Football London

Djed Spence has turned his Tottenham career on its head in the best possible fashion and now a new long-term contract with the club ensures his battle with one team-mate will really kick up a notch.

It was announced on Monday that the full-back, who turned 25 this month, has been handed a new long-term deal with the north London outfit, his second new contract in the past 12 months after a remarkable turnaround in his prospects at Spurs. For Spence was all set to leave Tottenham last summer with Genoa holding an option to sign him permanently after his loan spell there.

In the end the Serie A side, despite wanting to do a deal at a lower price, never moved to seal the deal and Ange Postecoglou and his coaches were impressed with what they saw from Spence as he returned to pre-season training after his spell in Italy. It took a couple of months to get into the Tottenham team, with injuries to others helping his cause, but the former Middlesbrough defender grabbed his chance when it came.

He would eventually play 35 times, scoring twice and laying on three assists amid plenty of eye-catching defensive performances. His first Premier League start came in December with an assist against Southampton and he did not look back. Spence's ability to play both on the left and right increased his opportunities to play.

So too did the injury problems for Destiny Udogie. The 22-year-old Italian would play the same amount of Premier League games as Spence - 25 - and one more overall with 36 in all competitions. Postecoglou managed Udogie carefully in the final months of the season to ensure he was fit for the key continental games on the way to the Europa League triumph in Bilbao. Udogie was less productive than Spence though in the final third with just a single assist across the season.

It's fair to say that Spence has impressed more as a left-back than he has on the right in the past year, even though he is naturally right-footed. He is comfortable coming inside and linking up with play, which lent itself well to Postecoglou's idea inverted full-backs.

The only downside is it can mean a lack of width at times and Saturday's Premier League opener against Burnley featured a left-side for Tottenham in Spence and Brennan Johnson that was always naturally going to look inward rather than outward when it came to flank play.

Udogie provides more natural width and an overlap if you do have a left winger who comes inside more often than not.

The problem for the young Italian is not only his final third work but also his availability. He has missed much of pre-season with a knee injury and while Thomas Frank said he is closing in on a return, Udogie has lost 39 games for club and country to injury over the past two seasons since walking through the door at Tottenham.

That, as well as Pedro Porro's playmaking ability and durability at right-back, mean that the main battle this season in the defence is set to come between Spence and Udogie on that left-hand side of the defence.

"My target for the season is to definitely win a trophy, play as many games as I can and just win," said Spence on Monday.

Although Brentford never ended up making a bid for Spence when he was at Middlesbrough, they and Frank did consider signing him before Spurs pushed through a deal in 2022.

Now the Dane has taken a key interest in Spence this summer and helping to continue his development and he praised his performance against Bukayo Saka in the pre-season victory against Arsenal. Spence also did well on the whole in the UEFA Super Cup penalty shootout defeat to PSG, despite their attacking riches.

"The new manager, he's been good with me," said Spence. "He speaks with me a lot and gives me confidence, I think that is very important for a player."

The key for Spence right now is to make himself one of Frank's undroppables for the big games. There will be enough matches to go around this season with Tottenham back in the Champions League on top of the three domestic competitions they must tackle and hope to go far in.

During the club's tour to Asia, Frank told football.london that he was not looking to sign another full-back this summer.

"Yeah, I think so [we have enough full-backs] because right now we have Ben [Davies] and Spence. I thought [Djed] was very good against Arsenal and did very well against Saka, and I think Ben is a very important player," said the head coach.

Spence currently has the role on the left in his hands and will provide the biggest competition Udogie has faced since arriving at the club. Davies cannot be discounted either for certain games because his ability to step inside into a centre-back role fits well into Frank's system which is often a back three in possession with one full-back pushing on.

It's the kind of battle for a spot that Frank wants all over the pitch. The better the battle the more competitive Tottenham will be during what everyone hopes is a big season at the club.

The Thomas Frank Premier League era got underway in earnest on Saturday as Tottenham Hotspur made a winning start to life under the Dane.

A Richarlison brace and one from Brennan Johnson ensured a 3-0 home success over newly-promoted Burnley on a weekend when Spurs, who have spent more than £100m in the market this summer, submitted an offer to Crystal Palace for attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze.

