Football London

Johan Lange has plenty of work to do in the transfer market for Thomas Frank as the new Premier League season edges ever closer. We are now just over two weeks away from Tottenham opening their 2025/26 league campaign with a home encounter against Burnley.

Prior to that, Spurs will be looking to win another piece of silverware as they take on Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup final next Wednesday after winning the Europa League back in May. Spurs have been active in the transfer market so far this summer, with Joao Palhinha the latest player to sign on the dotted line after joining on loan from Bayern Munich.

At a time when Premier League rivals are splashing the cash and bringing in a number of players, Tottenham really have to do likewise as they look to kick on after finishing 17th last season. The north London club are targeting a new senior centre-back and a No.10 in what remains of the window.

Spurs were already short in the No.10 role before James Maddison picked up a nasty knee injury in last Sunday's friendly against Newcastle United. Morgan Gibbs-White looked like he would come in and enhance Tottenham's options in that area of the pitch until his move from Nottingham Forest fell apart despite the Lilywhites activating his release clause.

Spurs do have Dejan Kulusevski who can play in the role but it is not clear yet when he will return from the knee injury that he sustained in May. There is one standout candidate when it comes to a new No.10 and Tottenham supporters are desperate for the club to launch a move for Crystal Palace ace Eberechi Eze.

The England international has a £67.5million release clause in his Palace contract and the Eagles are believed to want in the region of £35million up front for their main man. Although Tottenham would have to stump up a lot of money up front to acquire Eze, his total fee is not too dissimilar to the £60million clause in Gibbs-White's previous Nottingham Forest deal.

Signing Eze could be a gamechanger for Tottenham and he does also have experience of playing from the left wing following Son Heung-min's emotional Spurs exit. On the latest episode of the Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham podcast, Spurs reporters Alasdair Gold and Rob Guest spoke about the need for a new No.10 and why Eze should be the man the club go all out for.

Tottenham's tough pre-season schedule continues on Thursday evening with a trip to Bayern Munich on the agenda. The game at the Allianz Arena will be the third time the sides have met over the past 12 months after playing against each other twice last summer.

Fresh from a 1-0 win over Arsenal and a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United in the Far East, Thomas Frank will be hoping for another positive result as they build towards next Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup final showdown against Paris Saint-Germain. The match in Bavaria could potentially see Joao Palhinha make his Tottenham debut after joining on loan from Bayern on Sunday evening.

Mathys Tel will also have the opportunity to come up against his former side after joining Spurs on a permanent basis from the Bundesliga giants earlier this summer. So what should Tottenham fans be looking out for in the game? football.london takes a look below.

Palhinha debut

As mentioned above, Frank could potentially hand Palhinha his Tottenham bow days after joining from Bayern Munich. The Dane must decide if he throws the experienced player straight into his starting XI or he eases him in from the bench.

Palhinha was a huge hit during his two years with Fulham and he could potentially help transform Tottenham in the middle of the park due to their need for a holding midfielder. The player's impact on the team may be visible in his game time on Thursday night.

Son replacement

Son Heung-min bid farewell to his Tottenham teammates on Sunday in the draw against Newcastle ahead of his move to MLS side LAFC. It would appear that his replacement in the Tottenham team is going to come internally rather than the club looking to bring in a new left-sided attacker in the transfer market.

So who exactly will his long-term replacement be? Frank may well drop a big hint against Bayern Munich with his selection as he gets his plans in place for the PSG Super Cup match.

He has taken a big shine to Wilson Odobert in pre-season and Tel is also a leading contender to play from the left.

Who plays at No.10?

As well as the big question mark over who takes on Son's role in the future, Spurs also have a No.10 issue that they need to address. Already short in the area prior to James Maddison picking up another bad knee injury in the Newcastle game, Spurs are now in desperate need of someone to take on the vital role and be a major influence in the final third.

