Football London

It was a weekend to remember for some of Tottenham's army of players out on loan across England and the continent with a few stunning goals and big performances.

The international break finally came to a close after a long three weeks and that meant Spurs' loan players were back in action for their various clubs. The north London side have got 17 players out at sides across the Premier League, Football League as well as teams in Italy, Germany, Portugal and Belgium.

Some of them have obligations for their new clubs to sign them if they meet certain requirements, while others have options to make their transfers permanent and the rest just want to impress Roberto De Zerbi or anybody watching.

football.london will be keeping a close eye on all of the north London outfit's players out on loan across this long campaign. That includes those who have obligations to leave as they are still on Spurs' books until that moment they officially depart the club.

Here's what happened to all 17 of Spurs' loan players this week:

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Yang Min-hyeok (Westerlo)

It's been a strange time for Yang Min-hyeok. Something of a forgotten man among Spurs fans and without an appearance for the club to his name, the 20-year-old suffered an injury soon after joining Belgian side Westerlo on loan this summer following a couple of substitute appearances.

He returned just in time to help South Korea to glory at the Asian Games, laying on the assist for Swansea's Eom Jisung's winning goal in the final against Japan.

However, the winger was then a little too exuberant in delighting in the fact that winning the tournament earned the players an exemption from the otherwise required 18 to 21 months of national military service for Korean men. His comments on the matter and saying it was forefront in the players' minds upset people back home and Yang had to release a lengthy apology on social media.

"Hello, this is Yang Min-hyeok. I am sincerely sorry for causing disappointment and discomfort to so many people with my remarks regarding the Asian Games," he wrote. "Participating in the Asian Games as a representative of South Korea held great significance for me, and as an athlete, I naturally gave my all with the goal of winning the championship and the gold medal.

"However, I failed to properly convey that the military service exemption was merely one of several motivators—alongside the desire to achieve great results—that drove me forward. Regardless of my original intent, it is clearly my fault that my words caused discomfort and made it appear as though I took the significance of the gold medal lightly as a national team athlete.

"I recognise that the gold medal was not something simply guaranteed; it was an achievement made possible only through the hard work and support of many people. Furthermore, I never intended to belittle or mock the efforts of those currently fulfilling their military service obligations or those who will do so in the future.

"I sincerely apologise to everyone who was hurt or disappointed by my thoughtless remarks. Moving forward, I will strive to make amends not only through my words but by demonstrating a better attitude and a greater sense of responsibility on the field. My sincere apologies."

Yang return to football matters at the weekend in Belgium and came off the bench in the 85th minute to score an absolute wonder goal.

He sprinted on to a long throw from his goalkeeper Andreas Jungdal and sped the length of pitch before cutting inside the chasing defender and curling a perfect left-footed strike in off the far post.

He was mobbed by his Westerlo team-mates and was pushed over to the fans as the goal sealed the 5-1 win against Royal Antwerp in dramatic fashion.

Pape Matar Sarr and Guglielmo Vicario (Juventus)

Pape Matar Sarr and Guglielmo Vicario were up against a former Spurs midfielder in Harry Winks on Sunday and had to rely on another ex-Tottenham man in Randal Kolo Muani to rescue a point for Juventus in the 1-1 draw at Cagliari.

The duo both started as Juventus dominated possession and shots with 72 per cent of the ball and 22 efforts on goal compared to their hosts' four. However, in the 20th minute Daniel Maldini was allowed to fire home past Vicario and it was not until the 81st minute when Kolo Muani stuck back.

Goal.com gave Vicario a six in their player ratings with the review: "Vicario had remarkably little to do for much of the evening as Juventus controlled the ball. He was beaten by Daniel Maldini's 20th-minute effort, where he might have hoped for better protection. He finished the game with just one save, reflecting a match where the opposition were clinical with their rare ventures forward."

Sarr has been getting plenty of praise for his performances for Juventus and this game was no different as he got a seven in the ratings with the write-up: "Sarr was energetic and effective in winning the ball back quickly, ensuring Juventus stayed on the front foot. His ability to cover ground allowed the more creative players to push higher, though he lacked a goal-scoring threat himself in a game where Juve needed contributors from deep."

Sarr joined the Old Lady in a £2.4million loan deal with certain conditions during this coming season set to trigger an obligation to buy him for £23.5million while Vicario agreed terms on a free loan for the Serie A side, containing an option to buy the 29-year-old for a total of £8.5million, which includes £1.7million in add-ons.