With a fee of £60m guaranteed, with an extra £8m in add-ons presented, the expectation is that both parties will work towards an agreement, with Palace acknowledging that they will lose out on significant funds if they held off until next summer on Eze.

The £60m guaranteed sum, were it to be agreed, would take the spending of Spurs to around £165m this summer, with almost £30m coming back into the club through the sales of Son Heung-min and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to LAFC and Marseille, respectively. That gives a net spend of around £135m.

But what does it do for Spurs’ financial picture, and how much room do they have when it comes to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations (PSR)?

Adding Eze on what would presumably be a five-year deal, which is where amortisation is capped even though contracts can be longer, would put another £12m on the club’s amortisation costs, which for 2023/24, the most recently published set of accounts, stood at £136m, up from the £79m figure two years prior. Any add-ons would be added to the balance sheet when activated and noted as ‘exceptional items’.

When it comes to losses, Spurs have racked up plenty in recent years. For the three-year assessment period for PSR, which allows clubs to lose up to £105m over three years minus allowable deductions for such things as asset depreciation, investment in infrastructure, the women’s team, the academy and community initiatives, Spurs lost £182m between 2021/22 and 2023/24. That was made up of £61m in 2021/22, £95m in 2022/23, and £26m in 2023/24.

But Spurs haven’t been in any danger of breaching PSR, and the club have gone out this summer and spent some €146m (£126m) bringing in the likes of Mathys Tel, Kevin Danson, Mohammed Kudus, Luka Vuskovic, Kota Takai and the loan of Joao Palhinha, which incurs a loan fee.

All told, the cost of adding those players to the club’s amortisation costs, which stood at £136m for 2023/24, will be around the £25m mark per year, although the rise will be offset in some degree by the book value of big money signings decreasing by another year.

The sales that the club made won’t impact amortisation too much, with Son Heung-min’s £19.5m exit to Los Angeles FC making pure profit in the club’s books as his book value has long since been amortised. Similarly, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s exit to Marseille for a fee just short of £12m guaranteed represents pretty much pure profit. That’s £31.5m coming in, compared to an annual outlay of £25m so far in terms of additional amortisation costs.

There are wages to factor in, of course, but Son’s large salary, and Hojbjerg’s considerable one, mean that the club will have created some space to absorb new additions. They have the ability to do more. The exits of players such as Fraser Forster and Sergio Reguilon have also cleared some more headroom.

But in terms of PSR, the three-year cycle up to 2023/24, where Spurs lost that £182m, never saw them fall foul of the rules because their allowable deductions were £93m per year across the period, largely due to stadium-linked depreciation.

That meant that the club had two years of being net positive for PSR, and even the heavy £95m loss only resulted in a £1m negative net PSR position due to £94m of allowable deductions that year. The upshot of all that was Spurs were net PSR positive to the tune of just shy of £100m, and when adding on the allowed £105m, they had PSR headroom of more than £200m.

We are now into a new cycle with the ticking over of the new financial year for clubs this summer, with clubs now operating in the 2025/26 financial year.

For the cycle up to 2024/25, which will be assessed by the Premier League before the end of the year, the £61m loss from 2021/22 drops off, and assuming the same amount of allowable deductions at £93m, Spurs will have absolutely no issues with PSR. In fact, the club’s PSR position will become even healthier if they come under the £61m loss threshold, which they will likely do.

But the focus now, and for those players signing now, is the 2025/26 season and that cycle. That includes 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26, a season where Spurs have Champions League football to lean on that will yield large revenues. It also means that the £95m loss from 2022/23 falls off in this current cycle and is replaced by a season where the club stand a good chance of getting back into the black if they go on a deep run in the competition.

The headroom the club has could well push past the £350m mark for the current cycle, and while that suggests that it should be open wallet time at Spurs, the big thing is making sure that the club can cashflow new additions, and improving their player trading in terms of outgoings, with it being one of the areas where many of their rivals outperform them.

But at a time when the club has optimism about a new era under Frank, and with a world-class stadium that allows for revenues to remain high and reliable each year, the club has the ability to move in the market in the coming seasons and not run the risk of falling foul of regulation, either the Premier League’s or UEFA’s.

They have the set-up to invest in more success, but the likelihood is that it will be on a piecemeal basis, and what happens this season will determine greatly how big the club chooses to go in the market next summer.

