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Conor Gallagher has completed his £34.7million move to Tottenham and in doing so has returned to the Premier League

Conor Gallagher has claimed it was a 'very easy' decision to join Tottenham Hotspur. The 25-year-old midfielder, who has signed a long-term contract with the Lilywhites, had also attracted interest from Aston Villa.

It's understood that Thomas Frank and Gallagher had a chat on the phone as the Spurs boss attempted to persuade the midfielder to return to London.

At the time, Aston Villa also wanted to sign the former Chelsea favourite and were in talks with Atletico Madrid in an attempt to sign the player in an initial loan move this month with an option to make it permanent in the summer.

But following the news that Rodrigo Bentancur is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Spurs stepped up their chase to sign Gallagher on Monday and eventually agreed a £34.7million deal with Atletico.

The England international has now completed his move and signed a long-term contract with the north London club. He has now explained his reasons behind the move.

In an interview with club media, Gallagher said: "I'm so happy and excited to be here, taking the next step in my career at an amazing club. I wanted to be a Spurs player and thankfully the Club felt the same.

"It was very easy, it happened very quickly and I'm ready to get on the pitch. I know how great the fans are, I’m really happy to be a part of it here and want to create special moments and memories together."

Meanwhile, Frank said: "Conor is a top midfielder, who we have worked tirelessly to add to our squad. He is still young, so has plenty of room for improvement, but also has huge experience across the Premier League, La Liga and with the England national team.

"Conor has captained teams so will bring leadership, maturity, character and personality to our dressing room, while his running power, pressing ability and eye for goal will strengthen us in a key area of the pitch.

"I’m excited about working with him every day and I know the fans will love what he will bring to the team."

As revealed by football.london on Sunday, Atletico Madrid were prioritising selling the midfielder permanently this month rather than a loan with an option or obligation to buy in the summer.

Spurs' decision to commit to an immediate purchase has been instrumental in helping them beat Villa in the race for the midfield maestro's signature.

While other clubs showed interest, they were hesitant to commit to a permanent deal this month, preferring instead a loan-to-buy option.

The acquisition of Gallagher by Spurs is a significant setback for Villa, especially given Unai Emery's current shortage of midfield options due to injuries to Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley.

For the north London outfit, it's a morale-boosting signing as they look to bounce back from a dismal winter period. They have managed just two wins in 12 Premier League games, leaving them languishing in 14th place.

Gallagher had found regular first-team action hard to come by under Diego Simeone this season, making just four starts in LaLiga, but has now completed his return to England.

With a fresh start for the midfielder, he's keen to impress Thomas Tuchel and secure his place in England's World Cup squad this summer.

Before his move from Chelsea to Atletico in the summer of 2024, Gallagher enjoyed a successful stint in the Premier League, making a name for himself during an outstanding loan period at Crystal Palace in the 2021-22 season.

He returned to Stamford Bridge as a crucial first-team player and even wore the captain's armband for the Blues before being nudged towards the exit in a £33m move to Spain.

He has made 136 Premier League appearances, having also had a loan spell at West Brom prior to his standout season at Palace, and has netted 18 goals and provided 13 assists.

At 25 years old, he still has much to contribute and will bring a wealth of experience to a team in need of a significant lift.

The FA have charged Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa with misconduct following their clash in the FA Cup third round. Morgan Rogers fired Unai Emery's side to a 2-1 victory on Saturday, dumping the Lilywhites out of the competition.

Upon the final whistle, Ollie Watkins celebrated the win in front of the travelling Villa fans, sparking a fiery reaction from Joao Palhinha. The Tottenham midfielder pushed the opposition striker, and he was quickly confronted by Morgan Rogers and Lamare Bogarde.

Players and staff from either side stormed onto the scene, igniting a mass brawl. An official statement from a spokesperson at the FA reads: "Tottenham Hotspur FC and Aston Villa FC have been charged with misconduct following their FA Cup match on Saturday 10 January.

"It’s alleged that both clubs failed to ensure their players and/or officials did not behave in an improper and/or provocative way after the final whistle. Aston Villa FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC have until Friday 16 January to provide a response."

Speaking to reporters at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after the game, Thomas Frank accused Watkins of provoking Palhinha. The Dane said: "I don’t think so. I guess you have seen the situation through?