Mikey Moore (Koln)

Mikey Moore finally enjoyed victory for his loan club Cologne after a successful time away captaining England in the U20 Elite League.

The 19-year-old skippered his country and scored in back-to-back victories against Italy and France before providing an assist in the 2-1 win against Germany.

The Tottenham winger then returned back to the Bundesliga and played 85 minutes on Sunday as Cologne secured their first league win of the campaign with a 2-1 triumph against Borussia Monchengladbach in the Rhine derby.

A terrific Isak Johannesson strike midway through the first half and Saad El Mala's curling 67th winner brought home the club's first taste of success this season.

Moore received a strong rating of 7.22 in WhoScored's rankings, having made five dribbles, played one key pass, won one aerial duel and had a 87.5 per cent pass success rate.

Radu Dragusin (Fiorentina)

Radu Dragusin fell to a 2-1 defeat at his old side Genoa at the weekend as Fiorentina continue to sit second from bottom of the Serie A table.

The Romanian centre-back joined the Italian club this summer in a loan deal with a £21.4million obligation to buy which will be triggered by various conditions as this campaign goes on.

The 24-year-old has played every minute of the six Serie A matches so far for the Florence-based outfit with another two appearances in the cup.

Kevin Danso (Sunderland)

Kevin Danso played the full 90 minutes as Sunderland went down 2-0 to high-flying Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday.

The 28-year-old has appeared in four straight Premier League matches for his new side now and will help them continue their return to European football after 53 years away with this Thursday's Europa League game at Portuguese side Torreense.

For his performance on Saturday though, the Sunderland Echo gave the Austria international a player rating of five with the review: "One of a number of players who looked very fatigued after their international commitments. A little laboured on the ball and not as dominant defensively as we have seen, losing a header in the build up to the first goal."

"We always try to avoid all the negative noise," said Danso told the media after the game. "I felt until we conceded, we were able to create some chances. Everyone can say what they want, but it is up to us to get our heads down.

"We believe in ourselves. We know the quality that we have, so it is up to us to turn good performances, which we had against some of the top sides, into points, and also when we are playing bad, to grind out wins."

Danso secured a £2.5million loan with an obligation for the Black Cats to buy him for £22.5million if they stay up in the Premier League. The move sees him team up with Sunderland's director of football Florent Ghisolfi after their time together at Lens.

Souza (Porto)

Souza had dazzled the supporters during the international break when Porto took on Deportivo de A Coruna in a friendly as he provided an assist for Andre Silva's goal in the 3-1 victory for the Portuguese side.

That earned the 20-year-old left-back plenty of praise from the local media but it was not enough to earn him his first competitive minutes as he was once again left unused on the bench as Porto won 2-1 at Maritimo on Saturday in the league.

The Brazilian is at Porto on a free loan for the season, without an option to buy, with his new club taking on his salary and Souza will be hoping for his first official minutes of the campaign and his Champions League on Wednesday night when the Portuguese side face Troy Parrott and Giovani Lo Celso's Real Betis.

Kota Takai (Sint-Truidense VV)

Kota Takai finally made his debut for Belgian club STVV with the 22-year-old playing the full 90 minutes, getting booked just five minutes in and conceding four goals in the 4-3 defeat at Mechelen.

It was a mess of a performance from the away side as they found themselves 3-0 down within 39 minutes and despite threatening to pull level in the second half could not quite get to the line.

The Japan international centre-back has joined a club in the Jupiler League that has Japanese owners and a history of working with players from that country. He will be desperate to get his career back on track after an injury-hit first year at Spurs, which featured an unsuccessful loan at Borussia Monchengladbach, and the centre-back is yet to play a competitive game for the north London club or so far his new loan team.

Mason Melia (Lincoln City)

Mason Melia remains out with a thigh injury that will be keep him from playing for both Lincoln and the Republic of Ireland until later this month.

The 19-year-old striker, who made his Republic of Ireland senior debut this summer, had come off the bench in three of Lincoln's previous six matches and started one.

He has now started work on the grass and is expected to be around two weeks away from making his return for the Championship side.

Jamie Donley (Luton Town)

Jamie Donley returned from international duty with Northern Ireland to score a cracker for Luton and also provide an assist in the 4-1 victory at Wycombe in League One on Saturday.