But in the case of Eze, the club has plenty of room to be able to absorb such a signing. They may look at the Liverpool playbook and see how on-pitch success and keeping powder dry can lead to enormous financial flexibility to try and press home advantage when it matters.

Djed Spence has said that Thomas Frank has spoken to him a lot since the Dane arrived at Tottenham Hotspur and given him plenty of confidence after the full-back signed a new long-term deal at the club.

It is the second new contract for the 25-year-old within a year after he turned his Spurs career around from being on the verge of leaving the club, with Genoa having an option to sign him permanently after his loan there, only to not take it up. Spence was handed a second chance by Ange Postecoglou and grabbed it as last season wore on and now he has continued to push on under Frank.

"I'm over the moon. I'm happy to sign and I just can't wait to start the season," he said of his new contract. "I just want to keep playing well and reach higher levels. Everyone has trials and tribulations, but you know I'm a fighter so I always work hard, try to do my best and come back from there.

"It's been difficult. It's been a rollercoaster road, for every challenge I've been resilient and fast forward I'm here now and I'm happy so I'm just over the moon with everything."

He added: "I've definitely grown. I've learned a lot over the past few years, being in different countries, learning new things."

Spence ended up playing 35 matches for Tottenham last season, able to play at either right-back or left-back, contributing two goals and three assists amid plenty of strong defensive performances.

This season, Destiny Udogie's knee injury has meant Spence has started all of the pre-season games he could and played every minute in the UEFA Super Cup clash with PSG and Saturday's Premier League opener against Burnley.

"Personally I think it was a great season for myself. Probably my breakthrough season you could say in the Premier League. I was happy with myself and hopefully this year I can continue that and get to new heights," he said. "It's a good feeling. Hopefully I can continue it again this year and we can win something.

On Frank he added: "The new manager he's been good with me. He speaks with me a lot and gives me confidence, so I think that is very important for a player."

Now Spence is looking to push on this campaign and repay the faith of the supporters and the club.

"Without the fans it'll be very hard to get to where we want to get to so together for the rest of the season we can definitely do something big," he said. "It's a good feeling you know. I just want to repay them with good performances and winning games.

"My target for the season is to definitely win a trophy, play as many games as I can and just win."

Eberechi Eze showed his true colours following Crystal Palace's clash against Chelsea. The 27-year-old attacking midfielder, who continues to be heavily linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, had a goal disallowed in the Eagles' goalless draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

Eze thought he had broken the deadlock inside the opening quarter of an hour, scoring a free-kick from just outside the Blues' box. The England international rifled the ball past Robert Sanchez, leaving the Spaniard in a heap.

Unfortunately for Oliver Glasner's side, the goal was ruled out. Marc Guehi, who had opened the corridor for Eze's strike by barging into Moises Caicedo, was within one metre of the Chelsea wall before the shot had been taken.

Despite the Crystal Palace talisman's best efforts, he couldn't find the net again. Eze showed flashes of brilliance throughout the match, but Reece James managed to keep him at bay.

Towards the end of the match, Eze was replaced by Justin Devenny. As the Eagles star left the field, he applauded the travelling fans for their support on the road.

Then, after the game, Eze – again – showed his appreciation for those in the away end, who were singing his song. Once most of his teammates had gone back to the dressing room, he extended his thanks and performed a praying gesture.

Speaking to Sky Sports a few moments later, Glasner provided an update on Eze's future. He said: "Eb should have scored a goal today, he had one and it was disallowed.

"He will come tomorrow to the Crystal Palace training ground, Tuesday off, we take Wednesday and I expect him to be back playing for us against Fredrikstad."

Crystal Palace will lock horns with the Norwegian outfit at Selhurst Park on Thursday night for the first leg of their Conference League play-off. Speaking to reporters in his post-match press conference, Glasner added: "Don't always believe what you read.

"Especially on the internet. There are so many rumours. I know, I watch the players every single day, in training sessions - if most of the things that is written about them is true then they couldn't perform like this.

"The team could not be as committed as they are. I'm calm. Two weeks to go. I know Eb's clause is gone, so it's the club's decision. Let's see how it goes."

Crystal Palace are said to have made an offer for an attacker who could replace Eberechi Eze.