The Morgan Gibbs-White transfer saga is not what Tottenham needed and it remains to be seen when exactly Dejan Kulusevski will return from his knee injury. For now, it may be Lucas Bergvall or Pape Matar Sarr who plays slightly more advanced unless Frank chooses to deploy Odobert or Mohammed Kudus there.

Solanke minutes

Dominic Solanke did not feature in any of Tottenham's games in Asia due to an ankle injury. A return against Bayern Munich could happen if Frank's comments after the Arsenal win are anything to go by.

“It's getting closer. We'll see if it's close enough for Newcastle if not I'm positive for Bayern,” he said on his striker. Richarlison led the line in the win over the Gunners and then it was Tel who did likewise in the Newcastle draw.

Spurs really need Solanke to get some minutes in the tank as he could prove key in next Wednesday's game against PSG with another piece of silverware on the line.

Thomas Frank's first pre-season at Tottenham continues with a trip to face Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Thursday.

Spurs will travel to Germany without Son Heung-min after the 33-year-old completed his move to LAFC for more than £20million, an MLS record transfer. They will also likely be without James Maddison after his knee injury suffered late on against Newcastle in Seoul on Sunday, which looked a serious one.

Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin are recovering from long-term injuries while Destiny Udogie missed the club's tour with a knee problem. Dominic Solanke travelled with the team to Hong Kong and South Korea but did not take part in any of the matches due to an ankle issue.

After the win against Arsenal, Frank told football.london that if the England international did not make it back for the Newcastle game, then he would be back for the friendly in Munich. Even if Solanke has travelled to play then he is not likely to start after missing the past couple of weeks of training.

Frank must decide who will play as the team's number 10 without a fit natural player in that position and there is also a new loan signing to fit in with the arrival of Joao Palhinha from Bayern, who could immediately feature against his parent club. The Portuguese has not played since a brief appearance in the Club World Cup in June so will likely have to build up his minutes.

Here's the team that we reckon Frank will select to face Harry Kane & Co as Tottenham prepare for next week's UEFA Super Cup clash against PSG.

(4-2-3-1) Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Sarr; Kudus, Bergvall, Odobert; Richarlison.

Ledley King believes it's important for Tottenham to keep Cristian Romero at the club this summer as Son Heung-min makes his way to Los Angeles and has heard some good things about Thomas Frank behind the scenes at the club.

The Argentine has been linked with a move away from Spurs as it reaches the final two years of the vice-captain's contract at the north London outfit. Tottenham skipper Son Heung-min is joining LAFC for a MLS-record fee of more than £20million after asking to leave the club.

football.londonreported last week that when new head coach Thomas Frank was first appointed he called all of the senior players in the club and only Son told him he wanted to leave Spurs. Romero was previously linked with a move to Atletico Madrid but has thus far shown no desire to push for a move out of the club.

While on the club's tour to Asia, where Romero impressed in games against Arsenal and Newcastle, King said it was vital that Tottenham keep their World Cup and two-time Copa America-winning centre-back.

"It's important, it's always important [to keep a winner]. During my period, I would say it was very difficult to keep players. Whenever you felt like you were building on something, we seemed to lose one or two of your best players, and it makes it very difficult," the former Spurs skipper told football.london.

"So yeah, you always want to keep your best players, but again, it's something that it is not easy to do, but of course as a football club we never want to sell our best players, that's for sure."

The 44-year-old added: "I think Romero is brilliant. I think the partnership between him and Micky van de Ven, it's a great fit. They're different in their styles, but that works well. Also there's some young talent coming through and Kevin Danso coming in last season and when he had to play, he looked very good as well, so I do feel that we're quite strong in that central defensive area.

"Ben Davies comes in as well when he has to in difficult circumstances again and never lets the team down. So I think we're quite strong in that position at the moment."

King knows a thing or two about being a centre-back and Tottenham added two young ones this summer in 18-year-old Croatian Luka Vuskovic, who is set to go out on loan, and 20-year-old Japan international Kota Takai.

"The little I've seen, I've been impressed but for any young players, it's about learning as much as you can, taking on board what the coaching staff are trying to teach, learning from the players around you," he said.

