Football London

Almost every other home in Bodo has one of the Norwegian club's big yellow flags flapping in the breeze on a pole attached to their wall, even some of the boats do in the harbour.

Everything circles around the football club. Well to be honest, everything in the town by the sea has to circle around it because it's a rather self-contained place due to its size. You can walk across the main area of Bodo, which sits above the Arctic Circle, in about 15 minutes.

Come out of the airport, walk across the small car park and the adjoining road and you're in the town. Five minutes more and you're looking over the Norwegian sea. Somewhere in between and you'll pass the Aspmyra Stadion, where Tottenham came, saw and conquered in May on its artificial surface and will be hoping to do so again on Tuesday night.

The proximity of it all means you'll see aeroplanes taking off behind one of the stands at the stadium that holds a little over 8,000 people. Bodo could have sold tickets for this game three or four times over such is the clamour to watch their Champions League debut in the league phase.

Some even turned out on Tuesday morning for the UEFA Youth League match between the two clubs' U19s which ended in a 6-0 win for the north London outfit, with captain Callum Olusesi in particular impressing and bagging two of the goals. Luca Williams-Barnett and Jun'ai Byfield came off the bench for Wayne Burnett's side and were later seen making their way through Bodo's town centre on a couple of stand-on scooters.

It wasn't just the fans of both clubs watching the Spurs and Bodo/Glimt players of the future on Tuesday morning as some of Tottenham's new-look hierarchy were in attendance.

Vivienne Lewis and her son-in-law Nick Beucher, two of the powerful figures behind the Lewis family's public backing of the new regime at the club, were sat up in the stands at the Aspmyra Stadion watching the youngsters in their black away kits win comfortably.

They were joined by Matthew Collecott, Spurs' director of finance and operations as well as the group operations and finance director of ENIC, the company that the Lewis family run which ultimately has the controlling stake in Spurs. Collecott is the last remaining member of the three-strong, long-serving old regime on the board that included former executive chairman Daniel Levy and executive director Donna Maria Cullen.

The Lewis family's presence at the youth game was notable for two reasons. Firstly, because Levy was never spotted at such matches, and secondly because their presence comes amid the third expression of interest in a takeover this month, this time from an American consortium headed up by DJ turned tech entrepreneur Brooklyn Earick.

Sources close to the Lewis family maintain they have zero interest in selling the club to anyone and Spurs have public declared that same message along with "unequivocally rejecting" all three expressions of interest, the first from an Asian consortium and the second from former Newcastle director Amanda Staveley and PCP International Finance, who later announced their intention not to pursue a bid.

While you might say that anyone looking to drive up the price would maintain they have no intention to sell, for Lewis and Beucher to turn up on Tuesday morning to watch the youngsters play ahead the main first team match which kicks off at 9pm Norwegian time does not reek of people desperate to let go of what they have in their hands.

Rejecting such approaches of course does place the spotlight firmly on how heavy the Lewis family will back the Lilywhites financially in the coming transfer window and whether things do truly kick on from the Levy-led ENIC era.

Spurs technical director Johan Lange was also present as were first team coaches Stuart Lewis, Dean Brill and Andreas Georgson.

Lange, Lewis and Beucher all went for a walk alongside the sea later in the afternoon with Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham, the bearded Beucher leading much of the conversation with his American accent, having been to Bodo before.

Another presence in Norway but not on that walk is Fabio Paratici, fresh from receiving his 18-month suspended jail sentence for those well-documented problems at Juventus. The Italian flew over to Bodo on Monday amid expectation that the club's former managing director of football will eventually return from his consultancy role into a more official position again despite the latest goings-on around him.

In Norway, the streets of Bodo are busier than normal ahead of the game, although for the English media there has been less focus, perhaps because Tottenham were here just four months ago in what was a bigger game, certainly in terms of the desperate need to triumph.

That meant just five journalists from the UK made the trip for Thomas Frank's pre-match press conference on Monday night at the stadium, although they were still enough in numbers to slightly annoy the Spurs head coach, particularly when it came to the latest injury news, while the local media attempted to rile him in a different way.