Tottenham Hotspur are in talks with Palace over the England international but have yet to reach an agreement. As such, Eze seems set to start for his club as Chelsea host them at Stamford Bridge in their first match of the Premier League season.

The number 10 also played all of last weekend's Community Shield at Wembley Stadium as Palace won a penalty shootout against Liverpool. However, despite appearing business as usual on the pitch, moves are reportedly being made behind the scenes.

The Athletic claims Club Brugge have rejected an offer from Palace for Christos Tzolis. However, they reputedly plan to make an improved bid as talks are said to be ongoing with the player's representatives.

However, barely a month ago, Brugge announced that Tzolis signed a new four-year contract to 2029. The Greece international only signed from Fortuna Dusseldorf last summer but scored 21 goals and assisted another 16 across all competitions, per transfermarkt, during his debut season in Belgium.

Tzolis has added another three goals and two assists in seven appearances. He primarily plays as a left winger for Brugge, a position that coaches have used Eze.

Bilal El Khannouss seems a more direct replacement for the playmaker, whom Palace have reportedly approached Leicester City about. They could conceivably sign both with any fee they receive for Eze, which will presumably be upwards of £50million.

Tottenham look to have won the race to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, with Spurs closing in on a deal to sign the England international.

Reports emerged on Saturday that Spurs had agreed personal terms with Eze, with negotiations still ongoing over a transfer fee with the Eagles.

It was also suggested that Eze would not be named in the matchday squad for Palace's opening Premier League game of the season against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. However, Oliver Glasner chose to put the noise around Eze to one side and opted to include the Englishman not just in his travelling group for the game, but in the starting XI as well.

Eze is in the first Palace team named by Glasner for the new Premier League season but it may well be his last appearance for the club.

Spurs were linked with Eze earlier on in the transfer window, but a move was deemed unlikely due to their pursuit of Morgan Gibbs-White. When that deal ended in failure, Spurs turned their attentions elsewhere and back to Eze.

New head coach Thomas Frank has been keen to sign a new No.10 for much of the summer so far, and that was only heightened following James Maddison suffering an ACL injury in the pre-season clash with Newcastle United.

Eze can play centrally and is versatile to play across the frontline too. He had a £67.5million release clause that expired once the Premier League season kicked off, however, it is understood Palace are demanding a similar amount regardless.

A transfer is expected to be wrapped up in the coming days and Spurs could make it a double swoop with talks ongoing over bringing in winger Savinho from Manchester City too.

Arsenal had been heavily linked with signing Eze during the summer transfer window, but softened their approach after Ethan Nwaneri signed a new contract. Tottenham getting one over their north London rivals would be a major coup.

Spurs got their season off to a flying start with victory over Burnley on Saturday. Goals from Richarlison and Brennan Johnson wrapped up a comprehensive win in north London. It is a trip to City next weekend for Frank and his men whilst Palace host Nottingham Forest.

It waits to be seen where Eze will be for those fixtures.

Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze will play for the Eagles against Chelsea despite transfer interest from Tottenham, according to latest reports.

It was reported - on Saturday - that there was a major doubt over whether the player would feature in the game, due to Spurs stepping up their interest. It, though, seems that it's now not the case, with The Times reporting that he’s in line to be named in the starting XI for the match.

Arsenal have also shown interest in Eze this summer, but have cooled their interest, with concentration currently on sorting outgoings from the club, following Ethan Nwaneri signing a new contract at the club. That has allowed arch rivals Spurs to step up their pursuit.

The report suggests that the club are yet to make a bid, but want to pay in the region of £50million for the player. The attacking midfielder is seen as a potential replacement for James Maddison - who will miss the majority of the season after undergoing surgery on a ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL).

Palace start their Premier League charge in the 2pm kick-off against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Athletic also report that Eze is now expected to start the game.

It's added that the Eagles continue to work on proposed replacements - and have made an approach to Leicester City over attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannouss. The Morocco international started the Foxes' Championship clash against Preston North End on Saturday, but was taken off at half-time after failing to make an impact in the first 45 minutes.

Speaking before the game, Palace manager Oliver Glasner said that he expected the midfielder as well as defender Marc Guehi to start the game despite both being linked with moves away.

"I've been in football long enough that I know every day, almost every time of the day, that things can happen," he said. "But if you ask me now, yes I expect both [with be] starting for us on Sunday."