"It takes time for young players, it can be frustrating at times when you want to play or you want more minutes, but you have to be patient and make sure that you're working hard every day and waiting for an opportunity to come and when that opportunity does come, you have to be ready to take that.

"We've got a lot of young players, excellent young players throughout the squad, in some of the forward areas as well as midfield, throughout the squad we're very strong with young players."

This has been a summer of change at Spurs with Ange Postecoglou sacked after winning the Europa League, the club's first trophy in 17 years, but also overseeing a 17th-place finish in the Premier League. In came Frank for another new era at the north London club.

"It was a difficult season last season. Mainly due to injuries, but I mean ultimately it wasn't a good enough league campaign, but full credit to the players and Ange, they stuck at it right to the end. They still saw that they could turn the season around and make it a good one," he said.

"To be able to keep that motivation right to the end, keep your eye on the ball, and pull off the win at the end, you have to give great credit to Ange and he'll be forever in the history books for what he's achieved at the club. But in football, things change very quickly and after that success, a new manager comes in. The players have to get on with it and deal with it very quickly and I sense excitement.

"We know that Thomas is a proven Premier League manager over a number of years. I can see the players are looking forward to learning his philosophies and getting the season underway."

The centre-back added: "I'm sure it would have been a difficult decision. The chairman and the club will only move in the best interests of the football club and how we feel that we can improve and move forward. I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision, but Thomas Frank is a top class manager and we believe that we have a capable squad that should be doing much better in the league.

"We have players now that have got over the line of actually winning a trophy, especially for the young players that puts them in really good stead moving forward, just having that belief that they can go over the line. It's something that is important to get as early as possible.

"We have a number of young players that have have done that now. I'm looking forward to not just this season, but what the future brings."

So what will Thomas Frank's Tottenham Hotspur look like?

"It'll be interesting to see. I think he likes pressing high, likes high energy, but at the same time, I think he's quite sensible in his philosophy," said King. "I don't think he'd be afraid to change things tactically if need be, but what I've sensed so far is that he's someone who's going to put his arm around players and have a chat with them.

"I sense a real closeness between him and his coaching staff, and also just trying to connect everyone at the club and make them feel comfortable, which is what you need for success. To build on something you want everyone at the football club to be involved, to be engaged and to feel that we were aiming for success altogether and not just on the football pitch side of things and I sense that he's really trying to do that.

"I've spoken to some people who've said that [he's trying to connect everyone], they've told me that. It's been meetings with everyone at the club together, talking about having that connection as a team, as a club, moving forward, but also just me seeing, watching how he carries himself, how he interacts with everyone, it's something that I've noticed as well.

"I always think it's an important ingredient, when you want to build something, make it successful is to allow everyone to feel part of it and I can sense that he's really trying to bring that together."

Frank has two coaches on his staff that King knows well in Matt Wells and Justin Cochrane, who have both worked within Tottenham's academy.

"I think it's something that's always important [to keep that Spurs connection]. Wellsy and Justin know the club really, really well. They'll know a lot of the young players that are trying to make that step up into the first team squad, and I think it's important for them to have that knowledge to give to the manager," said the former England international.

"When the new manager comes in, it's very difficult to to learn about all your players at once, so I'm sure slowly but surely they will drip feed the manager information on some of the young players that have a bright future ahead of them.

"I've always felt it's important to have that connection, someone who knows the club really well, just to help the manager coming in. So I think it's a great fit."

So will King ever return to coaching to get his badges?

"It's always in my head, it's always there. I'm always picking up things, I spoke to Justin yesterday, just trying to just pick at his brain a little bit, to find out about the specific style of how we're going to play and what the manager really looks for and what he wants from his team and stuff like that and you know, it's always there, it's always going around in my head," he said.

