Football London

It was a huge year of development for one of Tottenham's bright young academy players as they starred in the Championship this season

Tottenham striker Will Lankshear says he will always be "a yellow" after his "unforgettable" season at Oxford United came to an end.

The 21-year-old striker hit 12 goals for the Championship side despite their struggles which eventually ended in relegation with two games to go. Lankshear became a popular figure with the club's fans thanks to his battling style and finishing, which brought two very different but both spectacular goals in the 4-1 win in their final home game against Sheffield Wednesday that was ultimately not enough to keep United up due to results earlier in the day.

The young Spurs forward, who was joined by Tottenham team-mate Jamie Donley at Oxford in the second half of the campaign, took home a double at United's end of season awards, winning the men's Golden Boot and the club's Young Player of the Year award.

It was a huge developmental loan spell for Lankshear as he played 47 matches with 16 goal involvements and he posted a heartfelt message on social media with a montage of moments across his season.

"Although it wasn’t the end we all wanted I’d like to thank all the staff, players and fans @oufcofficial you made my time here an unforgettable one. I wish everyone the very best in there futures and I will always keep an eye out for Oxford United in the future. Once a yellow always a yellow Keep fighting," he wrote.

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Lankshear is set to be a man in demand this season after proving himself with a struggling club in the Championship and the striker will be hoping new Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi gives him a chance to show what he can do with the north London club's first team this summer.

Oxford United boss Matt Bloomfield has no doubt that the attacker is destined for the very top.

"His finishing, dedication to his craft and single-minded desire to be the best he can be, I think he’s a credit to himself," he said. "There’s so much to admire about him, and he’s going to go to the top."

Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi has been brutally blasted by Jesse Marsch for his behaviour with a Marseille star

Roberto De Zerbi has been slammed by Canada head coach Jesse Marsch for his treatment of Ismael Kone while at Marseille. Footage of the two needing to be separated by players and staff at the French club's training ground emerged last August, with De Zerbi left furious by his actions in that session.

The now-Tottenham boss could be heard telling Kone to 'go inside' before shouting in his direction 'call your agent'. Kone ended up leaving Marseille for Sassoulo in that transfer window and now Marsch has come out to defend the Canadian midfielder, alongside providing some choice words for De Zerbi.

He said: "It wasn't easy for him with De Zerbi in Marseille. De Zerbi was a real a**hole to him, but he stayed strong. He never doubted himself. He found a new environment, and look at him thriving today. I repeat: De Zerbi behaved like a real a**hole to him.

"When I took over the reins of Canada, I thought Ismael was a raw player, but full of talent. And since then, I have talked to him a lot about discipline and concentration, and everything that this implies in his daily life: his diet, his sleep habits, his way of training, his way of playing, as well as his overall intelligence.

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"He went to Italy to play for a newly promoted team in a very organised league, and he played an incredibly important role in that team, having an excellent season. Look at the progress he was able to make despite the difficulties."

De Zerbi, on the other hand, essentially doubled down on his opinion of Kone in the documentary that showed their altercation.

He said: "He is one of the players with the most potential at Olympique Marseille, but who didn't always behave well. Someone who had highs and lows that were too big for a player who is ready for Olympique Marseille."

De Zerbi has thus far overseen four games at Tottenham and picked up a hugely important seven points in their battle to avoid relegation.

Last Sunday's win at Aston Villa, coupled with West Ham losing to Brentford just over 24 hours earlier, has seen the Lilywhites take control of their own fate as they now sit one point outside the bottom three.

The Hammers again play first this weekend as they host leaders Arsenal on Sunday afternoon while Tottenham welcome Leeds United to north London on Monday evening.

Spurs conclude the campaign against Chelsea and Everton while West Ham play Newcastle United and Leeds. While Tottenham head to Stamford Bridge several days after their relegation rivals' trip to St James Park, the 10 final games of the season kick off at the same time.

Nottingham Forest all but secured safety after their 3-1 win over Chelsea on Monday with Vitor Pereira's side unbeaten since mid-March while also navigating the latter rounds of the Europa League.