Tottenham Hotspur will break a golden transfer rule for the first time in almost a decade if they opt to buy Joao Palhinha permanently next summer.

The Portuguese veteran arrived in north London earlier this month in a loan move from Bayern Munich, as Spurs look to pick up the pieces after a lacklustre Premier League season. The Lilywhites finished a dismal 17th last term under Ange Postecoglou, although Australian did end the club's wait for a trophy by securing the Europa League title.

After an impressive seven-year stint with Brentford, Thomas Frank made the shock move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer to succeed Postecoglou, and very little time has been wasted in making improvements to the squad which he inherited.

As well as signing the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso on permanent deals, Frank has been boosted by the arrival of Palhinha on a season-long loan, with a £27million option to buy next summer. And should Spurs opt to activate the clause, it will come as the first time in nine years that they will have paid a transfer fee for an outfield player over the age of 30.

He will be on the verge of 31 by the time next season's summer window reopens. Fernando Llorente was the last outfielder that Spurs paid a transfer fee for, signing the striker from Swansea City in a £12.1m move in the summer of 2017 at the age of 32.

Unfortunately, the move came back to bite the Lilywhites in major fashion, with Llorente managing just two Premier League goals from 36 appearances before he was moved on to Napoli in a free transfer in 2019. Thankfully for Palhinha, there will be very little pressure on the star scoring goals given his role predominantly as a defensive midfielder.

With a stellar resume with the likes of Sporting CP, Fulham and Bayern, Palhinha arrives in north London with an impressive wealth of accolades, having won a Primeira Liga title, three Taca de Ligas and a Bundesliga crown. At international level, he has also been capped 34 times for Portugal, scooping the Nations League with the country earlier this year.

Palhinha made his official debut for Spurs during Saturday's Premier League opener against newly-promoted Burnley on home soil, entering the fray as an 80th-minute substitute for Lucas Bergvall to see out a comfortable 3-0 win. Richarlison opened the scoring for the Lilywhites just 10 minutes into the clash, meeting Kudus' whipped cross from the right in the centre of the box to volley the ball home past Martin Dubravka.

The Brazilian doubled his tally for the day 15 minutes into the second half in audacious fashion, connecting with another Kudus cross with an overhead kick before wheeling off in celebration. Brennan Johnson sealed the deal for the home side six minutes later, with Pape Matar Sarr assisting with a through ball.

Despite spirits running high within the Spurs camp, Frank will understand the task his side faces when they travel to the Etihad Stadium next week to face a rejuvenated Manchester City squad.

Six Premier League clubs have spent more than Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window so far.

Spurs have brought in four new signings, with Mathys Tel turning his loan move into a permanent deal following the end of last season, Kota Takai arrving for £5 million, Mohammed Kudus coming in for £55m and Joao Palhinha signing a season-long loan deal from Bayern Munich.

With the season getting under way on Saturday, with Spurs taking on Burnley at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there is expected to be more incoming business done in N17.

Eberechi Eze and Savinho have both been linked with moves to north London, from Crystal Palace and Manchester City respectively, with football.london reporting earlier this week that "Tottenham will try to tie up a deal for both players in the days ahead to ensure a major double dose of quality for Frank's squad and a much-needed increase in transfer spending to the sums splashed out by their rivals."

Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal have all splashed out more than Tottenham so far this summer, as have newcomers Sunderland, which is perhaps more of a surprise.

However, if Tottenham are to snare both Eze and Savinho in the coming days, the spending could see them surpass every team above them bar Liverpool.

And that will marry up with what Aston Villa boss Unai Emery said in an interview before the start of the season.

Talking to TNT Sports, before the broadcaster's big opening match of the season between Villa and Newcastle, Emery namechecked Tottenham, perhaps randomly, when discussing Villa's finances.

The former Arsenal boss could have mentioned his former employers or even Chelsea, but chose to speak about Spurs and their spending power in what is a brutal message to chairman Daniel Levy to continue that spending for new head coach Thomas Frank.

Emery said: "I always accept that we have not got the power of the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham with the money they are spending, but we are very happy with how we are building with our capacity and achieving our objectives - three years being in Europe."

"Yes! A good bottle of wine!" Thomas Frank shouted back as a journalist asked the new Tottenham head coach as he was leaving the press conference room if he would be enjoying some red wine after a victory on his home debut.