"But at the moment, I enjoy doing what I'm doing. I've always said you have to be obsessed with the coaching style. I've always said I'm never going to go into it unless I'm fully ready, prepared, I can't go in 50-50 in my head, so whether that comes, I'm still not sure. Time's probably running out each year, but I'm a footballer at heart and that side of it, I suppose it'll always kind of tick away a bit at me."

Thomas Frank wants to sign a new No.10 at Tottenham this summer.

Spurs have completed four incoming deals so far this summer, with the new head coach improving his forward line, his defence and the midfield with the signings of Mathys Tel, Mohammed Kudus, Kota Takai and Joao Palhinha (loan).

Frank wants to add another centre-back to his ranks, given Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven played just 26 and 22 games respectively last season in a 60-match campaign while Radu Dragusin is still on his way back from his cruciate ligament injury.

That is relatively new information, but Tottenham's desire for a No.10 is not.

Spurs looked set to bring Morgan Gibbs-White to the club having appeared to activate the Nottingham Forest man's release clause.

However, Forest called foul play, ceased communication with Spurs, threatened legal action and eventually tied the 25-year-old down to a new contract at the City Ground.

Dejan Kulusevski remains sidelined with a knee injury and James Maddison had been on his way back, also from a knee injury, until he had to be stretchered off during the pre-season tour game with Newcastle with what looked to be a further serious knee injury.

A number of players have been linked with a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but there is nothing imminent at this moment in time.

And if reports are to be believed, one move could have a damaging domino effect on Tottenham, unless they act quickly.

Chelsea are trying to sign Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig with the Blues in direct club-to-club talks with Leipzig for around two weeks now over a £60million deal. The 22-year-old has a broad agreement on personal terms with the west Londoners and has made it clear to his current employers he wishes to leave.

Simons has been linked with Spurs too, but it would have to be a late hijack now to beat Chelsea to the transfer.

Should Chelsea sign Simons, Leipzig would need a replacement and they are already on the hunt, with Liverpool's Harvey Elliott tipped to make the move to Germany.

Elliott is another who has been linked with Tottenham, in the aftermath of the Gibbs-White transfer failure.

Both players would be good additions to Frank's squad, but the two could be interlinked and Spurs could find themselves having to look elsewhere.

In the space of five days, Tottenham have loaned out five of their top academy talents to teams across the Football League and Scotland which poses a number of questions with 12 players at the least expected to head out of the door.

football.londonreported earlier this week that after Thomas Frank had assessed his squad in recent weeks, including on the summer tour to Hong Kong and South Korea, he had given the green light to a group of young players being made available for loan in the shape of Luka Vuskovic, Jamie Donley, Will Lankshear, George Abbott, Yang Min-hyeok, Tyrese Hall, Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett, to get them regular minutes to hasten their development.

Donley and Abbott completed their moves to Stoke City and Wycombe Wanderers respectively on Wednesday, Lankshear made the switch to Oxford United on Tuesday and development squad player Hall went to Notts County the day before. All four clubs have a good relationship with Spurs and took players from the north London outfit last season.

That quartet of moves follow on from the loan of Mikey Moore, long considered the most exciting talent in the academy at that age group, to Rangers, while Ashley Phillips went to Stoke earlier in the summer and fellow centre-back Alfie Dorrington also returned to his loan club from last season with the move back to Aberdeen. Damola Ajayi also went out to Doncaster Rovers early in the summer. On top of that was the £1million permanent deal for goalkeeper Josh Keeley to leave for Luton Town with Spurs inserting a sell-on clause.

All of that means that 13 talented young players from Tottenham will be playing their football elsewhere this season. The Premier League club send out plenty of youngsters each season on loan but it feels this time like there's been a huge push to get many out in one go.

In some cases players just simply are not seen as being able to reach the level required to play for Spurs, in others it's about getting the youngsters regular minutes for development to ensure they do have a chance at Tottenham going forward while for some the club's transfer plans simply block their immediate chances.

That looks to be the case with Vuskovic. football.londonreported his week that as well as a new number 10, Frank wants another senior central defender ready for Champions League football as first choice centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven played just 26 and 22 games last season in a 60-match campaign while Radu Dragusin is still on his way back from his cruciate ligament injury.