Frank will have found out by now that nobody does injuries quite like Tottenham Hotspur and that's why he will constantly get questions about them, especially the ones that drag on and on like Dominic Solanke's ankle has this season and Randal Muani with the deadest of dead legs.

The Spurs head coach is not too keen on giving out injury news unless asked specifics are asked and even then you are not guaranteed an exact answer. To be fair to Frank, other Tottenham managers have had to go down the same route as injuries have taken longer to heal than initially expected. Honesty, or at least the full picture, has not always proved to be the best policy at Hotspur Way.

With Solanke, his ankle problem has rumbled on since the summer, meaning he has yet to start a competitive match this season after suffering the injury while miskicking a ball in training. He appeared to be on the way back after returning to sessions with his Spurs team-mates this month.

That came after an injection into the England international's ankle in the September international break that initially appeared to settle it down. Solanke continued to feel discomfort in his foot though and had to stop training.

In recent press conferences, Spurs journalists have worked in a pincer movement to get as much information out of Frank as possible on Solanke, with the fanbase frustrated, and on Monday the 51-year-old confirmed to football.london that the striker is set to have a minor procedure on his ankle that should only keep him out for a few weeks more, with the coming international break also taking up part of that.

Such is the pessimism among Tottenham supporters and reporters after last season's horrendous injury lists, there was always an expectation that Solanke would require surgery and it was just a matter of time.

When football.london followed up and asked if it had felt like a wasted month or so for the England international, Frank started to show the first slight hints of irritation.

"I think you can look from two ways. That's the easy answer, but it's not that easy. If we knew we could have done the surgery a month ago, we probably would have done it. So for me, I'm always like I imagine, ‘oh, it is what it is, we deal from now’," he said. "No doubt that the way we dealt with this was because we thought that was the right way because I think in general, no one wants a surgery, no matter how small it is."

Frank also admitted that captain Cristian Romero had not travelled to Bodo as a precaution. This was how the exchange went with one reporter attempting to get a little more detail on the skipper.

"Just following up on Romero. What was the issue?", asked the journalist. "Just precaution," replied the Spurs boss. "Is it a muscle," came the follow-up. "No, just precaution," replied the Dane with a smile that suggested anything but happiness.

Those were the final two questions of the press conference and perhaps it was the local Norwegian media who had tipped him towards being more irritated than normal.

In May, Bodo/Glimt player Frederik Sjovold had said that Tottenham's pressing was.... let's say bad in the first leg and that was put to Ange Postecoglou by the Norwegian media back then to which he simply said: "That's okay. There is a game tomorrow. All those things will be answered."

This time, it was put to Frank that Bodo goalkeeper Nikita Haikin had said earlier in the day that it was unusual to see a team like Spurs with their attacking style of football going for long throws and set-pieces everywhere on the pitch and what did the Dane think of that?

"Who said that, sorry?," he said and when told he retorted. "OK. Erm, I personally think that set-pieces are an extremely important part of football. Isn't there a stat that 33 per cent or something like that that all goals are scored from set-pieces?

"So I think it's clever to utilise a third of your opportunities to try to score a goal. I'm happy, that's a fine comment. If you think that's a strength of ours, I'm happy with that."

To be fair to Haikin, his actual quotes were more positive sounding about Spurs being dangerous from set pieces than being a criticism as the question had come across in the press conference to Frank.

Either way, Frank was still able to maintain his composure despite the slightest hints of irritation. He will be cheered by the fact that his key midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is close to agreeing a new contract with Spurs with his current deal heading towards its close this summer.

As it was back in May for his predecessor, Frank will be hoping this Tottenham team and Bentancur again do their talking on the pitch at the Aspmyra Stadion and it will be with some powerful figures behind them looking on.

Rodrigo Bentancur is close to agreeing a new contract with Tottenham Hotspur, football.london understands.

The 28-year-old Uruguayan midfielder has been a mainstay of the Spurs team since arriving from Juventus in January 2021 and has clocked up 121 appearances for the club, scoring nine times and laying on eight assists. That is despite suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept him for nine months in 2023.

The three-time Serie A winner was a key figure under Antonio Conte after joining the club and continued to be a central player under Ange Postecoglou after returning to fitness from that ACL injury and subsequent ankle ligament injury that almost immediately kept him out for a further month.