"I just saw it to be sure I saw what I saw. Of course, it’s all about keeping a cool head. The players gave everything, everything out there, (but) losing a tight game, season not going perfect and I think Ollie is very provoking.

"The way he is going down to celebrate in front of the Villa fans, and he is walking into Joao, he can just easily walk around. I think everyone that has been in a competitive nature, that is difficult and can trigger things."

On whether Spurs have a discipline problem, Frank claimed that his players are just eager to return to winning ways after three games without a victory. The Tottenham boss said: "I think it's like you need to play with passion.

"And when you play with passion, then sometimes you play to the line. And sometimes a little bit borderline. So, I see players with big passion that want to do very well for the club. And I think that's very important. And of course, you also need cool heads."

Spurs have only won three of their last 10 games across all competitions, and Frank is under pressure to turn things around. On how he plans to get the fans back onside, the Dane said: "We all know there's only one way to have everyone happy.

"That is performing consistently and winning enough games. That's the only way. And we could see, second half especially, the energy, how they feed off each other, the players and the fans.

"It was a fantastic experience to be in the middle of it. Unfortunately, we couldn't get that fantastic comeback, which sometimes kicks start a momentum. And that's what we are working very hard to do.

"But I think the fans, the way they backed the team and pushed them forward, second half was very, very good. I still think it's, first and foremost, us. First and foremost, us.

"We need to perform, and then they can feed off the energy. But of course, we also need them in tough times, which they are there. They're travelling in big numbers to away games, and they are backing us. So that's a two-way (solution)."

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Tottenham's joint sporting director Fabio Paratici is to leave the club and join Fiorentina following the end of the January transfer window. Paratici only returned to Spurs in October after he left in 2023 due to allegations of false accounting at former club Juventus.

The Italian subsequently received a 30-month ban imposed by FIFA but worked as a consultant for the North London club before he officially rejoined earlier this season. But Paratici will depart the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium again next month, after he expressed a desire to move back to his native country.

“We have agreed that Fabio will return to Italy following the conclusion of the January transfer window, in line with his wish to move back home,” Spurs chief executive Vinai Venkatesham confirmed.

“We thank Fabio for his contribution to the Club and wish him well for the future. Our management structure is designed to be resilient to personnel changes, and it will be business as usual moving forward."

Addressing his exit, Paratici said: “I want to thank Vinai and the Board of Tottenham Hotspur for accommodating my desire to return to Italy and join Fiorentina.

“I have loved my time at the club, however this opportunity, together with the need to be based in my homeland, has led me to this decision.

“Spurs is a club that is very close to my heart. It has great people working for it, who are as passionate about the project as I am and want to bring sustained success. I have no doubt that they will achieve that and I will be watching closely from Italy.”

News of Paratici’s departure comes as Tottenham close in on the signing of Conor Gallagher.

As reported by football.london on Sunday, Spurs are desperate for reinforcements before the January window slams shut but whether Thomas Frank is in charge to integrate new signings remains to be seen.

A fee in the region of 40million euros (£34.7m) is set to clinch Gallagher’s return back to England after a mixed spell in Spain.

The former Crystal Palace loanee has made 77 appearances for Atletico during the past 18 months and scored seven times but never fully nailed down a starting berth in Diego Simeone’s side.

Thomas Frank, meanwhile, faces an uncertain future in north London following the defeat by Aston Villa in the FA Cup third-round last weekend.

Conor Gallagher has told Thomas Frank what his best position is ahead of a potential transfer to Tottenham Hotspur

Conor Gallagher has already told Thomas Frank his best position ahead of a potential transfer to Tottenham Hotspur. The Atletico Madrid ace emerged as a target over the weekend, and now the Lilywhites look set to secure his signature.

On Sunday, football.london reported that Spurs had entered the race to sign Gallagher. The Lilywhites stepped up their search for a new midfielder after it was confirmed that Rodrigo Bentancur would miss the remainder of the season due to injury.

It's understood that Tottenham and Atletico agreed a deal worth around €40million (£34.7million) for the England international, fending off strong interest from Aston Villa. Unai Emery's side, who wanted to sign Gallagher on loan with an option to buy, never struck a formal agreement with the Spanish giants.

The 25-year-old is expected to sign a long-term contract in north London, with personal terms not thought to be an issue. football.london understands that Spurs' willingness to buy Gallagher outright was key to edging their Premier League rivals in the race.