With Kevin Danso and Ben Davies used ahead of Vuskovic mostly on the tour and summer arrival Kota Takai available once he has recovered from planta fascia, although his position will also be assessed late in the window, Spurs want Vuskovic to get regular minutes to ensure he continues to learn his trade defensively before throwing him into Premier League and Champions League football. Interested clubs looking for an option to sign the teenage Croatian permanently have been told in no uncertain terms that it needs to simply be a straight loan.

It's not a good look though for Tottenham to be palming off so many of their young players, either in terms of not creating space for talent to come through into their bloated squad or if there is a feeling that the academy is not producing the level of player that can compete in the Premier League.

Back in 2020, Jose Mourinho complained that Spurs did not have the required level of academy players to dip in to and use in the over-18 age group and instead the brightest talents were 16-year-olds like Dane Scarlett and Alfie Devine. There is a certain irony that half a decade on and those two players are yet to break through properly into the first team and are set to head out on loan yet again with only two years left on their contracts, meaning a big decision lies ahead.

football.london understands Devine in particular has a lot of interest from clubs both in the Championship as well as the Eredivisie in the Netherlands.

There is also Tottenham's club-trained issue in the Champions League which means so many youth departures could leave them short for their return to that competition. In essence, Spurs' inability to develop senior academy products for their squad over recent years, with third choice goalkeeper Brandon Austin the only one, means that Frank will have to rely on the 21 non-club trained players he can register in their squad. Three spots that would have been used on academy-built talent will lie empty.

Players like Donley, Lankshear, Scarlett and Devine would not have needed to be registered and could have been used from a B list of academy players but Frank will not have that option as they head out on loan.

Lankshear told football.london of his immediate future out in Hong Kong said: "Who knows? Let’s see what this season brings. I sort of do as I’m told but I feel ready. I feel really fit and strong. I’ve scored in pre-season. Whatever I’m told I am ready to do."

Frank will have to leave senior players out of that Champions League squad as they will not all fit in, particularly with a new advanced playmaker and central defender eyed up to come through the door.

Frank's opinions on young players are certainly to be trusted though. He has a history of coaching such players, including his time spent managing the Danish FA's international youth sides and he knows when youngsters are ready or not, having helped develop, among others, former Spurs stars Christian Eriksen and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as well as Christian Norgaard, now at Arsenal.

However, the exodus of young Spurs players in that 18-21 age group does leave questions over exactly how many players Stuart Lewis will have to work with in his newly-created role of first team academy transition coach.

Tottenham's technical director Johan Lange said last month: "We want players of all ages to have that development mindset, strengthening even more the bond between the first team and academy is something we've worked on for a number years, and with this hire of Stuart coming in this new role, we believe it'll be even stronger in the years to come, because we have some very exciting young players that will come through and push in the upcoming years, and they need that special attention to bridge that big gap that is to go from academy football to the Premier League."

There are of course other talented young players who will remain at the club and Frank will take a look at them in the weeks and months ahead.

Spurs are back in the UEFA Youth League, which mirrors the Champions League fixtures in the group stages. Eighteen-year-old midfield starlet Callum Olusesi, is at this moment expected to be staying to be a leading figure for the north London club in that competition against Europe's best young prospects, which begins next month and is for players born on or after January 1, 2007.

All eyes at Tottenham are also on 16-year-old wonderkid Luca Williams-Barnett, who lit up the U18s level last season and has been playing regularly for Wayne Burnett's U21s so far this summer. Another 16-year-old in centre-back Jun'ai Byfield was taken on the tour by Frank after impressing in training with the first team and coming off the bench in the senior friendly at Luton along with Olusesi, Rio Kyerematen, James Rowsell and Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny.

Tottenham supporters desperately want new faces during this transfer window but such is the paradox of football fandom they also want to see young players getting their chance, even though one desire often blocks the other. It seems to be the case though that this summer both are areas of concern.