Bentancur was an integral part of Spurs' Europa League-winning run last season, playing in 13 of the 15 matches including the final against Manchester United as he and the team lifted the trophy in Bilbao.

The experienced midfielder has now become a driving force of Thomas Frank's side so far this season and has featured in all but one match for the Dane, having been rested for the win at West Ham during Spurs' hectic schedule.

The Uruguay international's contract is due to expire next summer alongside fellow midfielder Yves Bissouma's. While Tottenham were looking to sell the Mali international this year only for a knee injury to scupper those plans, Bentancur's new deal has been a priority for the club after tying down his skipper and close friend Cristian Romero to a bumper new long-term contract.

Now football.london understands Bentancur and Tottenham are close to agreeing a new deal which will keep him at the club for the foreseeable future.

"I think first and foremost, I am very happy with Rodri. He has been a very good player for us, a top professional in every aspect," Frank said recently. "I am happy with him, he is happy with being here. I know that for a fact. Let us see what is going to happen in the future."

The Tottenham head coach had told football.london out on the summer tour to Asia of Bentancur: "I was pretty sure he would be a key player [before I started working with him], so that's not been a surprise. That's a player, of course I think is important for the future."

Now Bentancur, who is out in Norway preparing for Tottenham's Champions League match at Bodo/Glimt, looks set to ensure he is part of that future at Tottenham under the Dane as he closes in on that new contract.

Thomas Frank has plenty of key decisions to make across the pitch as Tottenham face Bodo/Glimt in Norway on Tuesday evening in the Champions League.

Spurs have travelled back to the Norwegian town above the Arctic Circle just four months after winning there 2-0 in the Europa League semi-final second leg back in May. Frank must name his own side to perform on the artificial turf of the Aspmyra Stadion on Tuesday night for the north London side's first away game in the league phase encounter after their opening win against Villarreal.

Frank remains without strikers Dominic Solanke, who is set to have a minor procedure on his ankle, and Randal Kolo Muani, while captain Cristian Romero has been left at home as a precaution after his part in the last-gasp draw against Wolves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Spurs boss must decide on his two full-backs with Pedro Porro likely to return after being rested from the starting line-up at the weekend.

In midfield Pape Matar Sarr could return to the centre of the pitch and Frank must decide which of the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha and Lucas Bergvall gets a rest.

The Dane could choose to bring Brennan Johnson into the team with his experience against Bodo/Glimt and that might mean Xavi Simons steps out of the starting XI after a disappointing showing against Wolves ready to come on and impact the game as it wears on.

Frank must also take into account that Tottenham are back in action in the Premier League in Saturday's lunchtime game at Leeds United.

Here's the Tottenham team we think Frank might select:

Lucas Bergvall has explained that Thomas Frank has changed him into more of a number 10 at Tottenham Hotspur this season.

The 19-year-old exploded on to the scene last season under Ange Postecoglou after arriving from Djurgarden and following an ankle injury towards the end of the campaign, the Swedish midfielder has returned this time around keen to make amends. That has brought a stream of impressive performances for Spurs with three assists in nine games and a delightful headed goal against West Ham this month.

That means Bergvall is only one assist away from matching his goal involvements for all of last season after less than a quarter of this season has passed.

Frank recently spoke about the work he has been doing with Bergvall in adding elements to his game and calming his play down in other moments. football.london asked the teenager what he felt he had added to his armoury under the Dane.

"It's a great question. I feel like I'm getting better every day. I played a bit of an eight in the beginning, now more of a 10 in the end," he said. "And it feels like I'm adding more and more to my game every day.

"So yeah, I try to help the team with contributions, with goals and assists as well. So just getting better every day and improving, yeah."

Bergvall missed the Europa League semi-final victory in Bodo in May with that ankle injury and now he is looking forward to making up for lost time in the Champions League in the Norwegian town with a Tottenham side that now knows how to win a European trophy.

"Yes, it's a big difference," said the Swede. "It's the best thing for me, as a player, to achieve to win the Champions League. It’s next level, but it's going to be a good game. A tough game. Bodo/Glimt is a good team, so we need to go out there and perform well."

Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank had plenty of injury updates at his press conference in Norway ahead of the Champions League game at Bodo/Glimt.

