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The end of an era: Son Heung-min (£8.5m) waved farewell to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday as the Lilywhites and Newcastle United drew 1-1.

There’s no time for too much sentiment as Gameweek 1 approaches, though – it’s all about the key takeaways for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.

From a big injury blow for Spurs to a welcome return for the Magpies, here’s what we saw.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1-1 NEWCASTLE UNITED

Goals: Johnson | Barnes

Assist: Danso | Gordon

MADDISON INJURY

James Maddison‘s (£7.0m) second appearance of the summer ended in more injury misery.

The midfielder was in trouble not 10 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute, being replaced himself shortly afterwards. Maddison had to be stretchered off, later being seen on crutches.

The bad news is that it’s the same knee that plagued him at the end of 2024/25.

“Yeah, it’s like in life, in football. I think sometimes life and football can be brutal, but also sometimes very beautiful. So I think it was brutal what happened to Madders. It looks like a bad injury. Of course, we don’t know exactly the status on it. It didn’t look good.

“We are pretty sure it was the same knee that he had the previous injury in.” – Thomas Frank on James Maddison

Where one door shuts, another one opens. Pape Matar Sarr (£5.0m) started this game in the hole, having bagged three goals in his previous two pre-season outings. Will he get a sustained run in that role now? You’d have to think that Spurs, given how close they were to nabbing Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.5m), would seriously consider moving for another ’10’ if Maddison is ruled out for a long period. But with Joao Palhinha signing on Sunday night, and Rodrigo Bentancur (£5.5m), Archie Gray (£5.0m) and Lucas Bergvall (£5.5m) already options deeper, perhaps Thomas Frank really does see Sarr’s future further forward.

The Senegalese midfielder registered a decent five touches in the box here, although his only effort came from a set play.

GORDON UP TOP

Both sides were without their main strikers on Sunday, with Alexander Isak‘s (£10.5m) future uncertain and Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) injured. Solanke may be back for the next friendly, which is a good job as Mathys Tel (£6.5m) and Richarlison (£6.5m) weren’t up to much up top. Tel missed an absolute sitter to make it 2-0.

As for Newcastle, Eddie Howe admitted after full-time that “there’s not much time” to get a new striker in – or any new players – ahead of Gameweek 1.

After Will Osula (£5.5m) fluffed his lines in midweek, Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) led the line against Spurs.

He did very well, too, linking up nicely with Harvey Barnes (£6.5m) and Jacob Murphy (£6.5m) on either side of him. Unless Newcastle really get a move on in the transfer market, that may well be the front three at Aston Villa.

Gordon set Barnes on his way for Newcastle’s (well taken) only goal, having come inches away from assisting Joelinton (£6.0m) earlier. Gordon himself went close with two predatory efforts, also seeing a goal chalked off for offside.

Newcastle really need a striker or two, but Gordon isn’t a bad Plan C.

“I thought Anthony did really up front, leading the line. Very pleased with him today.” – Eddie Howe on Anthony Gordon

HALL RETURNS

After remaining unused against Team K League, Lewis Hall (£5.5m) made his first appearance of the summer. It was his first outing since February, indeed.

Hall was only on the field for the final 13 minutes, and judging by Howe’s post-match comments, it may be Kieran Trippier (£5.0m) and Tino Livramento (£5.0m) at full-back in Gameweek 1.

“Massive. I mean, what a player to get back into our ranks. He’ll need a bit of time to get back to his best and we’ll give him that time and try and support him. Today was just a taste for him. He’s worked really hard to get to this point.” – Eddie Howe on Lewis Hall

EVEN CONTEST

It was a fairly even contest in Seoul, with Newcastle maybe just edging it.

Perhaps the two teamsheets explained why. Other than Livramento for Matt Targett (£4.0m) and Sandro Tonali (£5.5m) for Lewis Miley (£4.5m), this might have been the Newcastle team for the opening weekend.