Radu Dragusin has admitted that he has "enjoyed" his journey in working his way back to full fitness from a serious injury and said it has "changed me in a good way". The Romanian international sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee during Spurs' Europa League victory over Elfsborg in late January.

Dragusin has not featured for the club since and he unfortunately had to watch on from the stands for the team's Europa League final win over Manchester United. The player continues to put in the hard work behind the scenes to get back to full fitness and he knows the importance of having a positive mindset when it comes to making a comeback from such a cruel setback.

"During my injury, I was on crutches, my knee was really stiff because of the surgery, obviously," he said in an interview with SPURSPLAY. "It was a long process until I got my full, normal walking, let's say, and after that, things really was a positive journey. I can say I enjoyed this journey, because if you don't, it's really hard to get back to the levels you were.

"So, yeah, it was a big change for me. It was a change that I had to learn to live with it, to train with it. I think it changed me in a good way, because it gave me another perspective that I can view everything in football. We have to have a positive mindset, you have to embrace this injury, even though it's the worst part of the game, you need to learn and find a way that can make you happy and enjoy the process. And I think I found that way.

"All the staff, all the players here have been really helpful to not get distance from them. I feel like they really helped me. Like you say, also the fans have been incredible online and everyone who meeting me on the street are telling me 'we can't wait for you to come back' and that really helped."

Dragusin may not have been part of Thomas Frank's Tottenham squad for the pre-season tour of Asia but he has been fully involved at Hotspur Way in team meetings as they plan for the new campaign.

"I'm part of the meetings. I've been to all the meetings with the squad, for the tactical meetings and for everything that he and the staff tries to build with us," he admitted. "And I think that was really important, also for me to understand the way he wants to play, the principles, the tactics that he wants to implement.

"I can't wait to be back. I've been working hard on and off the pitch with the medical and the fitness staff. Once I'm fully fit, I can't wait to be back with the boys and then be back for the matches also."

We are just over a fortnight away from Tottenham getting their 2025/26 Premier League campaign up and running with a home encounter against Burnley. Thomas Frank will be looking to get off to the best possible start as Spurs boss after departing Brentford in June to replace Ange Postecoglou at the helm.

Tottenham have made some moves in the transfer market for the Dane so far this summer but plenty more still needs to be done ahead of the big kick-off in the Premier League. football.london understands that a new No.10 and senior centre-back are on the club's shopping list as they look to provide Frank with the best possible squad to attack the new season.

It won't just be incomings on the agenda as permanent moves and loan exits look set to come to fruition before the transfer window closes for business. With a lot still needing to be done to Tottenham's squad, we have taken a look at what Spurs' squad could look like for the new term, who could exit and the alternative options in certain positions.

Goalkeeper: Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky, Brandon Austin, Luca Gunter

There has been quite a bit of movement in the goalkeeping department this summer with Fraser Forster, Alfie Whiteman and Josh Keeley all departing for good. Tottenham are still well stocked there despite the three exits as Luca Gunter can act as fourth choice unless he is to depart on loan.

Right-back: Pedro Porro, Djed Spence

Pedro Porro is Tottenham's first-choice right-back but he has Djed Spence pushing him for his role in the team when the former England Under-21 international is not utilised at left-back. Archie Gray demonstrated last season and the previous campaign at Leeds that he can play as a right-back.

Centre-back: Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Radu Dragusin, Kota Takai, New centre-back

Tottenham have centre-back options galore right now but we could see some comings and goings in the position over the next few weeks. Frank wants to bring in another centre-back with a good level of experience after Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven missed a chunk of football through injury over the past few seasons.

There is also Radu Dragusin currently working his way back to fitness from the cruciate ligament injury he sustained at the end of January. football.london reported this week that Luka Vuskovic was among a group of young players made available for loan.

Kota Takai, who is currently suffering with plantar fascia, is part of the first-team squad but his situation will be assessed later in the window. Ben Davies and Gray can also play at centre-back if needed.

