Football London

Not all of Tottenham's players have jetted off on their international duties this fortnight and six of them will get some special attention from Thomas Frank.

Spurs have had 16 players called up for 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, Richarlison for Brazil, Pape Matar Sarr for Senegal and Yves Bissouma is back from a knee injury to be included in Mali's squad.

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

So who's left? There will be a small core of players who will be getting plenty of attention during sessions with Frank, Matt Wells, Justin Cochrane and the rest of the coaching staff, including Cameron Campbell, the first team individual development coach, around some days off for all concerned.

Those remaining at Hotspur Way are forwards Randal Kolo Muani and Dane Scarlett, who has been playing in recent games for the U21s, centre-backs Radu Dragusin and Kota Takai as well as goalkeepers Antonin Kinksy and Brandon Austin. As well as doing individual work, those six players remaining at the Enfield training complex could be involved in sessions alongside the development squad and U18 players not on international youth duty.

Muani will be doing plenty of fitness work to get his sharpness up after three months with very little football and a dead leg picked up last month following a training ground collision with Sarr. For Dragusin and Takai it is about increasing their strength after ACL and plantar fascia injuries respectively.

Takeover approaches at Tottenham are like London buses, only in N17 you wait years for one to come along and then three turn up almost at once.

On Monday, the last man standing - Brooklyn Earick and his 12-strong consortium from the USA claimed to include NFL and NBA investors - announced that he would not be proceeding despite a big media splash reporting a £3.3billion takeover bid to come and a further £1.2billion set aside as transfer funds for head coach Thomas Frank.

That statement to the London Stock Exchange came as little surprise to those within Spurs or the Lewis family, who own the club and have made it clear that they do not wish to sell.

Privately the feeling among those in the financial markets was that the interest was not there for such a huge takeover approach to be fully launched and there were doubts over whether the financial backing was firmly locked into place to take any massive plans to fruition. As soon as the media reports came out, it forced Earick and the US consortium's hand as the takeover panel and its rules took over, with the required timeframe to either formalise an approach or drop out. They dropped out.

Regardless of the strength of the approach, overriding for any interested party was the Lewis family being so strong on the message that the club was not for sale, with both CEO Vinai Venkatesham and Frank saying as much in public on their behalf as well as statements coming out of the club.

Tech entrepreneur Earick, who failed earlier this year in a bid to acquire Formula E team Maserati, was busy on social media during the process, including - after a source close to the Lewis family had labelled his approach as "unsolicited and unnecessary interest" - releasing photos and an emailed schedule of a tour of the club's facilities this summer under former chairman Daniel Levy's regime.

On Monday, Earick wrote to his 4,600 followers on his X account: "It’s been a privilege engaging with Tottenham Hotspur and the Lewis family's representatives over the past few months. I have great respect for the club, its leadership, and its supporters, and wish them nothing but success."

The club announced to the Stock Exchange: "The board of Tottenham Hotspur notes the recent announcements from the Firehawk and Mr Earick's consortiums that they do not intend to make an offer for the club. The board thanks them for the constructive approach taken in the discussions with the club's and the Lewis family's representatives and respecting the clear position of the Lewis family that the club is not for sale."

The coast is currently clear with all three interested parties now withdrawing their interest, including Amanda Staveley and PCP International Finance Limited as well as the Asia-based consortium of investors led by Dr Roger Kennedy and Wing-Fai Ng through Firehawk Holdings Limited.

With all three parties deciding there was not a deal to be done, it appears that the Lewis family's message has been received loud and clear that for now at least, Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale.

The new Spurs hierarchy were present once again this season at Sunday's NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Vivienne Lewis and her son-in-law Nick Beucher watched on from the directors' box alongside Venkatesham.

With the big reported figures attached to the Earick deal and the now hypothetical transfer funds that it was claimed would be available for Frank, the Lewis family will have to show their intent at the first chance from the January transfer window onwards with the Spurs supporters waiting to see if there really has been a change in more than just the names at the top.