Frank, however, only gave 45 minutes apiece to several of his regulars, such as Pedro Porro (£5.5m), Micky van de Ven (£4.5m) and Cristian Romero (£5.0m). Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m) was also only on the bench.

Brennan Johnson (£7.0m), in Kudus’s right-wing role, issued a ‘don’t forget about me’ plea to his new manager, scoring the game’s opener.

Porro went close with a direct free-kick attempt, while Joelinton missed an easy header from a Bruno Guimaraes (£6.5m) cross. Bruno G was the game’s top creator, with four key passes.

Newcastle United XI: Pope (Gillespie 82), Trippier (Hall 77), Targett (Livramento 62), Schar (Krafth 82), Burn, Guimaraes, L. Miley, Joelinton (Hernes 87), J. Murphy (Park 77), Gordon (Osula 62), Barnes (Elanga 82).

Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) picked up an injury as Tottenham Hotspur claimed a 1-0 pre-season friendly victory over Arsenal on Thursday.

The key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from this clash are covered here.

ARSENAL 0-1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Goal: Sarr

Assist: none

SAKA + TROSSARD SUBBED OFF

Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard (£7.0m) were both forced off with injuries on Thursday.

Saka fell to the ground following a collision in the second half, appearing to clutch his thigh. He received treatment shortly after, before Mikel Arteta hauled him off as part of a series of changes.

There were further injury concerns when substitute Trossard had to exit the pitch.

Post-match interviews failed to yield any update on Saka, perhaps indicating it’s a minor problem, but Arteta did discuss Trossard’s injury:

“He felt a little tweak, I think he tried to turn and he was pushed and he felt something muscular so we’ll have to assess him.” – Mikel Arteta on Leandro Trossard

GABRIEL, CALAFIORI + TIMBER LATEST

There was better news regarding Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.0m), Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m) and Jurrien Timber (£5.5m), with the defensive trio expected to be fit for Gameweek 1.

Asked if there were any doubts about their availability, Arteta said:

“I don’t think so, they’ve been involved in the last few days so Gabriel, Calafiori, Timber, the three of them will be available.” – Mikel Arteta

Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.5m), meanwhile, felt something in the previous friendly against Newcastle United and wasn’t risked.

GYOKERES DEBUT

As for the on-pitch action, Arsenal weren’t quite at it, as they failed to register a shot on target in the first half.

They improved after the break but failed to find a breakthrough, as they lacked creativity in and around the Tottenham box.

Given Kai Havertz’s (£7.5m) lack of influence up top, it was a surprise Arteta waited until the 77th minute to throw on debutant Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m).

The Swedish striker failed to have a shot and only had two touches, but did show a willingness to run in behind.

New signing Cristhian Mosquera (£5.5m) also appeared off the bench.

“Really happy obviously to have them here, I think they’re going to have a lot of value. You see this right away, as well as the energy and the quality that they’re going to bring. It was a short one but at least that one is off now and when they play against Villarreal now, I’m sure it will be a bit different.” – Mikel Arteta on Viktor Gyokeres and Cristhian Mosquera

Elsewhere, Arsenal trialled a new set-piece routine, with five players lined up on the edge of the box. They often looked to go long via David Raya (£5.5m), too, so there was a slight change in approach.

Meanwhile, Martin Odegaard (£8.0m) bossed the underlying stats, with four shots and three key passes.

ANOTHER SARR GOAL/KUDUS IMPRESSES

This was easily Tottenham’s best display under Thomas Frank so far.

They got the win thanks to Pape Matar Sarr’s (£5.0m) superb strike, as he lobbed a stranded Raya from the centre circle.

It’s now three goals in three pre-season matches for Sarr, who moved into a No 10 role here after Lucas Bergvall (£5.5m) was withdrawn. He also racked up 13 defensive contributions.

Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m) was heavily involved down the right, causing Myles Lewis-Skelly (£5.5m) plenty of problems.