The Chelsea academy graduate had attracted interest from elsewhere, but they were reluctant to fork out such a hefty fee this month. As it stands, it remains to be seen whether Tottenham will wrap up a deal ahead of the weekend.

So long as Spurs officially register Gallagher by Friday midday, he'll be eligible to make his debut at home to West Ham on Saturday afternoon. Frank will already have an idea of where he plans to play the Englishman, which will likely be in a pivot alongside Joao Palhinha or Archie Gray.

However, Gallagher has previously suggested that he feels better suited to a role further up the field. Speaking to club media at Stamford Bridge in June 2022, the former Chelsea ace said: "I feel like runs into the box I’m good at, and I can win the ball back well and press well.

"I like to score goals, and I want to score more. I can be more aware on the ball in deeper areas and have a better vision sometimes. There’s loads of things, and I could go on for ages, but I’m very determined to work hard and improve as a footballer still."

A month or so later, this time in an interview with The Guardian, Gallagher was a little more open-minded. He said: "I’m quite versatile as well. Anywhere in midfield, I feel like I should be comfortable."

Then, shortly after joining Atletico from Chelsea in the summer of 2024, Gallagher spoke to The Athletic. The former Blue acknowledged his role as a combative midfielder, rather than one that will pulls the strings and dictate play.

During his welcome ceremony at the Metropolitano, Gallagher was introduced to supporters as a 'pitbull' who would bring 'new lungs' to the side. On his new nickname, he said: "I think that was something Atletico made up.

"Some people in England call me a dog, because of how I play on the pitch. Sometimes I just run after every ball, like a dog does in the park. It kind of stuck. (Atletico) took it from there. I don’t mind. I take it as a compliment."

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

Tottenham are starting to put the wheels in motion for their January transfer window in the hope of turning around Thomas Frank's fortunes.

Conor Gallagher underwent his medical on Tuesday ahead of the 25-year-old England international midfielder sealing a £34.7million move from Atletico Madrid. Then up next for the north London club is 19-year-old left-back Souza, who is expected to land in the UK on Wednesday afternoon for the Brazilian to tie up the formalities of his £13million switch from Santos on Thursday, while he must also await his work permit.

Spurs have already been busy with outgoings, with Brennan Johnson departing for Crystal Palace in a £35million deal, along with loans galore.

With injuries hitting Frank's squad now, losing both Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus until April and a return date still not fixed for Dejan Kulusevski, Spurs are light in attack following Johnson's departure.

Spurs have held a long-time interest in Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche and were forced to watch the 23-year-old, who mainly plays on the right but can also play centrally, tear them apart in the Champions League earlier this season. football.london reported on Monday that the Ligue 1 club are believed to be looking at new signings in the France international's position in preparation in case he does depart anywhere this month or in the summer.

That could put things in motion for Tottenham to make their move for the talented attacker, although they would face plenty of competition from top sides across Europe.

Tottenham are adding two more players to Thomas Frank's armoury but can they be brought into his Champions League squad?

Tottenham are set to seal two new arrivals this week in the shape of Conor Gallagher and Souza and the Spurs supporters will be wondering whether both new signings can play in the Champions League.

Gallagher is undertaking his medical at Hotspur Way on Tuesday to complete a £34.7million move from Atletico Madrid. Meanwhile 19-year-old left-back Souza is set to land in England later on Wednesday so should put the finishing touches on his £13million switch from Santos the following day while awaiting a work permit.

In their final two Champions League games in the league phase, Spurs welcome Borussia Dortmund next Tuesday night (January 20) and then travel to Frankfurt on Wednesday January 28.

The first question is can either Gallagher or Souza play in those two matches? The answer unfortunately is no. The squads are set now for the rest of the league phase of the competition.

Some supporters might be hanging their hopes on the same UEFA rule that allowed Tottenham to bring Mathys Tel into the squad last month to replace the injured Dominic Solanke, when they see Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus out until April with their injuries.

However, that rule only allows a team to bring in a squad substitute if a player has been ill or injured for 60 days and on top of that it can only be done up until the sixth game of the league phase, which fell on the encounter against Slavia Prague.

In more positive news though, either player can be brought into Thomas Frank's squad next month in the Champions League should Spurs, who sit 11th in the table, reach the knockout stages.

Tottenham would have the opportunity to make three changes to their current squad when submitting their list for the knockout stages by 11pm on February 5.