"I need to try and answer your question without leading to a whole load of 'transfer war chest' stories tomorrow," Venkatesham said in a club interview last month. "I think it is very fair to say that we have firm backing from the Lewis family against our ambitions to be successful on the pitch, both on the men's side and women's side.

"They know that's going to require investment and we have their firm backing, but I would also say like all other 20 Premier League clubs, we also need to make sure that we're also cognizant and aware of the financial fair play rules, and that means we need to continue to grow our revenues.

"We need to continue to develop players both from the academy and young players that we buy. We need to make sure that we're selling players at the right time, and we also need to make sure that every time we're recruiting a player we're making smart decisions both from a sporting and a financial perspective.

"If you don't do that because of how the financial regulations work, you can find yourself in a position where you've got money to spend, but the regulations don't allow you to spend it. So I guess to summarise, absolutely there's financial backing against the ambition we have and like every other club in the Premier League, we need to do that in line with the financial fair play rules."

Spurs have spent more money in the transfer market than some might expect - many would argue on the wrong players - but the key investment area could well be the rigid wage structure that has maintained the club's long-term profitability but hindered them in attracting premium ready-made highly-paid stars to their side of north London.

For Frank to benefit from a more public era of ownership from the Lewis family, that is where the change must come. The Dane has started strongly with Spurs sitting third in the Premier League table, unbeaten in the Champions League so far and through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Tottenham have seen fast starts before though and not been able to maintain them because the squad was not strong enough to handle the fixture schedule. The new head coach will be hoping that he is the first person to benefit from what is being heralded as a new era at the club both on the pitch and off it.

If you were Harry Kane, would you be in a rush to leave Bayern Munich?

The England captain finally got the monkey off his back by winning a first league title last season and is scoring goals for fun at one of the world's biggest clubs. He's guaranteed Champions League football, gets on with his manager... and there's even a massive beer festival in Munich which he's allowed - actively encouraged! - to go to.

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank is of course an admirer. And he's made no secret that, if Kane wanted to rejoin his former club, then he'd be welcomed with open arms. Certainly, it's what the fans want. But if he's ever going to tempt back the Three Lions record goalscorer, it's going to need one hell of a hard sell.

"I could definitely see that (staying longer at Bayern)," said Kane. "I’ve still got this season and another season. It’s not like there’s any panic. I love the manager at Bayern, and as long as we’re improving and I’m improving, then I’m happy.”

However. And it's a big however, Despite all of the above, when this season ends, Kane may well become the victim of his own success.

As Kane leads England to next summer's World Cup and, hopefully, enjoys a successful tournament, his stock will be high. High in Bavaria, in the Premier League and across the rest of Europe and the world.

But as he enters the final 12 months of his Bayern deal, and despite his desire to stay, his club side will be in a tricky spot, leaving Bayern bosses with a tough choice to make: Do they look to sell?

It could be that the German giants decide to cash in. He will be 33 next summer, and a sizeable fee for Kane could tempt Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen into selling. After all, Kane won't be around forever, and Bayern will need considerable funds to put towards a replacement - the finding of which will be far easier said than done.

Kane remains at the top of his game. He is the leader of this Bayern team, their goalscorer supreme who has also shown throughout his capacity for creating chances for others as well as taking them himself.

There is a good chance clubs from England and Saudi Arabia would be willing to offer him one final pay day. And for so long as he needs 48 more goals to overtake Alan Shearer's total of 260, the temptation for Kane will always be there to return to the Premier League and break it.

He wouldn't go to Anfield. Liverpool Liverpool wouldn't consider signing someone of his age. Kane himself has made it clear he could never bring himself to join Arsenal or Chelsea. Manchester City meanwhile have Erling Haaland.

Which leaves him only two realistic options back in England: A return to Spurs, or Manchester United, and their recent history of spending big on players in the twilight of their careers.

Having snubbed them once, Kane surely would not be foolish enough to reconsider the most dysfunctional club in English football.

Which means Kane might well be better off seeing out the remainder of his career in Munich. And means he needs to showcase all his brilliance in the coming months and put himself in a position where they simply cannot allow him to leave, and simply must give him a contract extension.