The 51-year-old had earned that glass or two or three of his go-to drink after a good win. The 3-0 victory in his first Premier League game as the man in the home dugout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium had shown enough to send the majority of the 61,077 crowd home happy.

All three Spurs goals were well executed, but none more so than the sensational scissors kick that Richarlison produced on the hour mark. It was so good that there were further roars and gasps as the fans watched the two replays on the big screens in the aftermath.

It wasn't the perfect performance but it was the perfect result and the perfect way to introduce Frank to his new home after he admitted the day before that he would have some butterflies in his stomach when stepping out into the huge ground.

This game was always going to provide more of an insight into what life would be like under the Dane than the match against PSG. People know that Frank's Brentford side could regularly shock the big boys, it was going to be more instructional to see how he operated as the dominant favourites in a game.

Bearing in mind he had to do so on Saturday without a playmaker and with many players feeling the effects of that huge effort in the heat on Wednesday evening, against a team that conceded just 16 goals in 46 Championships matches last season, the result was just what he needed and the pressing, energy and finishing was good from his team.

"Perfect start or dream start we all know we need to follow up on it. Today I will just enjoy it and I hope the players, the club and the fans enjoy it because that is important," Frank told football.london. "I think overall it was a good performance, not through the roof. A good performance against a difficult opponent. It’s never easy in the Premier League we know that and after the very short turnaround against PSG.

"No complaints. If there are two days, three days, four days, one day (between games) I will make sure I do everything I can to get the team ready. But just a reminder that PSG are playing tomorrow night and we play today.

"I think City a few years ago also played Saturday instead of Sunday. I don’t know who decides that but the ones who decide that maybe need to think a little bit about the players. But big positive is that our medical department and performance department did a top job to make sure the players were ready to go. I think we had eight starters again so that I am happy with."

Frank and his team did it all in front of the returning Daniel Levy. The chairman had missed the UEFA Super Cup game as he was helping his daughter settle into her new university in the USA along with the rest of the family.

He returned on the day there was a small protest opposite the club shop from a handful of supporters. It was protesting the lack of transfer activity but the timing on the first day of the Premier League season with people excited to see what Frank's debut would be like, plus the window still being open and speculation surrounding the club's transfer attempts, perhaps all lent itself to a low turnout compared to the big, eye-catching protest last season.

Back inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Levy had a very powerful person sat alongside him in the director's box.

It was Vivienne Lewis, who sits on the board of Tavistock Group, the investment organisation that has among its portfolio the English National Investment Company, which Tottenham fans will know better by its acronym ENIC.

Levy's son Josh Levy is a co-Chief Executive Officer of Tavistock. Vivienne Lewis is a senior managing director, as is her brother Charles. They are both the children of former Tottenham owner Joe Lewis.

Vivienne Lewis has attended numerous Tottenham matches over the years and is known to many as "Viv". Those who have spoken to her inside the stadium say she is down to earth and a fun presence.

It's worth noting that when it comes to who owns Spurs, ENIC own 86.91% of the club's shares. Levy and his family are potential beneficiaries of discretionary trusts which own 29.88% of that, while another discretionary trust of which certain members of Joe Lewis's family are potential beneficiaries ultimately owns the other 70.12%.

So it's interesting that his daughter Vivienne's presence at Saturday's game comes at a time when investment is expected this summer, with a number of people within Spurs tipping ENIC to provide a hefty injection of capital, with some suggestions it could be as much as £120million.

Spurs are trying to spend some money on Eberechi Eze. They currently remain in talks with Crystal Palace over the 27-year-old England international.

Levy and Palace co-owner and chairman Steve Parish are two men who do not give an inch when it comes to negotiations so any discussions were always going to be a drawn-out affair. It was never going to be Eze like Sunday morning.

The Eagles know Spurs are particularly desperate for a playmaker since James Maddison's ACL injury, while Tottenham know that the south London side cannot afford to miss out on the £60million-plus that the midfielder would bring into the club with just 22 months remaining on his contract.

They have seen Marc Guehi's value almost halve in the seven months since Spurs made an approach for the centre-back in January and now he is in the final 10 months of his contract and could potentially walk away in the summer for nothing if a deal is not done for him, with Liverpool interested.