“I think he was really good today Kudus. His hold-up play, the way he takes hold of the ball in tricky situations. His one-vs-one skills, his creating opportunities for the team was top class. On top of that I think he’s working extremely hard and there was a recovery run from a set piece when he was straining all the way back and he won the ball. That’s how he can help the team so much. He will make a lot of the fans excited with his offensive actions and he will also help the team defensively.” – Thomas Frank on Mohammed Kudus

Spurs also showed a resilient side in the second half, with Pedro Porro (£5.5m), who almost scored direct from a corner, and Micky van de Ven (£4.5m) solid at the back.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario (£5.0m) didn’t have much to do as a result, making one straightforward save late on.

SOLANKE LATEST

With Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) absent, Richarlison (£6.5m) led the line for Spurs in Hong Kong, with Mathys Tel (£6.5m) taking over for the final half hour.

However, Solanke, who is currently in just over 15% of FPL squads, should be back soon.

Asked about his ankle injury, Frank said:

“He’s close, if not for Sunday then he should be fit to play against Bayern.” – Thomas Frank on Dominic Solanke

Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Kiwior (Mosquera 77), Lewis-Skelly (Zinchenko 77); Norgaard (Zubimendi 77), Odegaard, Rice (Merino 77); Saka (Dowman 77), Martinelli (Trossard 68, Nelson 85), Havertz (Gyokeres 77)

There were more pre-season friendlies over the weekend, with Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley, Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers among the teams in action.

In our Scout Notes article, we take a look at the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from these matches.

LIVERPOOL 2-4 AC MILAN

Goals: Szoboszlai, Gakpo

Assists: Ngumoha, Konate

Liverpool succumbed to a surprising 4-2 defeat at the hands of AC Milan in Singapore, with Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.5m) and Cody Gakpo (£7.5m) on target for the Reds.

The Premier League champions fielded two separate teams for each half, with Alisson (£5.5m), Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m), Andrew Robertson (£6.0m), Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) and new signing Florian Wirtz (£8.5m) in the first line-up.

Liverpool are clearly undercooked and succumbed early on when Rafael Leao punished van Dijk after the Dutchman showed the winger space on his left foot to crash a shot past Alisson.

Gravenberch was used as a utility centre-back in the first half, while Kostas Tsimikas (£5.0m) partnered Konate in two unsuccessful experiments.

Szoboszlai’s equaliser was a thing of beauty, however, a curling right-footed shot into the top corner, and Wirtz showed some superb moments of skill, playing in the false-nine role.

Wirtz looked neat and tidy, but the worry about whether he takes anything away from Salah’s potency will linger until we have more match evidence to go on, as for the second friendly running the Egyptian failed to score.

Liverpool first half XI: Alisson, Stephenson, Gravenberch, van Dijk, Robertson, Morton (Nyoni 32), Szoboszlai, Salah, Elliott, Ngumoha, Wirtz

Liverpool second half XI: Mamardashvili, Bradley, Konate, Tsimikas, Kerkez, Jones, Gravenberch (Morton 62), Frimpong, Doak, Nyoni, Gakpo

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2-2 WYCOMBE WANDERERS

LUTON TOWN 0-0 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Goals: Sarr x2

Assists: Odobert, Thompson

Tottenham squeezed in two pre-season friendlies in one day before heading off on their tour of the Far East, the first of which was a 2-2 draw with Wycombe.

Pape Matar Sarr (£5.0m) scored both Spurs goals in the behind-closed-doors friendly, in which several academy graduates took part.

Wilson Odobert (£5.5m) played particularly well on the right flank, creating havoc with his pace, while Tottenham came close through a Pedro Porro (£5.5m) free-kick.

There were more first-team players on show for the trip to Kenilworth Road, but the closest Spurs came to a breakthrough was when Mohammed Kudus’ (£6.5m) 10th-minute shot was cleared off the line.