Spurs are back in the Norwegian town by the sea following the Europa League semi-final second leg back in May and will again play on the artificial turf of the Aspmyra Stadion on Tuesday night for the league phase encounter. Frank had mixed updates on the injuries to strikers Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani as well as news on skipper Cristian Romero after the last-gasp draw against Wolves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Frank in Bodo. Here's the full transcript from the press conference at the Aspmyra Stadion.

Can I check on the team news please? How is Dominic Solanke, Randal Kolo Muani and also Cristian Romero didn't seem to be training today?

Dom, you know, got that ankle issue that's been bothering him for a little while. So now we decided to make a minor surgery. It's a small procedure. So that will mean he's not ready for today, of course. And of course, Leeds he's out as well. We will have more news about time frame after the international break. But I don't expect it to be long.

Kolo Muani, I think now we're finally on top of his dead leg. So there's also progress there. So that's good. And Cuti [not travelling] was just precaution.

I can't imagine you generally look back at matches from previous seasons, but it wasn't really that long ago that Tottenham won here in a big match, have you looked at it and what can you take from it?

Yeah, I've looked at that game, of course. But I've also looked at a lot of other games of Bodo. I think they're a fantastic team. I think their club is fantastic. I think their story is unique in many ways. I'm pretty sure that the whole of Europe knows about Bodo, because I think it's a little bit of a fairytale. I like, of course, that Scandinavian link between Denmark and Norway.

So of course I follow them a little bit, maybe a tiny bit closer, and the background I'm coming from, to see how they have built that club through years of some core group of people, aligning strategy, structure, hard work over years.

And then just build a smaller club suddenly to be the absolute force in Norway and now competing in the Europe over many seasons. That's extremely impressive, I think. Kjetil Knutsen and his staff is remarkable, what they have done. Their style of play is quite unique in many ways. Extremely well-coached team. Big praise, I admire them a lot.

What can you take from that particular performance?

That's one performance. That's the game. How many months is that? Four months ago. With all due respect, I was not the coach. Some group of players, they have some group of players. This is a new game. This is a new situation. We go into it with huge respect. For Bodo, it's going to be very difficult [for us]. Their home record here in European games, all that's unique, with I think 31 wins out of 39, something like that. They apparently have scored in more or less every home game in 46 games in a row. We know what we are facing. Of course, we also have to trust in ourselves.

You chose not to train here tonight, you talk about their home advantage so why do you choose not to train here?

Because we have one training session. If we have training here and we want to do a little bit of tactical, with all due respect I think it would be a little bit more obvious what we would do. That's the thing we like to keep for ourselves. Then, yes, you can say if we train here for how long we are allowed, 45 minutes, Is that going to make a difference? I know the surface is different. If you really want to get used to it, I think you need to train here day in, day out as Bodo do. We are ready for that challenge. But for me, mainly, mainly, mainly, it was the tactical reason.

Stale Solbakken told us you're the nicest man in the world but you also had a few run-ins, what was your relationship like with hi?

Stale, when we are in Copenhagen, you can have a few infights in that area. But Stale is a man and a football coach I admire a lot. What he built in Copenhagen was also incredible over many, many, many years. Now he is here representing his country. They have started very well, so I am very happy on his behalf in many ways. A good colleague and good friend in the football environment.

Bodo have a lot of Norwegian players, what do you make of it?

A little bit on that, as you say more or less Norwegian players, and a few Danish players as well, of course. Just to add a spark, no, jokes aside. That makes it even more impressive, I think, that you do it with more or less Norwegian players built from this country. It is remarkable.

What is the best team in Scandinavia? Is it Copenhagen or Bodo?

You put me on the spot there. I think, let me put it this way, I would like to see a match between the two teams. There was a lot of talk about Malmö and Copenhagen when they played each other in the quarter, not the play-off, the one before. I think that would be very interesting between the two styles. I think they are very close to each other, I must admit. What was the first question? I forgot it because you put me on the spot.

What is Bodo's biggest weakness and how do you plan to exploit it?