An added bonus is that nowadays you can add players who have already played in the group stages in any European competition so Gallagher, who has appeared six times so far this season in the Champions League for Atletico and scored once, will still be able to be added to Spurs' squad in place of someone else.

Tottenham are about to tie up a couple of transfers in the coming days and we've taken a look at what shirt numbers will be available for them

Tottenham are set to get the ball rolling in the January transfer window with the arrivals of Conor Gallagher and Souza to boost Thomas Frank's squad.

Gallagher will undergo his medical on Tuesday ahead of the 25-year-old England international midfielder sealing a £34.7million move from Atletico Madrid. Nineteen-year-old Souza is expected to land in the UK later on Wednesday so the left-back should tie up the formalities of his £13million switch from Santos the following day and he must also await his work permit.

What squad numbers will the duo be looking to take at Tottenham though as fans begin to decide whether to invest in having either of them on the back of their own shirts?

Let's start with Gallagher. The midfielder has been wearing the number four over the past 18 months in Spain with Atletico. At Chelsea, he had 23 on his back as he also did at Crystal Palace and while on loan at West Bromwich Albion, he wore the number 18. In previous loans at Swansea and Charlton he wore 33 and 11 respectively.

So what's free for him at Tottenham? The number four is taken by Kevin Danso, 23 by Pedro Porro and 11 by Mathys Tel, who has been linked with a loan move that might be problematic due to recent squad injuries. However, 18 is free after being vacated by Yang Min-hyeok during his three loan spells.

For a more traditional number, five remains available since Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's departure to Marseille. There is also 12, most recently worn by Emerson Royal, 16 which was worn by Luka Vuskovic on the bench before his loan move to Hamburg. Higher up the figures, 25 and 27 are available with Kota Takai and Manor Solomon having had the former and latter respectively before leaving on loan.

The number 26 remains unused but has been somewhat unofficially retired since Ledley King hung up his boots in 2012.

There's plenty of choice for Gallagher and there is always the chance that another player might be looking to change number.

When it comes to Souza, the Brazilian wore 33 last season for Santos and three the campaign before. He has also worn 14, 15 and 18 as a youngster at Santos as well as six and 16 for Brazil's youth sides.

The number 33 could become available in the summer if Ben Davies departs at the end of his contract, while Radu Dragusin currently holds the number three shirt but has also been linked with a move out of Tottenham. The number two shirt has been available since Matt Doherty left the club but is more associated with right-backs as well as USA attacker Clint Dempsey in one of the more bizarre shirt choices of recent years.

Five is perhaps a possibility if Gallagher does not take it, while 12, 16, 18, 25 and 27 are all potential numbers for Souza for the remainder of this season or he might go wild and plump for a much higher number. We will discover both players' final choices in the days ahead.

Tottenham are finally starting to move into action in the January transfer window to sign a midfielder they have wanted for a long time

Tottenham are set to see off competition from Aston Villa to sign Conor Gallagher and it is a transfer that has been a while in the making.

Ange Postecoglou privately called for the signing of the England international last summer but Tottenham were not able to get near a deal with Chelsea at that point. The midfielder would instead make the move to Atletico Madrid and now 18 months on, Spurs have come back in to sign the 25-year-old in a £34.7million deal that is being finalised at Hotspur Way on Tuesday as Gallagher goes through his medical and the formalities of his move at a training ground he knows well from his international experience.

Postecoglou saw Gallagher as the perfect number eight in his system and the former Chelsea man will bring plenty of quality and drive to Thomas Frank's midfield and fill the gap left by Rodrigo Bentancur's three-month absence with a different profile of player.

Here are five reasons why Tottenham have made the move for Gallagher to boost their starting XI.

Experienced leader

He might only be 25 but Gallagher has experienced a lot. He has played for three different Premier League clubs and taken on the challenge of La Liga football, while also playing 23 Champions League matches and 22 games for England. He's played for his country at a European Championship and been in the squad for a World Cup. He also played in the Championship as a youngster to fully round out his development.

On top of that, he's a leader which is something this Spurs squad is lacking in the centre of the park and his mentality has always been praised by those he has worked with.

Former Chelsea keeper Petr Cech said of Gallagher in 2024: "He's always been working hard. He's one of the players that's always cared about winning and about the club. You find that even young players can have special abilities to be a leader. Conor is one of those players - he's always worked hard, he's always cared and he always tries his best.