That's something that all supporters of the Bundesliga champions could surely get behind.

Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic believes Tottenham have a "huge talent" in Luka Vuskovic and that the teenager centre-back will be a star in the national team for the next decade and a half.

Spurs fought off competition from Manchester City to snap up the 18-year-old centre-back from Hajduk Split two years ago but could not bring him over to the UK at that time due to work permit regulations. That meant Vuskovic had to head out on two development loans, first to Radomiak in Poland and then Westerlo in Belgium.

Vuskovic finally arrived in north London this summer and scored and grabbed an assist in his first pre-season friendly against Reading. However, his new Spurs head coach Thomas Frank believed he needed more game time to develop than he might get with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven ahead of him as such a strong starting centre-back pairing and the teenager was offered the option to go out on loan if he wanted to.

Vuskovic admitted publicly that he felt he had a lot to learn to get near to Romero and Van de Ven's level. That brought a move to Hamburg and Vuskovic has quickly become a star there with the team unbeaten with him at the back since his tough debut against Bayern. According to the Bundesliga club, they have sold 1,000 shirts with the young defender's name on the back and he is expected to be a key figure in trying to keep them in the German top flight.

Vuskovic's national boss Dalic spoke about Vuskovic on Monday after the teen joined up with the Croatia squad looking to add to his first international cap.

"A huge talent, he plays excellently in the Bundesliga, and that’s why he got a chance in the senior national team," he said. "I think he should be with us to feel the atmosphere and what awaits him. With him, Croatia secures its centre-back for the next 10-15 years."

Former Spurs boss Martin Jol told football.london last month: "Romero is a good, decent defender, but I will tell you one thing, the guy they sent to Hamburg now – Luka Vuskovic – will be better."

Tottenham are expecting Vuskovic to return next summer ready to compete for a place in Frank's squad and they have option to recall him in January if they suffer injuries at the back. One thing is for sure and that's if the youngster continues on his current path then he will be a firm fixture for club and country for years to come.

Harry Kane has not ruled out a return to the Premier League as the former Tottenham Hotspur striker opens up on the possibility of staying at Bayern Munich for longer.

The 32-year-old is under contract in Munich until the summer of 2027 and says he is “fully all in” ahead of possible negotiations over a new deal. Kane is believed to have a release clause in his Bayern Munich contract, which will be worth £56.7million next summer if the striker activates it by informing the German side, before the end of January, of his intention to leave.

Ex-Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy confirmed after Kane's sale in 2023 that the north London club also inserted a buy-back clause into the deal and that gives them first option on the prolific forward. The England international is enjoying a goal fest for Bayern Munich this season, scoring 18 in 10 games as the German club have made a 100 per cent start to the campaign.

Many expect Kane to return to England at some point to try and break the all-time Premier League goalscoring record. At the minute the striker is just 47 goals off Alan Shearer's Premier League record of 260.

“In terms of staying longer (at Bayern), I could definitely see that,” said Kane, who has reported for England duty ahead of a friendly with Wales and a World Cup qualifier in Latvia. “I spoke openly a couple of weeks ago that I have not had those conversations with Bayern yet, but if they were to arise I would be willing to talk and have an honest conversation.

“Obviously it depends on how the next year or so goes and what we achieve together. Right now, I would say we are in a fantastic moment and I am not thinking about anything else.

“In terms of the Premier League, I don’t know. If you had asked me when I first left to go to Bayern, I would have said for sure I would come back. Now I have been there a couple of years I would probably say that has gone down a little bit, but I wouldn’t say I would never go back.

“What I have learnt in my career is that different opportunities and different timings happen and things fall in place. Going back to my first point with Bayern right now I am fully all in with Bayern.”

Bayern Munich are keen to extend Kane’s stay in Bavaria and sporting director Christoph Freund recently said his side are “probably witnessing the best version of Harry Kane there has ever been”. Kane revealed winning the Bundesliga with Bayern – his long-awaited first major trophy – saw him reach a crossroads in his career. But that success has driven him to improve and he has outscored Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe so far this season.