The 21-year-old started all four of his country's Nations League games against Georgia (twice), Hungary and Ukraine and he returned hungry for goals for his club.

He got to work early with a little 16th minute dribble that ended with an assist for Kasey Palmer to curl an effort into the top right corner of the net. Just 11 minutes later and Donley decided to hit an even better effort himself with a beautiful left-footed curling strike from further out and wide into the top left corner of the net.

Donley, on a straight loan with no option for the Hatters to buy him, has already made six appearances for his loan side and has notched two goals and two assists.

George Abbott (Mansfield Town)

George Abbott made his long-awaited return to action for Mansfield last week following last season's loan at the League One club.

The 21-year-old midfielder got his first minutes from the bench in the 2-0 defeat at Port Vale in the EFL Trophy and then boss Nigel Clough gave him 15 more minutes at the end of Mansfield's 2-1 home victory against Bromley.

"Even before I got injured last season, I was speaking to the gaffer throughout the end of the season and he was happy for me to come back. He trusted me and thought I did well," Abbott said in a club interview this month.

"Then, the injury happened but credit to him, he still wanted me and he was still looking out for me. It was a no-brainer to come back, strictly because of him and how the team plays."

Oliver Irow (Plymouth Argyle)

Oliver Irow helped Plymouth Argyle to the summit of League One on Saturday as he played 65 minutes on the left wing in the 2-1 home win against AFC Wimbledon.

The 20-year-old winger and Spurs academy product, has four goals from his opening 10 matches for his new table-topping club.

Yusuf Akhamrich (Leyton Orient)

Yusuf Akhamrich had to settle for a goalless draw with Leyton Orient in League One as he got 61 minutes under his belt in the stalemate at Bradford on Saturday.

The 20-year-old right winger already has three goals and three assists from his first nine league matches this season but will need to help the O's to get scoring again after shooting blanks in their past two matches.

Damola Ajayi (Barnet)

Damola Ajayi got his first assist for League Two side Barnet after making a loan switch late in the summer window.

The 20-year-old right winger came off the bench for the last half hour of the match at Bristol Rovers and set up Kabongo Tshimanga's added time goal on the counter attack at the end of the game to seal the 3-1 victory on the road.

Ajayi spent last season on loan at Doncaster Rovers and then Bromley, having made his Tottenham bow the previous campaign with a spectacular debut goal against Elfsborg on the club's route to winning the Europa League.

Reiss Russell-Denny (Bristol Rovers)

Reiss Russell-Denny was an unused substitute for that match in League Two as Bristol Rovers lost 3-1 at home to Barnet on Saturday.

The 20-year-old midfielder returned from Tottenham's tour Down Under to make his first steps in senior competitive football with Rovers and they have now slipped from the top of the early table to ninth but still just four points off leaders Salford City.

Luca Gunter (Boreham Wood)

Tottenham's 21-year-old goalkeeper Luca Gunter has missed out on the squad for recent matches at National League high-flyers Boreham Wood.

Gunter is yet to experience defeat this season but has missed out on the victories against Altrincham and Sutton United in recent weeks after Chelsea loanee Ted Curd, back at the club after a loan last season, reclaimed his spot.

The Spurs academy stopper is getting his second loan experience under his belt after his time at Wealdstone last season.

Dylan Thompson (Enfield Town)

Spurs' 18-year-old keeper Dylan Thompson kept a clean sheet on Saturday as Isthmian League Premier Division side Enfield Town won 3-0 against Dulwich Hamlet.

That came after another league victory against Stanway Rovers and an FA Cup exit at Oxford City as the teenager continues to get plenty of experience on his first loan.

Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 with Manchester United despite having ten men after Rodrigo Bentancur's red card

Tottenham Hotspur have been given a clear verdict on Rodrigo Bentancur's red card against Manchester United after the Uruguay international was sent off for violent conduct.

The 29-year-old was sent off in the 78th minute, with United leading 1-0 thanks to a goal from Bryan Mbeumo. The Spurs man went flying into a tackle with Luke Shaw, before the defender reacted by pushing Bentancur.

The Spurs star appeared to headbutt the United full-back leaving the referee with little choice but to send him off. Fortunately for Roberto De Zerbi, Dominic Solanke popped up with a late equaliser to ensure a share of the spoils.