"He's pushing and he is one of the captains in the making, because of the way he is."

There is another Tottenham connection in Mauricio Pochettino, who managed Gallagher at Chelsea and frequently made him skipper in the absence of the injured Reece James.

While the Blues wanted to sell Gallagher because of his profitability as an academy product within the financial fair play rules, the Argentine would fight to keep him.

"He is a player with a great commitment to the team. He is always trying to compensate in every situation, in offensive and defensive situations. It's priceless to have a player like him," said the former Spurs boss.

"‘He is in the starting XI nearly every game and one of the captains. For me, he is the type of player that the club need to have.

"He runs, he plays, he fights. He does everything to win. He is a really important player that the coaching staff want to have on the team."

There's a reason that Unai Emery wanted to bring Gallagher to high-flying Villa and now Tottenham will have him in their ranks instead.

Chances created

Gallagher will step in to fill the hole left by Bentancur's three-month absence but he will bring a different profile to the Tottenham midfield.

If people are expecting a bog-standard sitting midfielder then they will be surprised by the England international. He is comfortable at both ends of the pitch and is an all rounder with ferocious energy levels to press and win the ball back high up the pitch, while creating openings for others.

In the 2023/24 season, Gallagher created 53 chances for his Chelsea team-mates, the tenth highest number on the Premier League list of midfielders that season with most above him being more attacking midfielders.

In a system like Frank's which relies on high, aggressive pressing to turn over the ball in key areas, Gallagher should revel in the midfield.

He has 68 goal involvements in 289 senior games which is more than reasonable for a player in his position. To put that into context with Spurs' other senior midfielders, Bentancur has 44 goal involvements in 388 matches and Joao Palhinha has 35 in 373 games. The out of favour Yves Bissouma has 17 goal involvements in 279 games.

Between them, the younger trio of Pape Matar Sarr, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have 58 goal involvements in total but almost half of those come from the latter's time in Sweden's different levels and cup.

So the role he will be playing in, Gallagher will be step up in terms of goal creation and scoring while not being expected to be the main playmaker as someone like Xavi Simons and eventually Dejan Kulusevski and later James Maddison will be.

Homegrown

It's not that important to the outside world but Tottenham needed to start replenishing their homegrown numbers in their Premier League squad.

We know all about the Champions League squad issues and the lack of club-trained players and falling number of association-trained players, which you can find the latest on by clicking right here, but you also need to have a minimum of eight homegrown players in your Premier League squad.

Spurs currently have six of those with the departure of Brennan Johnson - albeit they have others on the under-21s list - but they could lose Ben Davies in the summer at the end of his contract and bringing in a new senior homegrown player in Gallagher can only be a good thing in that respect.

There's also a certain sense of pride at the club to have England players in their ranks and Gallagher will be hoping that he can force himself into Thomas Tuchel's thoughts just in time for the World Cup, as will Dominic Solanke, while Djed Spence will be looking to keep his spot in the German's squad.

Few injuries

Yes we know this is Tottenham so the fates will decide that Gallagher will probably end up broken within minutes of stepping through the doors of Hotspur Way, but the 25-year-old does have a ridiculously good injury record.

In fact if you look on Transfermarkt at the former Chelsea man's injury stats it does not have a single injury recorded in his entire senior career. The only recorded absence is through illness from which he missed five days back in March 2024.

For a club that has so many injury problems every season, at least getting someone who has no history of them beforehand should bode well. But yes we know that's happened before at Tottenham. Poor Solanke for example had only missed three matches at Bournemouth since early 2021 before stepping through the doors at Spurs and injured his ankle within a couple of weeks.

We're trying to stay positive here though and hope that Gallagher follows instead in the footsteps of Pedro Porro, who has only so far missed two matches since arriving at Tottenham three years ago.

Future and now

Gallagher ticks the exact description that Frank spoke about when he said the club needed to sign players for the now and long-term.

"I can see this is not a quick fix, unfortunately. This is a longer journey. That doesn't mean that in the longer journey that we don't need to win football matches, we have to, and hopefully a lot of them, and perform well and all that. But to get to where we want to get, it just takes time to build that," he said.

On transfers specifically the Dane said this month: "We are out there. We are really alert. The club really want to see what we can do to strengthen the squad and the team. I say many times it's a difficult window, and we still need the short-term solution to be the long-term solution as well."