“When you win a title like I did last year, maybe it could be easy to go the other way and be like, ‘OK I’ve done what I wanted to achieve’,” Kane admitted. “But it’s given me more motivation to do more and be better. I think I’ve shown that this year.

“I was interested in how I would feel after winning a trophy. Obviously, there’s still a lot more I want to achieve in terms of other trophies and bigger trophies for sure. But I think it was always just, in my head, what I was going to feel like after I did achieve winning my first one.

“But for sure, I pushed myself the other way, in terms of being even better, eating even cleaner, doing more gym. Just trying to get the most out of what I’ve got right now. I do eat clean anyway. It’s just whether the cheat meals after games are not so much, or when you’re out with the family, not having as much ice cream. Just things like that. Small details.”

Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison has shared an update on social media as he continues his recovery from injury.

The midfielder was stretchered off following a seemingly innocuous-looking challenge to win the ball in a pre-season friendly against Newcastle United this summer. It was later confirmed that the 28-year-old had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), for which he underwent surgery.

Maddison is anticipated to be out for some time, but could return towards the end of the season if his recovery goes well. The injury is a cruel blow to Tottenham's playmaker, who looks set to miss out on next summer's World Cup for England in the United States.

But the former Leicester City player appears to be working hard in his recovery - posting an update on his Instagram stories on Monday.

"0 resistance BFR (Blood Flow Restriction). If you know the struggle, you know the struggle," he said, followed by a laughing face emoji.

Reacting shortly after Maddison's injury, Spurs boss Thomas Frank said: “I think it’s disappointing but also devastating for me and mainly for Madders that he’s out of the team.

“We will miss him and no doubt he will miss playing football.”

Maddison joined the club from Leicester in 2023.

He scored 12 goals in 45 appearances for the north London club last season.

Posting on Instagram in August, he said the injury was the "lowest low I've ever had".

"Heartbroken at the fact this injury has occurred at this time in my career," wrote Maddison.

"With the [Uefa] Super Cup tomorrow, the Premier League season on the horizon, the exciting Champions League campaign and it being a World Cup year for England it all feels very, very cruel."

It was another week of goals and some frustration for Tottenham players out on loan across England, Scotland, various countries in Europe and even South America.

Spurs have sent 13 players out on loan to leagues across England, Scotland, Germany, Spain and South America with some getting goals, some simply getting the game time they needed and other struggling for all of the above. The north London club's head coach Thomas Frank will be receiving reports on all of their progress as he and the club look to decide which ones will be part of its future and which will move on to new challenges.

Here's how every single one of Tottenham's large group of loan players got on across the world this week.

Luka Vuskovic (Hamburg)

Hamburg fans are saying it's no coincidence that their club's fortunes have improved since Luka Vuskovic came into their team.

He might only be 18 but the Croatian was everywhere in the 4-0 home win against Mainz on Sunday. Since the teenager's tough debut against Bayern, Hamburg are unbeaten with two wins and a draw, featuring two clean sheets in the past two matches. The Spurs youngster has been named the Bundesliga Rookie of the Month for September.

Last week in the 0-0 draw at Union Berlin, Vuskovic became the first player in over five seasons to win 18 aerial duels during a match in Europe's major five leagues as he won 18 of the 20 duels he contested in the air. Against Mainz, Vuskovic has 62 touches of the ball in his 90-minute showing and could be seen celebrating some of the big tackles he made.

German media outlet Bild reported last week that Vuskovic is still studying for his school qualifications through online learning and learning German and Italian to complement his English and Croatian language skills.

Former Spurs boss Martin Jol told football.london last month: "(Cristian) Romero is a good, decent defender, but I will tell you one thing, the guy they sent to Hamburg now – Luka Vuskovic – will be better."

Yang Min-hyeok (Portsmouth)

Yang Min-hyeok has come alive at Portsmouth with back-to-back excellent goals, this time to help Portsmouth beat Middlesbrough 1-0 on Saturday.