I think I would rather like to say about their biggest strength is their structure in the way they play. They are so well coached, so their patterns are so clear, which I think is a huge strength. So, I'm very aware that we are... Yes, we come from the Premier League and so on but we also see last year that we had to defend very well. No doubt about that. They are so good and clear in how they want to do things. And also they play very, very quick on this pitch.

We've seen a lot of improvements already in the defence of this team since you arrived. I just wonder what you think of the creativity in the last few weeks and how you see where improvements can be made in that department?

I think in terms of the creativity or maybe creating more chances, dominating a bit more, I think the Brighton game was a very good game. I think the first half against Wolves was good, we didn't score, but I think all the right signs were there, so I think it's a step forward.

As I said before, I think it's natural. Last year, most of the game, it was Kulusevski, Maddison, Sonny and Dom who played more or less the front four.

Now we have more or less a new front four and they are doing very well. One of them sitting next to me is doing very well, having a very good start to the season. I think they're gelling more and more together and we try to give them the best patterns and principles.

Do you feel like it's been a bit of a wasted month almost with Dom because of trying to get him back into training?

I think you can look from two ways. That's the easy answer, but it's not that easy. If we knew we could have done the surgery a month ago, we probably would have done it. So for me, I'm always like I imagine, ‘oh, it is what it is, we deal from now’.

No doubt that the way we dealt with this was because we thought that was the right way because I think in general, no one wants a surgery, no matter how small it is.

The goalkeeper, Nikita Haikin, said earlier today that it was unusual to see a team like Spurs going for long throws and set-pieces everywhere on the pitch? What do you make of that?

Who said that, sorry?

The goalkeeper, Nikita.

OK. Erm, I personally think that set-pieces are an extremely important part of football. Isn't there a stat that 33 per cent or something like that that all goals are scored from set-pieces?

So I think it's clever to utilise a third of your opportunities to try to score a goal. I'm happy, that's a fine comment. If you think that's a strength of ours, I'm happy with that.

How big a difference does the pitch make? I know everybody always talks about it, but would you have to change tactical approach according to the pitch?

No, not really a tactical approach. Of course we are aware. It's the same in Denmark, when I was coach for Brøndby, we were facing Nordsjaelland at that time.

It was also a different surface. It's the same today. It's fine. They're good here, they're very good at home. For me, I think there's a lot of talk about the pitch. I rather want to praise the team, the Bodo team, and their coach, what they do.

Because they do it quite consistently, home and away, the way they play. So I'm pretty sure they get the answer or the question sometimes, can they play on grass when they go away from home? Of course they can. So it's a feature pitch. Players like Lucas have played on them their whole life. Lots of our players have played there.

I know we need to speak about it, but I think, I'm pretty sure all the journalists, Kjetil, myself, all the players just want to talk about football.

Just following up on Romero. What was the issue?

Just precaution.

Is it muscle?

No, just precaution.

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank has confirmed that Dominic Solanke has undergone minor surgery on the ankle injury that has plagued him since pre-season. The England international has not featured for Spurs since before the September international break, despite returning to training at Hotspur Way.

In the updates following his absence from the squad to face his former club Bournemouth a number of weeks ago, Frank had revealed he was getting closer to a return. However, he recently revealed that Solanke was still dealing with some pain in the area.

"His ankle injury has been a little tricky - it's nothing big," he revealed before the clash against Wolves. "We're relatively positive he will be back quickly. It's not perfect, but we're going forward in the right direction. He wasn't [training] on the grass today, but he has been during the week.'

Following that mixed update, it is perhaps no surprise the manager has confirmed that Solanke has been forced to undergo a 'minor' procedure.

"Dom we know got that ankle issue that's been bothering him for a little while. Decided to have minor surgery. Small procedure. More news about time frame after the international break," he admitted in a press conference on Monday.

Alongside his absence from the final training session before the Champions League clash against Bodo/Glimt, Randal Kolo Muani and Cristian Romero were also absent.

Frank has however, confirmed that both are on the mend, but ruled out for the upcoming game. He said: "Kolo Muani, I think finally on top of his dead leg. Cuti was just precaution [missing training]."

James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are currently sidelined with long-term issues, but the hope will be that Solanke does not miss an extended period.