Gallagher fits that mould as the midfielder arrives with plenty of experience at every level and will quickly become a leading voice in the dressing room and on the pitch, one who also sets the tempo of the team's play.

However, in turning 26 next month, he has not yet reached his peak and could feasibly have a long career ahead at Tottenham if all works out as expected.

Tottenham Hotspur have announced that Rodrigo Bentancur has undergone surgery on his right hamstring. The 28-year-old midfielder suffered the muscle injury during Spurs' 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium earlier this month.

Bentancur will now begin rehabilitation with medical staff at Hotspur Way. In an official statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Lilywhites announced the procedure and said: "We're all with you, Lolo [white heart emoji]."

The Uruguay international was replaced by Archie Gray towards the end of the clash on the south coast. Shortly after Bentancur came off, Antoine Semenyo, who joined Manchester City a couple of days later, fired the Cherries ahead to clinch three crucial points.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon ahead of Tottenham's defeat to Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round, Thomas Frank offered his first thoughts on the injury. The Dane said: "Rodri has a hamstring injury, looks like a bigger one unfortunately.

"We don't know the time frame, that we also will know later," added the Spurs boss. Bentancur has already featured 28 times across all competitions this season, starting all but six of Spurs' games.

Only Guglielmo Vicario (2,610), Pedro Porro (2,560), and Micky van de Ven (2,510) have played more minutes than the Uruguayan (2,072), who's also a regular in the starting lineup for his country.

In an effort to reward Bentancur and reflect his standing among the squad, he was offered a new long-term contract in October. The midfielder, who joined Tottenham from Juventus in January 2022, was delighted to put pen to paper.

"I feel really good and I'm very happy to continue my story with this fantastic club," said Bentancur. "My family are happy; I have fantastic friends and team-mates who work hard every day. I love this Club and feel really good here.

"Winning the Europa League was a fantastic moment and we want to build on this now, to win more trophies. We have a new Head Coach, a new captain and I want to enjoy many more years at the Club."

Meanwhile, Frank said: "I'm extremely happy that Rodrigo has committed his future to the Club. It shows his belief in what we are building here and that we are starting a journey which we hope will be really special.

"Rodri is a big part of that. He's a fantastic midfielder who can dictate games and be the glue that holds the team together. He also has the ability to arrive in the penalty area, create goals and score them, too."

Tottenham have long had squad registration issues in both the Premier League and Champions League so here's what their two new transfers mean

Tottenham have started to get moving in the January transfer window with players coming in and out of the doors at Hotspur Way and that has a knock-on effort for the various squad rules.

Spurs are set to complete a £34.7million deal for Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid after moving swiftly on Monday to see off competition from Aston Villa, while also closing in on the £13million signing of Santos left-back Souza, who is expected to land in the UK from Brazil on Tuesday to tie up his transfer.

Heading out of the door at Tottenham have been Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace in a £35million deal as well as Kota Takai on loan to Borussia Monchengladbach. A number of players out on loan have returned and moved on to new clubs during this January window although they do no affect the squad rules. because they were not already included.

If we can be forgiven for being presumptuous, here's what the completed Gallagher and Souza deals do to Spurs' Premier League and Champions League squad numbers and what room, or not, it leaves them for further transfers and which stars will have to be left out of Thomas Frank's squad.

Premier League

Souza fits nicely into the Premier League rules for Spurs because in that competition a club's Under-21 players do not need to be included on their 25-man squad list yet are eligible to play in the Premier League.

To be considered an Under-21 player for this current Premier League season, players must have been born on or after January 1, 2004. That means the Brazilian can join the likes of fellow January arrival Mason Melia as well as Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel on that list.

Importantly it also means that Tottenham still have one spot free in their non-homegrown player list, because they only have 16 rather than the allowed 17. That list also includes Yves Bissouma, who the club would like to move on in this window, as well as Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus who will not be available until April because of their injuries.

England international Gallagher will replace Johnson in the homegrown player list, meaning Tottenham still have seven of the eight required. Technically they could fit in another homegrown signing this month or give the place to a youngster already on the U21s list.

The Premier League rules state that "a 'Home Grown Player' is a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)."

Kevin Danso qualifies as a homegrown player in Premier League terms because he was in the youth academies at Reading and MK Dons for years before leaving England at the age of 16 and later returning for a season at Southampton.