Speaking on Sky Sports Ref Watch about the incident, former referee Dermot Gallagher said: "I think it's a red card. I haven't spoken to many people who think it isn't. I just wonder if it could have been avoided.

"That tackle (Bentancur sliding on Shaw) has got to be punished. If you give a free-kick for that, it all goes away. What follows, though, I think it's a red card."

Jay Bothroyd agreed with the red card decision but said that both players were lucky to escape injury given their proximity to the advertising boards. Bothroyd said: "If Bentancur was closer to the sideline, he could have hurt himself, which would be dangerous play.

"That first Bentancur challenge should definitely be a booking. He's left the floor; he's out of control. It's an aggressive challenge.

"But by the letter of the law, as soon as you put your head in someone's face, you're gonna get a red card. But I would say Shaw's push is more dangerous than Bentancur's.

"If he's close enough to the touchline, he's flying into them boards. If any of those two challenges catch Shaw, he's coming off the pitch injured."

Former Spurs manager Tim Sherwood says he can understand Shaw being aggravated by the challenges.

"Two tackles Shaw gets," Sherwood said on Sky Sports News. "Van Hecke comes in, gets away with that one, he jumps in. Then Bentancur comes in, I understand why Shaw got heated.

"I've got to say, has he got to wear shin pads? That might stop him getting injured. Is that not a yellow if you don't wear shin pads. He's got a couple of credit cards in his socks.

"If Shaw gets his toe to the ball there, he gets his leg broken."

The Lewis family have increased their stake in Tottenham after their recent £120million cash boost while former chairman Daniel Levy's slice of the club has shrunk.

The family, who own Spurs through investment company ENIC, have backed the Premier League club's attempts to transform to a more successful outfit with £320million injected into it over the past 12 months. Vivienne Lewis and her son-in-law Nick Beucher have taken a more active role in backing CEO Vinai Venkatesham and non-executive chairman Peter Charrington and the family have resisted interest from various parties in selling the club in the past couple of years.

The latest £120million injection for working capital has now officially increased the family's stake in Spurs to 89.06 per cent and after former chairman Levy did not take up the opportunity to match the cash boost with his own relative part of it, his slice in ENIC's pie at Tottenham has dwindled from being 29.8 per cent in October last year to 27.38 in June this year and now 25 per cent after two missed injection opportunities.

The north London club's investor relations page on their website now reads: "Of the total issued ordinary share capital of Tottenham Hotspur Limited, ENIC Sports, Inc. ownership is 89.06% (from 88.30%) to reflect shares allotted in September 2026. ENIC also owns the one THL convertible A share.

"Mr D Levy and certain members of his family are potential beneficiaries of discretionary trusts which ultimately own 25% of the share capital of ENIC. A discretionary trust of which certain members of Mr J Lewis's family are potential beneficiaries ultimately owns 75% of the share capital of ENIC."

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Levy, who was chairman of Spurs for 24 years before being ousted in September last year by the Lewis family, has been linked since June with selling a large portion of his stake in ENIC to British Virgin Islands-based company Eight Sports Capital after they claimed the 64-year-old had signed a sale and purchase agreement with them.

Eight Sports Capital is spearheaded by two leading forces involved in two of the three rejected Spurs takeover bids last year. One is Wing-Fai Ng, the CEO of American entertainment company Triller, which owns Eight Sports. The other is tech entrepreneur Brooklyn Earick, who is the CEO of Eight Sports.

There was a third new person involved in Taiwanese billionaire Richard Tsai, who also owns Triller as well as Fubon Financial Holding Company, one of the largest financial conglomerates in Asia.

In May after Spurs had narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the season, the Lewis family took the step of releasing their first ever message to the supporters.

"To the fans, As owners of 25 years, we have lived the highs and lows of Spurs with you," it read. "Finishing 17th this and last season does not reflect the stature or potential of this football club. We are bitterly disappointed and share your frustration. You, and we, expect more than this. We know this must never happen again.

"Our approach to running the club is, and has been, to trust the experts to do that, while backing them to be successful. The problems we found were deeper than we realised and were allowed to build over the last few years. We know that has eroded trust and we have to win that back. As owners, we take ultimate responsibility for the situation in which the club finds itself.