Roberto De Zerbi is holding his press conference on Thursday afternoon ahead of Tottenham's Premier League game against Leeds on Monday night.

The Italian has chosen an early meeting with the media, four days ahead of the fixture against Daniel Farke's men, as Spurs look to keep their momentum going under the new man in charge. The north London club won back-to-back matches in the Premier League for the first time since the opening weeks of the season with their victories at Wolves and West Ham.

Combined with the draw against Brighton that should have been a win and a defeat at Sunderland that should have been a draw or better, especially as it was deemed after the game that Brian Brobbey should have been sent off, De Zerbi has got Tottenham believing in themselves again.

Now Spurs must wait to see what happens with relegation rivals West Ham as they host table-topping Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, but regardless of what occurs at the London Stadium they must finally remember how to win a match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Lilywhites have not won a Premier League game in N17 since early December last year against Brentford.

At his press conference, De Zerbi will deliver injury updates on Dominic Solanke and Guglielmo Vicario as well as confirming whether James Maddison is now ready to play some football after three matches as an unused substitute.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to De Zerbi. Scroll down for his latest updates from the Italian's press conference at Hotspur Way.

It's time for the latest episode of our Talking Tottenham podcast with our Spurs correspondents Alasdair Gold and Ryan Taylor

James Maddison will still have a crucial part to play in Tottenham's relegation battle in the coming weeks, according to our Spurs reporters Alasdair Gold and Ryan Taylor.

The 29-year-old England international is now nine months on from that anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered during Spurs ' pre-season tour in South Korea and has been on the bench for the past three matches for Roberto De Zerbi's side. However, Maddison has not featured so far as he and the club time his return for the right moment.

When asked on Friday afternoon at his press conference ahead of the 2-1 win at Aston Villa about when the midfielder will return to Premier League action, De Zerbi had said: "I don't know, I would like to play with him, because he's a special player, he's a different player, but we have to consider the physical condition, a lot of things. But I think he can be important in the next three games."

In the latest episode of their Talking Tottenham podcast, our Spurs reporters Alasdair and Ryan discussed Maddison among many topics, with Alasdair pointing out that the Tottenham midfielder could be seen wearing small sports socks rather than the team's yellow match socks throughout the warm-up and match at Villa Park, suggesting he was not ever coming on.

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Both our reporters believe Maddison will make his comeback on Monday night with a few minutes against Leeds and have tipped him to have an important moment for Spurs before the season ends.

They discussed plenty more, including whether the north London club will take up the option to sign Joao Palhinha permanently from Bayern Munich at the end of this campaign.

Tottenham have shared an update on Xavi Simons after the Netherlands midfielder injured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) against Wolves last month

Tottenham have confirmed that Xavi Simons has undergone surgery after suffering an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury. Simons came off midway through the second half of last month's 1-0 win against Wolves after going down following a challenge from Matt Doherty.

Roberto De Zerbi cut a concerned figure in his post-match press conference and it was later revealed that Simons has torn his ACL and is set for a lengthy spell out on the sidelines. Now, more than week after sustaining the injury, Simons has since gone under the knife and is now poised to begin his load road to fitness.

In an update on X on Tuesday evening, Tottenham posted a picture of Simons in his hospital bed along with the caption: "Surgery complete [black tick emoji].

"We'll be with you every step of the way during your recovery @xavisimons [white love heart emoji]."

Shortly after Tottenham's statement, Simons then took to Instagram to issue a message to the Spurs faithful.

Simons, who has made 41 appearances during his debut season in north London, said: "I went missin, on a mission just perfecting my craft. Intro done. Now we rise [clock emoji, joystick emoji]."

A number of his Tottenham teammates shared messages of support. Richarlison started: "Good recovery bro [folded hands emoji, call me hand emoji]." Micky van de Ven put a smiling face with hearts emoji, while Kevin Danso posted a unamused face emoji and a red love heart emoji.