Here's how the club's Premier League squad looks now:

Premier League non-homegrown players (16 currently, 17 maximum allowed): Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Joao Palhinha, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Pape Matar Sarr, Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Randal Kolo Muani.

Premier League homegrown players (Seven currently and eight minimum required): Dominic Solanke, Kevin Danso, Brandon Austin, Ben Davies, James Maddison, Conor Gallagher, Djed Spence.

Notable Under-21s players: Souza, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel, Dane Scarlett, Mason Melia.

Champions League

If you've read these before, you'll know that this is the part where all hell breaks loose. Complying with the European squad rules has been a constant nightmare for Spurs and will continue to be for a while longer until the batch of 18-year-old signings eventually become B list players after two years at the club and then club-trained players a further year down the line.

It's all because the major issue in the Champions League, as it was in the Europa League last season, is the difference between UEFA's rules and the Premier League ones.

Let's start with the basics. UEFA's rules state that no club can have more than 25 players on their A-List during the season, of whom at least two must be goalkeepers.

The rules then make it clear that "as a minimum, eight of those 25 places are reserved exclusively for 'locally trained players' and no club may have more than four 'association-trained players' listed among those eight places. If a club have fewer than eight locally-trained players in their squad, then the maximum number of players on List A is reduced accordingly".

So what exactly is a locally-trained player you might ask? Well there are two different types. One is a 'club-trained player', those players who have been on a club's books for three entire seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21. The other is an 'association-trained player', those who were on another club's books in the same association for three entire seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21.

So as an example, while Danso is homegrown in the Premier League, he will not, like Gallagher, fit into that association-trained category in Europe because he left England at the age of 16.

Then another big problematic area for Spurs is the difference in the registering of young players and that will affect Souza.

In Europe, there is a B-List for players born on, or after, January 1, 2004 but they must have been eligible to play for the club for any uninterrupted period of two years since their 15th birthday – or for a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year. Players aged 16 may be submitted if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years without interruption.

So to put it simply, Spurs' Champions League squad is hugely bloated and spilling over in both non-locally trained spots and association trained ones, while having only one club-trained player in goalkeeper Brandon Austin.

As they need to register four in that latter category, Tottenham are required to leave three spots open, meaning what should be a 25-man squad instead shrinks to just a 22-man one.

While Gallagher is a straight swap for Johnson in the association-trained category, Souza replaces Takai in the non-locally trained department. The problem is Spurs have 21 players to fit into 17 non-locally trained spots and six association-trained players for four spots. Any association-trained players over the four allocated spots need to be crowbarred into the main group.

The simplest way to look at it is that with the two new signings and two departures, Spurs still have 27 senior players to fit into just 21 spots, keeping Austin aside.

Mathys Tel replaced the injured Dominic Solanke in the Champions League squad last month but the striker must return to the list immediately when fit, which he is now.

The next opportunity Tottenham will have to make three changes to their squad is ahead of the knockout phase, submitting their list by 11pm on February 5.

So even without further new arrivals and departures, Frank has some tough decisions to make with six players needing to be left out.

Maddison is likely to be kept out again with his ACL injury and decisions will have to be made on Bentancur and Kudus who may not return from injury until the final six weeks or so of the season.

Bissouma could depart from the Lilywhites and will be left out regardless, while Radu Dragusin is fit again after being left out but has been linked with a move back to Serie A. Key man Dejan Kulusevski could return to action next month if all goes well with an injection to stop the pain in his knee is successful. A decision will also have to be made over Tel and the new arrival Souza.

So six of those eight players just named cannot be registered if we're assuming the others all have to be, although there are also question marks about Antonin Kinsky's future. We're not including 18-year-old Mason Melia in our numbers here because we're assuming it's too early in his Spurs career to make it into the Champions League squad and the Irishman cannot be counted on the B list nor club-trained at this point.

With that in mind, here's how it all looks with the Champions League squad before Spurs even look at further new signings:

European non-locally trained players (21 currently, 17 maximum): Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Radu Dragusin, Souza, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Joao Palhinha, Wilson Odobert, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall, Mathys Tel, Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Randal Kolo Muani.

Association trained players (six currently, only four can be used in exclusive slots): Dominic Solanke, Ben Davies, James Maddison, Conor Gallagher, Djed Spence, Archie Gray.