Left-back: Destiny Udogie, Ben Davies

Destiny Udogie is currently out injured but Frank told football.london on the club's tour of Asia that he is currently not looking for another full-back. Spence will be the player leading the race to start there in Udogie's absence, with Davies someone who can be selected there as well.

Central midfield: Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma

Tottenham have bolstered their midfield options with Joao Palhinha joining on a season-long loan deal from Bayern Munich. The Portugal international could be the man to finally help Tottenham solve the troublesome No.6 issue that has proved problematic in recent seasons.

Yves Bissouma could potentially move on in what remains of the window due to the fact he is in the final year of his contract, with George Abbott one of the youngsters set to leave so he can get even more first-team experience under his belt.

Right-wing: Mohammed Kudus, Brennan Johnson

Mohammed Kudus will be in the driving seat for the right-wing position after completing a big-money move from West Ham this summer. The Ghana international has really impressed in pre-season so far and he could prove to be an excellent signing.

Europa League final goalscorer Brennan Johnson will be fighting it out with Kudus for a place in the Tottenham team. Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski are further options for Frank on the right but Yang Min-hyeok looks set to depart on loan again.

Attacking midfield: James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, New No.10

Tottenham were already rather light in the No.10 position before James Maddison picked up another knee injury in Sunday's pre-season friendly against Newcastle United. Tottenham do want to bring in a new No.10 this summer and it very much has to be a priority for the club as they look to start the new season in top form.

It is not clear yet when Kulusevski will be back in action as he himself suffered a knee injury in May that ruled him out of the Europa League final. Even though Tottenham are short on numbers there right now, Jamie Donley will be playing his football for Stoke City on loan next season and Alfie Devine is another player on course to exit on a temporary basis.

Left-wing: Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert, Manor Solomon

Frank will be hoping to find his long-term successor to Son Heung-min in the weeks ahead as the Spurs captain closes in on his move to LAFC. He appears to have taken quite a shine to Odobert and Mathys Tel is another player who can start there for Tottenham after showing glimpses of his quality last season.

Manor Solomon, providing he still remains a Tottenham player after the closure of the transfer window, could be another choice for Frank on the left flank. Kudus, Johnson and Richarlison are also capable of playing there and so is Bryan Gil, although Tottenham do need to move the Spaniard on due to his contract status.

Striker: Dominic Solanke, Richarlison

Dominic Solanke and Richarlison will be Frank's two options upfront when it comes to leading the line for Tottenham. The hope will be that Richarlison can steer clear of injury after three injury-hit seasons in N17 since moving from Everton in 2022.

Tottenham's long-standing issue at the base of their midfield could now be a thing of the past. Dearly lacking a player to sit in front of the backline, provide a protective shield and win the ball, Thomas Frank's team may have solved the problem with a very shrewd move in the transfer market.

Sunday evening saw the club confirm the signing of Joao Palhinha on a season-long loan deal from Bayern Munich. Tottenham also have the option in their agreement with the German club to sign him on a permanent basis next summer if they so wish.

The loan deal for Palhinha is a move away from Tottenham's usual transfer strategy considering his age, but it could prove to be an outstanding piece of business if he can replicate the form he displayed in his two years with Fulham. The holding midfielder earned rave reviews at Craven Cottage with his performances in the middle of the park and it's not hard to see why when you take a look at his numbers (via PremierLeague.com).

In his first season in west London, Palhinha made a total of 148 tackles, 48 more than any other player in the top flight, and he competed in the second-most duels (487), winning 59.1% of them. He also won 64.3% of his 112 aerial duels.

In the 2023/24 campaign, Palhinha made 152 tackles and that saw him top the charts once again in England's top flight. Across those two seasons combined, Palhinha made 300 tackles and the player closest to him on the list was Moises Caicedo on 191.

Speaking in his first interview as a Tottenham player, the ex-Sporting CP man outlined what he will bring to the team and his love for a tackle. "I think my type of game, it belongs to the Premier League," outlined Palhinha to Tottenham's official website.