In a further Instagram story, Simons then shared a picture which appeared to show his injured knee and the scale of the scar from the surgery.

Simons is expected to be out until at least 2027. He will therefore miss the remainder of this season, the World Cup with the Netherlands and the first half of the following campaign.

Despite Simons' absence, Tottenham recorded a 2-1 win at Aston Villa on Sunday to move them out of the Premier League bottom three and strengthen their survival hopes.

Goals from Conor Gallagher and Richarlison had put Spurs into a two-goal lead, and despite Emiliano Buendia's late strike for Villa, it proved to be just a consolation and De Zerbi's side held on for a precious three points.

Speaking post-match, De Zerbi said: "I'm very happy, very pleased for the performance. We won a great game against a great Aston Villa. Okay, they have to play on Thursday, a very important game for them but, anyway, it's always very tough playing against[Unai] Emery, against this Villa and in this stadium, a very nice stadium, and for that I'm really pleased.

"I'm really pleased for the performance with the ball, without the ball. Without the ball we showed a great courage and with the ball, great qualities. I'm happy for this type of performance, more than three points, because three points, okay we are one point more than West Ham, but the most important thing tonight, is to play a great game, to believe more and more in ourselves, to believe in our qualities.

"Then we have to keep the focus on the improvement we have to do, because we have to play like the first half for 90 minutes. I didn't like the goal we conceded, but there are a lot of positive things today."

Tottenham now sit in 17th, one point above 18th-place West Ham in the race for survival with three matches left. Spurs host Leeds United next before travelling to Chelsea and then welcoming Everton to north London.

Here's the latest news on Tottenham's big group of loan players with many of their seasons coming to an end at the weekend

A number of Tottenham's loan army came to the end of their season away from the north London club at the weekend.

Spurs sent out 18 players across the world on loan this season and most of those in the Football League ended their campaigns at the weekend with mixed success and minutes, while others are still plying their trade in Scotland, Germany, Italy and South America.

This summer offers a reset of sorts for many of those coming back into the world of Tottenham. For they will be looking to impress new head coach Roberto De Zerbi in the months ahead and ending their loan spells with a flourish will only help their cause before they make their case to the Italian in pre-season.

Here's how every one of Tottenham's large group of loan players got on across the globe in the past seven days.

Mikey Moore (Rangers)

Mikey Moore suffered both joy and pain this week. First he picked up the PFA Scotland Premiership Young Player of the Year award for his exploits at Rangers.

The 18-year-old attacker had already won Rangers' Young Player of the Year award last month and the big league prize was just reward for his efforts over this long campaign in turning around a tough start to become one of the key players at Rangers despite being so young.

Unfortunately, the weekend only brought pain for Rangers as they threw away the lead at Hearts in the big title clash to lose 2-1 at Tynecastle.

Moore started the match but got a five in the Daily Record's player ratings with the review: "Named PFA Scotland Young player of the Year on the eve of the game but the on-loan Spurs kid was guilty of over playing in moments when the simple ball looked the better option. Starting to show signs of weariness after a long campaign."

Moore has played 44 games at Rangers, getting 2,518 minutes of football under his belt, with eight goal involvements in 30 Scottish Premiership appearances.

Rangers are now seven points off leader Hearts with three games to go, starting with a trip to Celtic for the final Old Firm Derby of the season on Sunday.

Luka Vuskovic (Hamburg)

Luka Vuskovic and his knee finally returned to action on Saturday for the final 12 minutes of HSV's game at Eintracht Frankfurt and he helped inspire them to a 2-1 win which ensured their Bundesliga spot next season with two games to.

The 19-year-old had been making headlines in both Hamburg and Croatia after missing almost a month of football with a 'knee contusion,' which is effectively bruising that causes plenty of discomfort.

Spurs are believed to be readying a bumper new contract for Vuskovic as they aim to remind him that he will be a big part of their future amid interest from Europe's biggest clubs.

The Croatian has made 28 appearances and played 2,472 minutes for the Bundesliga outfit and was named in the recent league team of the year.