"We also take responsibility for rebuilding Spurs. Our ambition is to recapture the spirit of the club and bring back the excitement, the fearlessness and the bold football we have always felt defined us. That means football comes first. The Board and Executive team have laid out their plans to meet this ambition.

"This will require investment – in our teams, the academy, our backroom functions and more - and we are fully committed to this. We are not selling the club. We are all in. We are investing in it. You will see more of this in the coming months.

"We care deeply about Spurs. The rebuild the club needs, and you deserve, has begun. The change required is deep. It will take time and commitment, but change is happening. We know that actions will speak louder than words. The Lewis Family."

What Tottenham games Rodrigo Bentancur will miss as Premier League red card rules explained  Football London

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was in the news again at the weekend even though Spurs were not playing at their home ground

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium broke their NFL crowd record during a dramatic encounter as the Jacksonville Jaguars secured a last-gasp win against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Spurs had enjoyed their own dramatic moment in Manchester on Saturday as Dominic Solanke headed home a 92nd minute equaliser at Old Trafford and the following day their stadium in north London provided the backdrop to a fascinating encounter with a eye-catching start and conclusion in the second of the NFL London Games held in N17 this year.

From the opening kick-off, Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. got into a fight in the middle of the field with the Jaguars' defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. with staff and players from both sides pouring on to stop it. Both players were ejected within seconds of the contest.

The game itself then looked like it could go either way in a frantic finale and fittingly it was a kick that won it in the Premier League side's ground.

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First Jake Elliott’s 48-yard field goal gave the Eagles a 17-16 lead with eight seconds remaining and the Jaguars' Ameer Abdullah returned the subsequent kickoff 53 yards before he was tackled with just a single second left. That was just enough time for Manchester United fan Cam Little to slot his kick between the posts to seal a dramatic 19-17 win for the designated home side.

The attendance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday was 61,322 which was a new record NFL crowd for the north London arena six years on from the first games.

With the sport now spreading across the world with games in Melbourne and Rio among other international locations, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had said that the success of the games in London, in Tottenham since 2019, had laid the foundations for the growth across the globe.

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Archie Gray might not have grabbed the attention like goalscorer Dominic Solanke or man of the match Conor Gallagher but he put in a huge shift in Tottenham's 1-1 draw at Manchester United.

Gallagher won his award with his running and work in winning the ball back for Spurs at Old Trafford with 13 defensive contributions on the night, but Gray actually got more with 14. The 20-year-old racked up seven ball recoveries, three interceptions, three tackles and one headed clearance.

The only other Tottenham player to make three tackles in the game was, perhaps surprisingly for some, James Maddison during his 23 minutes or so on the pitch.

Young midfielder Gray is not a right-back and has no desire to be one but it spoke volumes that he could go to Old Trafford at his age, up against the often switching Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Amad, and come away mostly on top.

The England U21 international won more duels than any Spurs player on the pitch, with seven to his name, and was only dribbled past once. For context, Savio won six duels and Lucas Bergvall five.

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Gray also got his legs moving, as he sprinted 366m during the game, more than any of his Tottenham team-mates and bested only by United attacker Mbeumo's 373m with Savio's 354m the only other player over 300m. Gray made 17 sprints in total, with only Savio's 19 more in the Tottenham rankings.

In all Gray made 57 touches during his 98 minute appearance, with four in the opposition box. The makeshift full-back hit a top speed of 32.6kmh and had a 90 per cent pass success rate with six line-breaking balls among his 26 passes.

Gray may not provide the delivery of Pedro Porro but he brings the energy, technical and tactical ability that allows him to adapt to any role assigned to him and that's why he continues to be a key man in Roberto De Zerbi's squad.

Much was made of Spurs not replacing Djed Spence when the England right-back was granted his wish to move to Inter this summer but the decision has benefited Gray at least in terms of minutes, if not development in the position he wants to be a star in.

Back in May, De Zerbi tipped Gray to become a future captain of Spurs, something the youngster has already done this season.

"He is very young, [but] big potential as a player. I think he can become the future," said the Italian. "I am sure he can become the future of this club and the captain of this club.

"He has to understand better what will be his position on the pitch. He can play in a lot of positions, but maybe I would like him to be more specific in one position. We are working on that, in individual meetings with individual clips. For me and any way he is [still] an important player."

Since then Gray has played more as a right-back than as a midfielder and he will be hoping he gets the chance to switch back to the centre of the pitch when Porro returns from his hamstring injury.