There has been some positive news though, with Radu Dragusin back training after missed the majority of this year courtesy of an ACL injury. Ben Davies, Kota Takai and Yves Bissouma are also dealing with minor issues after missing the Carabao Cup clash against Doncaster Rovers last week and the draw at home to Wolves.

Pape Sarr missed the fourth round tie with a small issue but returned to action off the bench against Wolves and grabbed the assist for Joao Palhinha's last-gasp equaliser.

Pedro Porro was omitted from the starting XI for that clash as he was given a rest and is therefore expected to feature from the off in Norway on Tuesday evening.

Yeah, I've looked at that game [in May], of course. But I've also looked at a lot of other games of Bodo. I think they're a fantastic team. I think their club is fantastic. I think their story is unique in many ways. I'm pretty sure that the whole of Europe knows about Bodo, because I think it's a little bit of a fairytale. I like, of course, that Scandinavian link between Denmark and Norway.

So of course I follow them a little bit, maybe a tiny bit closer, and the background I'm coming from, to see how they have built that club through years of some core group of people, aligning strategy, structure, hard work over years.

And then just build a smaller club suddenly to be the absolute force in Norway and now competing in the Europe over many seasons. That's extremely impressive, I think. Kjetil Knutsen and his staff is remarkable, what they have done. Their style of play is quite unique in many ways. Extremely well-coached team. Big praise, I admire them a lot.

Because we have one training session. If we have training here and we want to do a little bit of tactical, with all due respect I think it would be a little bit more obvious what we would do. That's the thing we like to keep for ourselves. Then, yes, you can say if we train here for how long we are allowed, 45 minutes, Is that going to make a difference? I know the surface is different. If you really want to get used to it, I think you need to train here day in, day out as Bodo do. We are ready for that challenge. But for me, mainly, mainly, mainly, it was the tactical reason.

Dom, you know, got that ankle issue that's been bothering him for a little while. So now we decided to make a minor surgery. It's a small procedure. So that will mean he's not ready for today, of course. And of course, Leeds he's out as well. We will have more news about time frame after the international break. But I don't expect it to be long.

Kolo Muani, I think now we're finally on top of his dead leg. So there's also progress there. So that's good. And Cuti [not travelling] was just precaution.

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have slashed the price of their 2025/26 shirts and kits by 20%. The deal comes from Fanatics, which is offering fans big savings on Arsenal and Spurs home, away and third shirts with the coupon code ‘score’.

It comes as both clubs gear up for the second game of their Champions League campaign, with Spurs facing Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt on Tuesday (September 30). The Gunners will then follow up their dramatic 2-1 win against Newcastle on Wednesday (October 1) when they host Olympiacos.

Standout items in the Fanatics sale include the Arsenal Home Shirt (£63.75) and the Tottenham Hotspur Home Shirt (£63.74). There’s also the Arsenal Away Authentic Shirt (£90) and Tottenham Hotspur Third Shirt (£63.74).

Arsenal and adidas drop 'timeless' Samba trainers ahead of Premier League season

Tottenham injury issues continue as two key players miss training before Bodo/Glimt

Fanatics also offers countless shirts with player printing, including new signings such as the Arsenal Away Authentic Shirt with Eze 10 printing (£90) and Arsenal Home Shirt with Gyökeres 14 printing (£75). While no pre-printed Spurs shirts are included in the sale, fans can personalise their purchases during checkout.

There are also options for female or younger fans too, such as the Arsenal Womens Third Shirt (£63.75) and Arsenal Kids Home Shirt (£45). Spurs fans can bag discounts on the Tottenham Hotspur Womens Home Shirt (£63.74) and Tottenham Hotspur Kids Away Shirt (£48.74).

All kits are also available at full price direct from the clubs, at the Arsenal Shop and Spurs Shop. Earlier this month, Arsenal unveiled a new clothing range paying tribute to its old home with the Last Days of Highbury collection.

Designed as an homage to the club’s past, it includes popular items like the Arsenal Classics Farewell Track Top (£75), Arsenal Classics Records Varsity Jacket (£155) and Arsenal Classics Highbury Lifestyle Shirt (£65). Hundreds of Arsenal supporters took to Instagram following the latest merch drop, with one saying: “Doesn’t get much better than this.”