Kota Takai (Borussia Monchengladbach)

Another young Tottenham centre-back in Germany, Kota Takai was an unused substitute as Borussia Monchengladbach won 1-0 against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

The 21-year-old Japan international has played just four minutes of football in the past two-and-a-half months around picking up a muscle strain.

Takai has made just eight appearances during his loan spell in the Bundesliga and has endured an injury-hit time since arriving in Europe last summer.

Will Lankshear & Jamie Donley (Oxford United)

Will Lankshear and Jamie Donley signed off their season with relegated Oxford with a tough 2-0 defeat at high-flying Millwall in the Championship on Saturday.

Lankshear had taken home a double at the Oxford United end of season awards. With his 12 goals for the struggling side he earned the Men's Golden Boot and also the club's Young Player of the Year award. It was a huge loan spell for the 21-year-old striker as he played 47 matches with 16 goal involvements.

Donley arrived halfway through the campaign following a difficult spell at Stoke and after a painful injury on his debut for Oxford he bounced back to start most of their games in the final months of the campaign.

"Thank you to all the fans and staff for all the support for the second half of the season. Unfortunately we didn’t reach our goal but I’ve enjoyed playing for this great club," the 21-year-old midfielder posted on Instagram.

Alfie Devine (Preston North End)

Alfie Devine ended a fantastic loan at Preston with a disappointing 3-1 defeat at home against Southampton at the weekend.

The 21-year-old midfielder has recorded eight goals and eight assists from midfield in 48 appearances across a big season of development in the Championship. Preston have an option to buy Devine this summer, thought to be around £4.5million, which is believed to be steep for the Championship side but boss Paul Heckingbottom said the club would do everything they could to try to sign the midfielder.

"He's a good lad. He's done well, he's improved, he's growing up," he said. "I can see why [he’s so popular] We want good players and I think there's more to come from him, definitely."

Devine, who will have a lot of interest this summer both from clubs in England and abroad, told BBC Lancashire last month that he would decide his next steps and take time to think about it.

"Can’t thank this club enough for this season, support from start to finish has been brilliant and so grateful to have been part of it, thank you," he posted on Instagram after the weekend's game to plenty of love from the Preston fans.

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Ashley Phillips (Stoke City)

Ashley Phillips completed his second season with Stoke in the Championship with a 2-0 defeat at Bristol City as the Potters ended the campaign in 17th spot.

The 20-year-old centre-back, who is on the shortlist for the EFL Championship's Young Player of the Season award, played more minutes in the league than any other player aged 20 or under this season.

Phillips got 44 games under his belt for Stoke this season, recording one assist and earning plenty of plaudits across 3,701 minutes of action in all competitions.

Yang Min-hyeok (Coventry)

Yang Min-hyeok ended his loan at Coventry in the way most of it played out by not being involved again in the matchday squad as they won 4-0 at Watford on Saturday.

The 20-year-old was left out of the final 15 league games of the season for Frank Lampard's title winners and while he was not starting regularly in the first half of the season, the winger had made 16 appearances for Portsmouth, scoring three goals with one assist, before switching to the table-toppers.

Other than having a promoition on his CV, it was a poor loan move as the South Korean got just 29 minutes of football in the Championship for them across three matches.

Manor Solomon (Fiorentina)

Manor Solomon did play at the weekend and got the full 90 minutes on the left wing as Fiorentina lost 4-0 at Roma on Monday.

The Israel international is getting a string of starts now after six weeks out with a grade 1-2 hip flexor strain in his right thigh has helped the Italian side move away from the drop zone in Serie A.

The 26-year-old winger has scored two goals in 14 matches for the Italian side as a fixture on the wings.

Alejo Veliz (Rosario Central)

Alejo Veliz was an unused substitute for Rosario on Sunday as they drew 1-1 with Tigre at home in the league.