Spare a thought for Palace boss Oliver Glasner. The Austrian is said to be seething at the possibility of losing all three of Michael Olise, Eze and Guehi within 12 months. The Eagles are reportedly lining up Leicester's Bilal El Khannouss as a replacement if Eze does depart to Tottenham.

Spurs also want to add Savinho to their ranks, a player Frank believes can light up their attack.

It's a mouth-watering prospect for the Dane and all Spurs fans to think of a trio of dribblers in the 21-year-old Brazilian, Eze and Mohammed Kudus behind a striker. All three can switch positions in an instant and their ability in one-vs-one situations would add the magic on top of the solid structure Frank is trying to build within the club.

Add to that a clinical goalscoring wide man like Brennan Johnson and prospects like Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel, who got a great ovation when he warmed up and when he came on after his tough few days, and Mikey Moore, who grabbed an assist on his debut for Rangers, and you've got a great set of wide options for the season with Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison to come back eventually.

Guardiola is not desperate to lose Savinho, knowing the remarkable potential of the player, but his press conference on Friday hinted at the suggestion that the winger has indicated a desire to join Tottenham.

The City boss also remembered eventually that the Brazilian has an injury and will miss the next couple of weeks. Back just in time for the end of the window and Savinho responded by posting a photo of himself in the gym.

Frank would not speak about Eze when asked specifically about him but did say about further transfers: "We are definitely in the market. I said it before, Daniel and Johan [Lange] and Vinai [Venkatesham] are working relentlessly to try to do their best to improve the squad, but we only want to improve the squad if we can get players in that can improve the squad. [Otherwise] I want to keep it like it is."

In the meantime, Frank got some good performances out of the squad he currently has on Saturday.

Kudus put in a home debut shift that thrilled the fans with two pinpoint crosses for Richarlison, who had deftly moved away from his defender with great movement.

Kudus is going to bamboozle a lot of defenders this season. He can fade out of games for a spell but when he's running at the opposition, he's like a Tasmanian Devil, whirling and spinning away from them with that lower body strength.

The key to his success will be the end product, with two assists out of the gate a great start, and his defensive work to please Frank. One such tracking run back to help out Romero brought a big cheer from the crowd and applause from Frank.

Ahead of him Richarlison was superb, as he was against PSG. This is what the Brazilian can do when he's fully fit and happy. He's in a good place right now as a doting father to his two-month old son alongside his partner and he looks in the best shape he's been in for a long time.

His hold-up play once again was tidy and strong, always finding space. His first goal was an accomplished finish and it was only the brilliance of his second strike that made the opener look easy. His strength on the ball also helped bring about Tottenham's third goal for Brennan Johnson.

The Wales international showed with that first touch and deft finish that even on the left, where he hasn't really played regularly since doing so for Nottingham Forest in the Championship, he is a goal threat.

For Richarlison, he now needs to prove that this isn't just another temporary respite from the injuries.

"Fantastic he is scoring. The first one is definitely easier to score without being easy, but I have a striker that takes those two chances and helps us win the game," Frank told football.london.

"He deserves a lot of praise. He was very good against PSG and today he was exceptional, with his work-rate, driving the team, link-up play, hold-up play, just dominating and then the two finishes.

"So happy on his behalf and again performance department, medical department did a top job to build him. I think a few of you know he was not involved in the first friendly because we had to build him.

"That will be continuous and something we need to look at throughout the season. It is only the second game of the season, there is a long way to go but very positive with him. Second goal 17 passes in the team I have been told, every player touched the ball and finished with two top actions.

"First from Mohammed Kudus and then second an exceptional finish by Richarlison. I’m a little disappointed that so early we have goal of the season, but must be a contender."

Frank had also selected a young midfield trio with 19-year-olds Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall starting with 22-year-old Pape Matar Sarr.

Sarr just looks like he's going to continue to thrive under Frank, who has taken a huge shine to the Senegal international, as Ange Postecoglou did in his first summer.

Sarr has a bit of everything about him. He can defend, tackle and anticipate and he can also fly forward, thread a ball through and score goals. His engine is ridiculous and he covered 11.1km on the day, more than any other Spurs player.

Tottenham's third goal came because Sarr sensed the opportunity to surge on to the ball at Richarlison's feet and then hit a perfectly-weighted through ball into Johnson's run so the former Forest man didn't have to break his stride.