The South Korean winger caught a shot perfectly on the run on the edge of the Boro box at the weekend and his strike proved too hot to handle for the goalkeeper and the 23rd-minute effort ended up as the winning strike.

It followed Yang's fine half-volley in the 2-2 draw with Watford in midweek and comes after a run of three straight starts for Pompey in the Championship.

Portsmouth News gave Yang a seven with the review: "Yang was full of energy on the left wing and willing to work hard when Portsmouth didn’t have the ball. There was barely anything in between these teams, with chances few and far between, so Yang can feel he is heavily responsible for this huge result. His performances have allowed Portsmouth to miss injured Josh Murphy just a little less."

The 19-year-old has now played 238 minutes in the league as well as 90 minutes at Fratton Park against Reading in the Carabao Cup last month.

Manor Solomon (Villarreal)

Manor Solomon missed out on a big match in La Liga as he remained unused on the bench as Villarreal lost 3-1 at Real Madrid on Saturday night.

After a promising start to life in Spain, the 26-year-old missed the Champions League match against Juventus as it fell on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.

Solomon had been building up his fitness after injury wiped out his pre-season and his recent performances from the bench earned him a start against Athletic Club last weekend but this time around he watched on from the bench unused.

Mikey Moore (Rangers)

Mikey Moore will have a new manager at Rangers as the Russell Martin era at the Glasgow club finally came to an end after a disastrous start to the season.

The 18-year-old Spurs winger played 61 minutes of the final game of the coach's tenure, a 1-1 draw at Falkirk which left Rangers eighth in the Scottish Premiership table with just one win, five draws and a defeat as well as four consecutive European losses, including a 2- defeat at Sturm Graz in midweek. Moore played just 11 minutes at the end of that match for the former Southampton boss.

Moore received a score of just three in Glasgow World's ratings with the review: "It’s evident the 18-year-old is a talented footballer, but he looks completely lost in this Rangers team and hasn’t done enough to convince fans he should be a regular starter. He offered little again and was caught straying into an offside position on several occasions during the first-half before being hooked after 60 minutes."

Moore and Tottenham will be waiting to see how things play out with Martin's successor at Rangers.

Alejo Veliz (Rosario Central)

Alejo Veliz was not able to make it three games in a row with a goal for Rosario but he still made a big contribution with a 90-minute showing in the 2-1 home win against River Plate on Sunday night.

The 22-year-old striker is relishing his return to Argentina and his old club. After a couple of unsuccessful loan spells in Spain, Veliz has scored three goals in 10 matches for Rosario with 821 minutes to his name.

Alfie Devine (Preston North End)

Alfie Devine picked up an assist on Saturday after coming off the bench to help Preston win 2-0 at Charlton in the Championship.

Just four minutes after coming into the game, Devine burst down the left and waited for the perfect time to pick out Daniel Jebbison to slide home North End's second goal of the game.

The 21-year-old's cameo earned him a seven in the Lancashire Post's player ratings with the words: "Made an impact off the bench with his assist for Jebbison."

The midfielder now has two goals and two assists from his eight Championships matches so far this season.

Will Lankshear (Oxford United)

Will Lankshear got 57 minutes under his belt during Oxford's 2-1 defeat at Watford in the Championship.

It has been a tough season so far for United, who sit 22nd the table with just one win from their nine matches, and the 20-year-old Spurs striker striker has at least managed three goals in those games.

Lankshear will be hoping to get back on the goal trail in Saturday's Championship match against Derby County.

Ashley Phillips & Jamie Donley (Stoke City)

Ashley Phillips finally played football again with back-to-back 90 minute appearances as Stoke have drawn their past two matches, a 0-0 away at Middlesbrough and then a frustrating 1-1 draw at Blackburn on Saturday.

Jamie Donley got nine minutes to his name at the weekend after six straight Championship matches as an unused substitute for the Potters.

After the draw at Blackburn, Stoke-on-Trent Live gave Phillips a six for his performance against his former side saying: "Took a bit of stick from his old fans. Still shaking off a bit of rust but made some important contributions defending set pieces before that equaliser."