Veliz has netted five goals in 18 appearances so far this campaign and is expected to head to Bahia at the end of the season after Tottenham agreed a deal with the Brazilian side to sell Veliz once his current loan at Rosario ends. A £7.8m (9m euros) deal was agreed with £871k in add-ons (1m euros) plus a 20% sell-on clause.

Dane Scarlett (Hibernian)

Dane Scarlett got nine minutes from the bench as 10-man Hibernian lost 2-1 at home to Scottish Premiership giants Celtic on Sunday.

The 21-year-old striker has made 11 appearances north of the border with one assist and 472 minutes to his name. He has just a year left on his contract at Tottenham and a decision will likely be made this summer about what comes next for him after 27 senior appearances for the north London club.

Oliver Irow & George Abbott (Mansfield Town)

Oliver Irow signed off his Mansfield Town loan with his second goal in as many matches in their 5-4 final day win against high-flying Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon in League One.

The 19-year-old netted with a composed low finish to make it four goals in 17 league appearances during his first experience of senior football to help Mansfield to 10th place in League One – their best finish in 39 years.

Irow posted a heartfelt message on social media after his final game, saying: "I am very thankful for my time at this club. It will always have a special place in my heart. Thank you to the fans, players and staff at @mansfieldtownfc for everything."

football.london reported last month that George Abbott suffered a serious quad injury which will keep him out until pre-season, bringing a premature end to his campaign.

Yusuf Akhamrich (Bristol Rovers)

Yusuf Akhamrich ended his campaign at Bristol Rovers with a 1-1 draw at Notts County on Saturday, coming off the bench at half-time to help them come from behind.

Rovers boss Steve Evans had told The Bristol Post about the exciting 20-year-old winger's future: "He's a real gifted talent, but don't discount that he'll come back in the summer. We'll work hard to try and make that happen, but ultimately we have to respect Tottenham Hotspur, and we have to respect Yusuf that he has to do what's right for him, but he knows my thoughts.

"His Mum and Dad and his brother were here today, and they've said that I've treated him like my son, and that's how you should treat young players."

Akhamrich posted six goals and two assists in his 19 League Two matches with Rovers.

Tyrese Hall (Notts County)

Tyrese Hall was on the other side against Akhamrich as he played the final 31 minutes of Notts County's season in that 1-1 draw.

The 20-year-old Jamaica international midfielder signed off a successful season with eight goals and two assists across 1,850 minutes in 39 appearances after heading out of Tottenham on his first loan.

Damola Ajayi (Bromley)

Damola Ajayi was not in the squad for League Two winners Bromley's final game as they won 3-1 at home against Walsall on Saturday.

The 20-year-old winger registered 30 appearances across his spells at Bromley and Doncaster Rovers in a season of development across League One and Two.

Alfie Dorrington (Salford City)

Alfie Dorrington got 13 minutes from the bench in Salford's 0-0 draw at home with Crawley Town, who escaped relegation on the final day.

The 20-year-old centre-back has 11 appearances so far for City since switching from Aberdeen during the winter window and will now look forward to the play-offs in which Salford travel to Grimsby City for their semi-final first leg on Sunday before the return the following Friday.

Aaron Maguire (Hampton & Richmond Borough)

Aaron Maguire played every minute of his first three matches for National League South side Hampton & Richmond Borough and the 21-year-old goalkeeper started for them at Ebbsfleet last month in their penultimate game of the season.

An image of the Tottenham home kit for the 2026/27 season has emerged online and it's getting a reaction from the club's supporters

Tottenham's new Nike home shirt for the 2026/27 season has 'leaked' on to the internet and it's got a little nod to their 1980s kits.

It's that time of year when football kits for next season end up doing the rounds on social media ahead of their official launch and Spurs' home shirt is now doing exactly that. The north London club have yet to confirm their place in the Premier League next season but will be hoping to do so after an upturn in form under new head coach Roberto De Zerbi and the supporters at least know what the Italian's side will be wearing from this summer onwards.

Kit experts Footy Headlines have, with the help of X user Kamil Berberler, released what is claimed to be an official image of the new home kit and it shows a plain white top "with navy accents and subtle diagonal striping inspired by mid-1980s Hummels kits".