Another added they would like to "buy every piece." However, this less impressed fan said: “This club stresses me. We have no silverware but we’ll keep buying merch.” While this Gunner simply said: “Flyest club in England.”

Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Luka Vuskovic claims he is not thinking about his long-term future after making a lightning start on loan at Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga. The Croatia international has already found the target once and he also guided his side to a clean sheet on Sunday during a goalless draw away to Union Berlin.

The match was of particular significance because man of the match Vuskovic won an incredible 18 duels in 90 minutes. He is the first player inside Europe's top-five domestic leagues to achieve that in the past five seasons.

Speaking after the game, Vuskovic was asked about whether he could see himself staying with Hamburg beyond the end of his loan, to which he replied: “I just arrived, so that’s not an issue right now. Let’s see what happens next summer.”

Spurs made it abundantly clear during discussions with various clubs over a loan for Vuskovic that they would not be willing to include a permanent transfer option in any deal.

Thomas Frank is an admirer of the player but collectively, Tottenham felt he deserved regular minutes this season and that was not on offer in N17 where competition for places remains fierce.

Swiss midfielder Miro Muheim was full of praise for his teenage team-mate following Sunday's point in Berlin, stating: “He’s a monster, for sure. I don’t think he lost a single header. He’s doing a great job. The boy is a superb footballer and is helping us tremendously."

HSV goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes added: “When you see Luka, how he always went for headers as a flexible player. That was something you need in games like this. This aerial dominance he has, this presence. It’s simply something that’s good for us."

Last week, Vuskovic raised concerns he suffered a broken finger when smashing his hand against the post in frustration. However, he has now clarified that he avoided injury after picking up the problem in the recent victory over Heidenheim.

He told Bild: “They’re a bit swollen, but they’re fine. Nothing’s broken. I don’t usually react quite so emotionally. But I identify so strongly with this club, and after that missed chance, the post was the one to take the fall. I felt the pain immediately. But when I scored shortly after, I forgot about it.”

Bodo/Glimt chief Havard Sakariassen has warned Tottenham his side have drastically improved since the teams last met four months ago.

Spurs produced two accomplished performances in May under old boss Ange Postecoglou to break the hearts of the Norwegian minnows and progress into the Europa League final. Bodo had already made history with their run to the last four of Europe’s second-tier competition, with memorable knockout wins over Olympiacos and Lazio, but Tottenham followed up a 3-1 home win with a mature 2-0 victory in the second leg in the Arctic Circle.

Long-term sporting director Sakariassen admitted Kjetil Knutsen’s team have since realised areas where they were short ahead of the club’s maiden home fixture in the Champions League against Tottenham on Tuesday.

Sakariassen told the PA news agency: “Tottenham actually played a really good game here at Aspmyra against us. Really well organised, loyal to the plan and of course they have really world-class players. If they perform that well in their task, it is always going to be tough for us.

“For us it was a lot of learning. The reflection for us after the game is was there enough level on the physical side? So, actually that brought something to the table for us that we are grateful to have the knowledge about.

“It means we have since then changed and worked in a slightly better and more reflective way to see if we can realise the potential in the physical side of our players.

“I think that made us stronger and hopefully we will see that when we see them again that we actually moved up a step. That will be interesting.”

Sakariassen was diplomatic when asked about Spurs’ decision to sack Postecoglou after he secured the club a first trophy in 17 years, which is in sharp contrast to Bodo’s philosophy with Knutsen in place since 2018. Thomas Frank will be in the away dugout for Tottenham this time and another sell-out is expected at Bodo’s 8,270-seater Aspmyra Stadion.

“It is Tottenham’s decision how they choose to run the club. It’s a tough business, that’s for sure and I have a lot of respect, we all have respect for the regime that was there when we met them last time. I think they have a great manager now too,” Sakariassen said.

“In our surroundings there is a lot of buzz about this. Of course there is a buzz around us in the city and in Norway about the Champions League.

“We sold a package here for the whole Champions League (campaign) and it’s impossible to get them. Probably we could sell out 20 or 30,000 tickets and we have a stadium for 8,008 so the demand is crazy.

“For me personally and I think I can speak for everyone here, we just have positive feelings about Tottenham, but of course we hope to be more competitive with them when we meet.”