London is an idea that gained approval at the weekend from the owner of the Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones.

"First of all, I’m for anything that promotes the growth or expands the eyeballs for the NFL," he said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. "And that has been really the goal and the practice of the NFL, certainly ever since I’ve been involved. There’s no question that having it out internationally, shouldn’t take away from our fan interests and eyeballs in the United States and should add significantly around the world, outside of the country. So, in general, I’m for that.

"I was pretty strong for years and years that it’s just never gonna be the same, my town against your town, relative to our football. It just can’t be transferred to Europe and other countries and so. . . . But I’ve changed that, and I’ve seen how you can take the ethos of our game and the theory behind the game and it calls on you to do unnatural things relative to physically and it calls you to play in a certain way that other sports don’t require. I think that carries over to the concept of the game, and I think that’s catching on and is very popular outside the United States. So I’m all for it."

Former Super Bowl winner and now Sky Sports pundit Ndamukong Suh was asked about the showpiece NFL game being played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and he said: "Without question. There's no doubt in my mind that's on the table, and I would be willing to be bet in the next five years it happens. The world is their oyster where games go."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recently confirmed the aim to reach 16 international games per season, with every team set to play at least one international game in a campaign as they seek to expand the sport across the world.

The Denver Broncos are set to take on the New York Jets this coming Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the second of the London Games.