Aside from the nostalgia striping, this shirt is going to be one for those who simply like a plain white top in the old school Tottenham way. It's not exactly a complicated design but it does have little bit of navy on the cuffs and that subtle diagonal striping. The template of the kit - not the colour - is the same as the away one England will wear at this summer's World Cup.

Spurs fans are all saying the same thing about the plain nature of the new home shirt but also that sometimes a clean, no frills shirt in action looks more effective.

Many are also happy from an aesthetic point of view that it will be the last season that the club will have the red AIA logo splashed across their white home shirt as that sponsorship deal comes to an end after this next campaign, with the company switching to being Spurs' training wear sponsor from the 2027/28 season and another front of shirt sponsor coming on board for the match kits.

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Just over a month ago images of the new navy blue away shirt that Spurs will wear from this summer onwards turned up online and it is far removed from this season's plain black affair. Footy Headlines published what they claimed are "the first official images of Tottenham's new 26-27 away kit, featuring a bold and somewhat crazy pattern on the front".

There are colours galore worked into this new kit's eye-catching design with "a vibrant and chaotic pattern with diagonal, jagged lines in neon pink, purple, and orange over an Obsidian (navy blue) base", according to the Nike details. The kit has a rounded neck with no collar.

The leaked images of the kit have drawn a mixed reaction from Tottenham supporters, as the new kits always do, with some liking the bold colours and others thinking they are too much and everyone wondering what division the club will be wearing it in.

Spurs signed their deal with Nike back in 2017 and extended it the following year to a 15-year contract which will last until at least 2033, meaning it is one of the longest football club deals in the sportswear giant's history. Reports back at the time suggested the agreement was worth around £30million a season for the north London side, although what effect any potential relegation has on that lucrative sponsorship deal and many others remains to be seen.

Arne Slot's side will be looking for a replacement for Mohamed Salah this summer and one of their former stars has tipped a Tottenham man to do the job

Didi Hamman has backed "hugely talented" Randal Kolo Muani and believes he can't be judged now as a potential Liverpool signing because he says every player gets worse at Tottenham.

With Mohamed Salah set to depart Anfield this summer, the PSG striker Kolo Muani, currently on loan at Tottenham, has been linked as a surprise name on the list to replace the Egyptian. The 27-year-old has made an impact in the Champions League this campaign with four goals and two assists but has registered just one goal and one assist so far in 27 Premier League games.

He did impress in Tottenham's 2-1 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday evening and Roberto De Zerbi said after the game of Spurs' injury woes: "Xavi Simons and Solanke, both are top players for us, but Kolo Muani is different as a characteristic, but not as a quality. You're not watching the best Kolo Muani, but Kolo Muani is a top player."

The Italian had also said on Friday at his press conference: "Kolo Muani two years ago, PSG paid £70 million [for him]. He's not stupid, he's a top player."

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Now Hamman, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, has delivered his verdict on whether Kolo Muani would fit in at Liverpool and aimed a dig at Spurs in the process.

"Randal Kolo Muani to Liverpool would be a surprise, I think he had a spell at Juventus as well, which didn't really work out. But I've seen him in the Bundesliga, he's a hugely talented player.

The Tottenham midfielder has been reawakened by the new head coach at the north London club and cannot speak highly enough of him

Conor Gallagher has revealed that chatty man Roberto De Zerbi has transformed his Tottenham players with constant one-to-one meetings and conversations reminding them of what they once were.

The Italian has shaken Spurs awake at just the right moment and their 2-1 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday dragged them out of the Premier League's bottom three at the expense of West Ham. Gallagher, in particular, has come alive under De Zerbi and grabbed his first goal for Tottenham at Villa Park with a pinpoint low effort from outside the box, coming just over two years since his last away goal in the Premier League at exactly the same venue.