"I've always said that I really enjoyed the two seasons that I had at Fulham, it was a dream come true and probably one of the best memories I have in my football career belonged to the Premier League. I really enjoyed playing against top teams, also against Tottenham in that moment and now I can be part of this, such a great club.

"I'm a player with a lot of hunger to win tackles, as you know. It's one of my main focuses in the game, to try to help my team-mates without the ball to recover as soon as possible and of course when we have the ball, try to play simple, to try to give the team the best options. If I need to choose a word to describe me, it’s going to be a 'hungry' player for sure."

He added: "The crowd motivates me as well. I think the moment, in my case, when I make a tackle and I feel the crowd pushing me, I don't have words for this because it's what gives me a lot of power and it’s really special here in the Premier League from the crowds. I just want to experience in our stadium the people pushing me and my team-mates in each tackle we make."

The addition of a top quality No.6 in Palhinha could potentially make all the difference to the Tottenham team and elevate them to the very next level. Yves Bissouma has not proved to be the answer there and Rodrigo Bentancur is better when he has a license to move upfield as was the case in Antonio Conte's team when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg would be the player sat deepest.

Johnny Cardoso appeared that he may be the long-term solution to the issue due to the agreement Tottenham struck with Real Betis 12 months ago in the deal that involved Giovani Lo Celso returning to his former club. However, Cardoso instead headed for Atletico Madrid this summer after excelling for Betis as a No.6.

Palhinha's ability to take on the role and immediately solve it for Tottenham could be there for all to see on Thursday evening if he is to make his Spurs bow against parent club Bayern Munich in the friendly between the sides at the Allianz Arena. If not, it may be in Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup final if he is handed a starting spot in the team's showdown against Paris Saint-Germain in Udine, Italy.

Palhinha looks to be a terrific piece of business by the football club and it could well prove to be a gamechanger if he can replicate what he did at Fulham in a Spurs shirt.

Tottenham have reportedly launched a bid to sign Real Madrid star Rodrygo with Son Heung-min set to leave the club this summer. The Loc Blancos star has repeatedly been linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabéu, with Arsenal also among the clubs said to be monitoring his status.

The Brazil international, who looks set to leave the Spanish capital, has been linked with a number of clubs in the Premier League. Rodrygo has fallen down the pecking order under new manager Xabi Alonso.

Arsenal and Liverpool had emerged as interested parties, but they now appear to be focusing on completing other deals - leaving Tottenham free to make a potential swoop.

According to Spanish newspaper Marca, Los Blancos have received enquiries from several clubs seeking information about his price tag. Agents close to Spurs are said to have already submitted an initial proposal to Real and are now 'awaiting a response'

With Son set to join MLS side Los Angeles FC after Spurs’ pre-season clash in South Korea, Thomas Frank will be eager to find a replacement. However, their reported interest in Rodrygo is complicated by competition from Chelsea, despite the Blues already signing Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and reported interest in Xavi Simons.

The report adds that their strategy is to continue offloading players while making signings without restraint.

Marc Guiu and Nicolas Jackson are expected to depart, and Rodrygo is reputedly seen as a reinforcement who could elevate the team further following the momentum gained from their Club World Cup win over PSG.

As for Arsenal, their focus has shifted to Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze. football.london understands that Eze remains a key target before the transfer window closes, with discussions already held with the player’s camp. The Palace talisman is said to be keen on the move, and personal terms are not believed to be an issue

Currently, Spurs have Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus available in that position. Frank was recently asked about the dilemma he faces in that position, and his response offered insight into how he plans to utilise certain players.

"I think first and foremost, I think it’s important that we have some depth in the squad," he said in a press conference last week. "Richarlison, I see him more as a striker that can also play to the side.

"Mathys Tel is a winger but can also play as a striker. We need different skillsets. "Some of them have ball carrying skills, some of them are very good at pressing players, so that's it."