Former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer was far from impressed with one Tottenham star in Spurs' draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford

Alan Shearer has slammed Tottenham star Dominic Solanke's time at Spurs as 'nowhere near good enough' and said the forward is lacking confidence. The Premier League record goalscorer was not impressed with Solanke's impact against Manchester United.

The Lilywhites striker scored his first Premier League goal of the season against the Red Devils with a smart header after holding off Lisandro Martinez. But it was his wayward efforts throughout the match that frustrated Shearer.

One such effort in particular irked the former Newcastle star when Solanke was played through by Lucas Bergvall and awkwardly switched the ball with his right foot, killing the angle for his shot against Senne Lammens, and allowing the Belgian goalkeeper to make the save.

Shearer could not help but highlight Solanke's poor goalscoring record for Spurs after joining the club in a £55million deal. Solanke has netted 24 goals in 73 appearances for Spurs but has not hit double figures in the Premier League since leaving Bournemouth.

“It’s nowhere near good enough, only once in double figures when you consider the money they paid for him," Shearer said on Match of the Day.

“Just watch how awkward and how little confidence he has here, because of his desperation to get it onto the right foot here. Naturally, you move the ball out three yards on your left foot and hit it, if he had the belief.

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“The lack of movement here: a goalscorer gets himself into the middle of the goal; where’s he going? When he says they need to be more clinical, he needs to be more clinical.”

For his part, Solanke agreed that he should have come away with more goals against United. “I probably should’ve had three goals today," he said.

"I wanted to make sure I kept getting as many as I can. I put one away so I’m thankful for that."

Solanke's boss, Roberto De Zerbi, was full of praise for his striker, however. The Italian does not believe the criticism of the former Liverpool and Chelsea youngster is always warranted and said he deserved to wear the captain's armband on Saturday.

"Because he suffered maybe too much. Because 'Tottenham didn't win, Tottenham didn't score, who is the striker of Tottenham? Solanke is not good enough'," De Zerbi said.

"It's not true, Solanke is good enough to play; maybe he is the best striker for us, because of his qualities. He is a complete player; he is a good guy; he has personality.

"He has to feel good in terms of his physical condition, but he is a great player. I wanted to show what is my confidence, and what is the importance I give him in this team.

"After the last game, the criticism, I wanted to put him as captain, to show my confidence and the confidence of the team, because all other players were happy when I said that Domi Solanke is captain.

"When one player of us is in a difficult situation, all other players and staff and myself, we have to show, to be close with him, like a family, like a team, like a normal team."

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Roberto De Zerbi has described Dominic Solanke as 'maybe the best striker' for Tottenham Hotspur in the continued absence of Richarlison.

Solanke, 29, captained Spurs for the first time during their 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford. He equalised in the second minute of second-half additional time, scoring his first goal in the Premier League since March.

Richarlison started the opening match of the season ahead of Solanke, who replaced him through the second half. However, the Brazilian is now not registered to play in the league after being frozen out by De Zerbi after asking to leave.

De Zerbi spoke after the draw with Man United about making Solanke captain, with Micky van de Ven only featuring as a substitute. The club's second-choice skipper, Pedro Porro, is out injured, while third and fourth choice options Ben Davies and James Maddison were on the bench.

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Solanke, however, got the armband ahead of Archie Gray, who started at right-back. He captained Spurs in their first match of the season against Brentford and in the Carabao Cup third-round tie against Liverpool.

De Zerbi named him as the fifth of their captains in August. However, he said Solanke "deserved" the armband.

Explaining the decision, De Zerbi said: "Because he suffered maybe too much. Because 'Tottenham didn't win, Tottenham didn't score, who is the striker of Tottenham? Solanke is not good enough'.

"It's not true, Solanke is good enough to play; maybe he is the best striker for us, because of his qualities. He is a complete player; he is a good guy; he has personality.

"He has to feel good in terms of his physical condition, but he is a great player. I wanted to show what is my confidence, and what is the importance I give him in this team.

"After the last game, the criticism, I wanted to put him as captain, to show my confidence and the confidence of the team, because all other players were happy when I said that Domi Solanke is captain.

"When one player of us is in a difficult situation, all other players and staff and myself, we have to show, to be close with him, like a family, like a team, like a normal team."