Tottenham are unbeaten in their past three matches under their new head coach, with a draw and two victories, and with two of their remaining three games at home, Gallagher, who arrived for £35million from Atletico Madrid in January, believes De Zerbi has come in at just the right time.

"The gaffer has been brilliant with us. He’s brought the team together. He’s really worked on players individually with one-to-one meetings and one-to-one chats, trying to get that belief and confidence back in the players. He's done that with me and it’s made a big difference," said the 26-year-old.

"I know he’s done that with a lot of the other lads. As a team as well, all the work he’s done on the training pitch and the meeting rooms, it's been fantastic and everyone is on the same page."

De Zerbi is a big Gallagher fan and wanted him when he was a Chelsea player and told football.london on Sunday that he has got that player back again now after his man of the match display at Villa Park.

"Yes, absolutely. When Gallagher plays like this, we play with 12 players because you can find him as a striker, as a midfielder, as a full-back, everywhere on the pitch you can find him!" said the Italian. "Great player, great passion, great qualities."

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The midfielder admits that De Zerbi has used his Blues days as the motivation to get him back into old habits.

"He just reminds me of when I was at my best. He said that second season at Chelsea, when I had a really good season, he just reminded me of that player," said Gallagher "He wants me to be like that again and to not forget how good I can be. He’s done that with a lot of the lads. It’s as simple as that, just trying to remind us of what we were when we were at our best."

De Zerbi has had no better luck with injuries than his predecessors, losing Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke in his opening weeks in charge but that has not dimmed his positivity around the team.

"Of course it’s tough losing such big players but that just shows the quality in our squad, to be honest. If we can perform like that with some of our best players injured, it's a great sign," said Gallagher. "It’s something the club and the fans should be excited for and happy.

"It’s a really good feeling because I feel like all the lads, the manager and the staff are all coming together as one, no matter if you’re starting or you're coming on the pitch [as a sub]. We know the situation we’re in, everyone is giving everything they’ve got."

The midfielder knows there is still a lot to be done in the matches against Leeds, Chelsea and Everton if Spurs are to escape the plunge into the Championship.

"The only thing we’re focused on is the next game. This game is gone now, we’ve had a great performance and a really important three points but there’s still a long way to go," he said. "There’s a lot of work to do. We’re fully focused on the next game and hopefully do the same performance and another win."

The Tottenham midfielder is nearing a return after ninth months out of the game but it was not to be at Villa Park on Sunday evening

James Maddison is closing in on his return for Tottenham after nine months out but it did not come in the win at Aston Villa on Sunday.

The 29-year-old has been out of action since rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Spurs ' pre-season friendly against Newcastle in South Korea last August. Maddison has worked on his recovering since his surgery and re-joined training last month with his team-mates.

The England international has been named on the bench for the past three Premier League games but new boss Roberto De Zerbi made it clear initially that the midfielder was there simply to be part of the group and a positive voice in the dressing room.

Ahead of Sunday's game at Villa Park, the head coach hinted in his club interview that Maddison was getting closer to playing and at his press conference said: "I don't know [if he will play against Villa], I would like to play with him, because he's a special player, he's a different player, but we have to consider the physical condition, a lot of things. But I think he can be important in the next three games."

That suggested it was already planned that Maddison could be returning for Tottenham's final three matches of the Premier League campaign against Leeds United, Chelsea and Everton.

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That would tie in with something that football.london noticed during Spurs' 2-1 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday.

Maddison was fully involved in the warm-up before the match and did his work down the sidelines at Villa Park at points during the game, however he was always just wearing just white Nike sport socks rather than the long yellow match socks. It might be that the midfielder has that as his routine when he is a substitute, but it was noticeable that he was only the substitute from either club not wearing match socks.

He was not brought in added time at the end of the game with Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr coming on instead despite the 2-0 scoreline at that point.

Maddison will be hoping that after another eight days of training, next Monday's game against Leeds might him a couple of minutes to perform once again in front of the fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

At some point before this season is done, the experienced playmaker will play his part in trying to keep Spurs up, even if it's just for a few crucial moments but that could be enough.