You might have missed, although it was hard to miss, Sarr slapping the hell out of Richarlison's head after the Brazilian scored. The duo are good friends and constantly play fighting.

Gray played well in the anchor-man role, getting better and better as the match wore on. The teenager was tidy in his play, confident on the ball and kept making great breaks forward that a playmaker midfielder would have found. Gray made five ball recoveries and two clearances during his 71 minutes on the pitch and he spent 75% of his time running for 6.6km of his 8.8km covered.

Bergvall played mostly in front of the other two midfielders as a number 10 but struggled to find space with Burnley's low block.

The Swede's better moments came when he came back into his own half and drifted past a string of players on a couple of occasions.

At the end of one such run he did not release the ball to Kudus down the right and instead turned inside and played a safe pass that did eventually end with the ball played into the box to Dominic Solanke to turn and shoot just wide.

Frank went mad though at Bergvall in the moment he didn't take the obvious pass to Kudus, bellowing at him with hand gestures from the dugout just 10ft or so away, and kept talking to him about it in the aftermath of the moment. When the teenager was taken off five minutes later, the Dane appeared to still be explaining it to him albeit in an arm-around-the-shoulder way.

It's those moments that such a young player will learn from, about making the right decisions at the right times.

Frank was pleased with Bergvall's display as well as his two team-mates.

"I’m very happy. Pape I have praised so much, so I will not say so much about him today. I will give the praise a little bit to others," the Spurs head coach told football.london. "Archie Gray did well. Fine first half, really grew into it in the second half and as a reminder to myself and everyone else young players take a little bit of time.

"It can’t be that we put them out there and suddenly they are exceptional. That demands incredible, incredible, incredible talents. Normal, very, very good talents, which I think Archie is and Bergvall is, demands some time, so happy with his performance. Lucas overall was very good as well. Top actions from both players."

When asked about Gray in the number six role, the Dane added: "We need to be aware of not putting players in different positions. I think he's a player that is a flexible player.

"He can definitely play the centre-back and the right-back, but I think he is more natural as a midfielder. But he can play all three positions. I like his dynamism, he’s covering a lot of ground, he’s good in duels. Good in the pressure and great to carry the ball forward as well."

One midfielder who was missing on Sunday despite Frank saying he would be in the squad was Yves Bissouma.

"Unfortunately he got injured in training yesterday, so very unfortunate," he said. "An injury we [will] look into how much it is."

That could mean we have seen the last of the Mali international in a Tottenham shirt if the club can find a new home for a player who has 10 months left on his contract and has frustrated all three of the managers he has worked for in N17 in as many years.

Tottenham need to get players out of the door at the same time as they bring them in. Manor Solomon is set to return to full training soon but Spurs already had plenty of wingers before looking to add another in Savinho. There would be no room for the Israel international, particularly in that troublesome Champions League squad.

Frank wants Luka Vuskovic to head out on loan to get the regular football he needs to develop but despite plenty of interest in the Croatian, particularly from Hamburg, the club might look to wait until they get another centre-back through the door or at least get Kota Takai back from injury.

Dane Scarlett has not yet moved and it could be that at this stage with a first team breakthrough looking unlikely Tottenham may look for a permanent move for a young striker with two years left on his contract, if a suitable loan deal is not available.

Bryan Gil has not even been given a number at the club in the new squad list as Spurs seek to arrange his exit.

All Tottenham fans' eyes though will be on any incoming movement. If Spurs can find a breakthrough in the talks with Palace over Eze then that transfer could suddenly move quickly with some reports suggesting the England man might not play at Chelsea on Sunday amid the discussions.

With Savinho, again it's about putting in a bid that makes City feel it is the right time to part company with the young Brazil international even though he arrived just a year ago. Spurs' reported first attempt was not at that level and if they want to get him in before the north Londoners make the trip to the Etihad Stadium next weekend then they will have to move fast.

Pep Guardiola will want a replacement, with reports of Rodrygo being the one, although the Spaniard has also made no secret of City's need to move on players.

For Tottenham, Eze's arrival would be a huge boost. To get Savinho as well would be the biggest show of ambition in a transfer window at Spurs in a long, long time, to be completely Frank.