Donley also got a six with the review: "A chance to get some minutes back in his legs for first time since August."

Alfie Dorrington (Aberdeen)

Alfie Dorrington was an unused substitute as Aberdeen won 4-0 at home against Dundee on Sunday. The 20-year-old centre-back has been in and out of the team in recent weeks, either starting or coming on or off at the break.

The defender is making appearances though on the whole with nine to his name and 601 minutes of football.

George Abbott (Wycombe Wanderers)

George Abbott missed out on Wycombe's 2-2 draw at home against Barnsley with a pulled muscle on Saturday afternoon.

Abbott has already racked up 746 minutes in 12 appearances for Wycombe since making the step up to League One with a goal and one assist.

Damola Ajayi (Doncaster Rovers)

Damola Ajayi came off the bench for the final 14 minutes of the 1-1 home draw between Doncaster and Burton Albion in League One on Saturday.

Ajayi has been getting plenty of experience on his first loan with 12 appearances and one goal with 429 minutes under the 19-year-old winger's belt.

Tyrese Hall (Notts County)

Tyrese Hall just can't stop scoring for Notts County as he made it four goals in four matches with his strike against Oldham Athletic in a 3-1 win in League Two on Saturday.

The 20-year-old midfielder also picked up an assist during his 65 minutes on the pitch. Hall's goal on 29 minutes was a lovely placed finish with his right foot into the far corner and his assist a little poked pass into the run of Alassana Jatta in the 49th minute.

Hall has got 447 minutes to his name so far in 10 appearances on his first senior loan.

Brooklyn Earick has confirmed to the London Stock Exchange that he and his consortium does not intend to make a firm offer for a Tottenham Hotspur takeover.

Tech entrepreneur Earick, who failed earlier this year in a bid to acquire Formula E team Maserati, was fronting the £3.3billion takeover approach from a 12-strong group from the USA including NFL and NBA investors, with a further £1.2billion reportedly set aside as transfer funds for head coach Thomas Frank.

However, after plenty of social media posts surrounding the subject, a statement was lodged with the stock exchange on Monday which read: "Further to the announcement made by the Board of Tottenham Hotspur Limited on 26 September 2025 regarding an informal expression of interest in relation to a proposal to acquire the entire issued, and to be issued, share capital of the company, Mr Brooklyn Earick confirms that he does not intend to make a firm offer for the company."

The update follows on from the news last week that the Asia-based consortium of investors led by Firehawk Holdings Limited had also confirmed that they would not be bidding for a takeover of Tottenham.

Early last month Spurs announced that they had "received, and unequivocally rejected, separate preliminary expressions of interest in relation to proposals to acquire the entire issued, and to be issued, share capital of ENIC from PCP International Finance Limited and a consortium of investors led by Dr Roger Kennedy and Wing-Fai Ng through Firehawk Holdings Limited".

PCP soon confirmed that they would not be following up with a bid and on Friday, the Asia-based consortium led by Firehawk did the same.

Spurs rejected Earick's informal approach and now he has completed the hat-trick of those pulling out from making any formal offer.

Tottenham also released a statement to the stock exchange on Monday saying: "The Board of Tottenham Hotspur notes the recent announcements from the Firehawk and Mr Earick's consortiums that they do not intend to make an offer for the club. The Board thanks them for the constructive approach taken in the discussions with the club's and the Lewis family's representatives and respecting the clear position of the Lewis family that the club is not for sale.

"Following the announcements made by the consortiums, the club is no longer in an offer period under the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers."

Mohammed Kudus might need to brush up on the names of the Tottenham coaches after namechecking one with the wrong name after his star performance at Leeds United.

The Spurs summer signing put in a man of the match performance in the 2-1 victory at Elland Road. He caused constant problems with his dribbling and strength on the ball down the right and set up Mathys Tel for his first goal of the season with a perfect pass midway through the first half.

Then Kudus netted the winner in the second period as he reacted to Pedro Porro's pass down the line hitting the back of a defender and bouncing into his path. The Ghanaian ran inside and buried a low shot into the bottom right corner of the net after the smallest of deflections, which only served to slow the effort down slightly, and it was his first goal for the north London club.

After the game while talking through the goal for Tottenham's social media channels the 25-year-old said: "So Pedro got the ball and I went deep and then he played the ball in behind but sometimes it's not always getting the first ball. It was reacting to the second touch from the opponent and then when I went inside I went with a shot into the corner.

"It's been something I've been practising all week with Austin you know and I'm glad that it went in. I'm happy for my first goal and I hope it opens doors for more goals to come ahead. Happy with the three points."

There is a chance of course that Kudus means the goalkeeper Brandon Austin, but we reckon he means Justin, as in Justin Cochrane, one of Thomas Frank's trusted assistant coaches who came with him from Brentford and works with the attacking players. Cochrane is also part of Thomas Tuchel's England coaching set-up and came through as an academy coach at Spurs along with another current assistant coach Matt Wells.

It has been a great start to life at Tottenham for Kudus since his £55million move from West Ham with five assists and now that first goal for the club.

According to Squawka, the Ghana international is the only player to complete 30 take-ons in Europe's top five leagues this season and he has completed at least 11 more take-ons than any other Premier League player. No player in the English top flight has won more duels (57) or provided more assists than Kudus this term.

After the win on Saturday though, the summer signing wanted to make sure the spotlight was firmly on Tel.

"I want to give big praise to Mathys because I think it's been a tough month, not playing, but how he carries himself, trains. He's a top, top professional and I think you can see today when he got his chance, he was there. So it shows how professional he is," he said.

"As a player, definitely, it's going to be very difficult, but how he composes himself, manages himself, training, he's so young and with this mentality, it's really going to help him go far. And I hope that this first goal he has scored is going to open more doors for even better games and more goals coming ahead. I'm really proud of him today."

NFL star Justin Jefferson admits the Minnesota Vikings players call the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium surface 'a speed track' as it's different to what they are used to back home in the USA.

The 26-year-old is one of best wide receivers in the NFL and led the receiving yards by a distance with 123 of them in the Vikings' 21-17 victory against the Cleveland Browns. The Minnesota outfit won thanks to a Jordan Addison touchdown with 25 seconds left on the clock in front of a 61,082-strong crowd at Tottenham in the first of the two NFL London games this month.

The artificial surface at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which lies underneath the turf that Thomas Frank's Premier League side play on which itself is wheeled underneath the south stand for NFL games and concerts, has sparked plenty of comments by NFL players in recent years amid the ongoing natural grass vs artificial turf debate in the game.

Jefferson however said that he loves the surface at Spurs' stadium because of the pace of it and admitted the players have a name for it.

"We call it a speed track. You know, it's pretty much thinner than normal, than what we're used to. I love it!" he said. "It makes you run faster. It makes you look like you got a little extra speed on you, but I mean, it really doesn't matter about the surface. It's just all about your technique and your footwork and getting in and out of your breaks. I will never blame the turf or the surface."

The Vikings have a strong presence in London and have won their past four games in the English capital, including their last two at Tottenham, although they lost in Dublin last weekend to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first NFL Ireland game.

Sunday's game in N17 was meant to be a home one for the Browns, but the Vikings fans vastly outnumbered their Cleveland counterparts in the big crowd.

"Yes, there was [a lot of Vikings jerseys]. Definitely not surprised," said Jefferson. "Being here for the third time, we kind of have a history of bringing a lot of Vikings fans over here. I'm pretty sure they like it over here as well. But just to see the energy, to see the 'Skol' chant all around the stadium, our fans are the best in the league, and they always show support, always show us love, and always are into the game no matter what the score is and no matter if we're losing late in the game.

"They're going to still cheer and root for us like it's the first quarter with 0-0 on the board. So it's definitely great to hear those fans. I mean, I couldn't even think that it was an away game. I thought it was a home game for us!

"We definitely brought a lot more Vikings fans to London than to Ireland. Still was a great atmosphere. Still was very fun playing in Ireland, but something about London our fans are attracted to."