Guglielmo Vicario (£5.0m) had little to do, but his half-time replacement, Antonin Kinsky (£4.0m), had to produce an excellent save to keep out Nahki Wells’ volley eight minutes into the second half.

There were bright spells from new signing Kudus, but the draw was a fair outcome.

The main takeaways were injury-related, however, with Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) and Destiny Udogie (£4.5m) both left out of the Luton match as a precaution.

“Dom has a minor ankle issue, nothing we’re worried about, just a precaution for today.

“Destiny felt something in the warm up, so, again, just a precaution, we just want to be on top of that.” – Thomas Frank

Tottenham Hotspur XI v Wycombe Wanderers: Austin, Porro (Ashcroft 75), Romero (Cassanova 75), Vuskovic (Arganese-McDermott 75), Davies (Akhamrich 75), Abbott (Tyrese Hall 75), Bergvall (Olusesi 75), Sarr (Williams-Barnett 75), Odobert (Thompson 61), Richarlison (Irow 61), Son (Lehane 75)

Tottenham Hotspur XI v Luton Town: Vicario (Kinsky 46), Spence (Kyerematen 77), Danso (Byfield 64), van de Ven (Rowswell 77), Donley, Bissouma (Olusesi 77), Gray (Russell-Denny 77), Moore (Devine 77), Kudus (Yang 77), Johnson (Lankshear 77), Tel (Scarlett 77)

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 0-2 BURNLEY

SHREWSBURY TOWN 2-2 BURNLEY

Goals: McDermott, Westley

Assists: Koleosho, Tweedy

Goals: Edwards x2 (pen)

Assists: Worrall

Scott Parker split his side into two for these matches, with the other half of the squad taking on Shrewsbury Town at the same time in Shropshire.

Goals from Tommy McDermott and Joe Westley earned Burnley an away win at the Acuu Stadium.

Meanwhile, new signing Marcus Edwards (£5.0m) struck twice as a heavily-rotated Burnley XI shared a draw with Shrewsbury Town.

Jaydon Banel twice went close for Burnley before Edwards equalised on 52 minutes with a well-taken free-kick, and the former Spurs man then forced a save from Harrison before converting a penalty after Joe Worrall (£4.0m) had been brought down.

Notably, Josh Brownhill and Jay Rodriguez took all of Burnley’s penalties in 2024/25 but have now left the club.

Elsewhere, Axel Tuanzebe (£4.0m) picked up an injury which will need monitoring.

Burnley XI v Huddersfield Town: Hladky (Weiß 45), Walker (McDermott 61), Hartman (Brierley 70), Ekdal (Leuluai 70), Esteve (Pye 70), Anthony (Pouani 61), Bruun Larsen (Balogun 61), Laurent (Bauress 70), Hannibal (Pimlott 70), Koleosho (Tweedy 70), Foster (Westley 70)

Burnley XI v Shrewsbury Town: Green, Worrall (Ashton 82), Delcroix (Campbell 82), Tuanzebe (Sambo 23, Blackie 88), Sonne (Williams 82), Pires (Adekoya 82), Ramsey (Tresor 65), Cullen (McCoy 73), Banel (McMahon-Brown 82), Edwards (Adewumi 82), Barnes (Tchaouna 46)

HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN 3-0 SUNDERLAND

Sunderland issued a public apology for their defeat in Scotland after they were resoundingly beaten by Hearts.

Regis Le Bris made three changes from the side that faced Sporting, with Dan Neil (£5.0m), Simon Moore (£4.0m) and Niall Huggins (£4.0m) coming in for Habib Diarra (£5.5m), Blondy Nna Noukeu (£4.0m) and Harrison Jones (£4.5m).

Enzo Le Fée (£5.0m) showed glimpses of his quality and remains a set-piece threat, his free-kick whistling narrowly wide in the 53rd minute, but with three weeks to go before the new season, this was not an encouraging display.

“I think, for the first time this pre-season, we faced a team with high intensity, direct play, man for man – and we struggled. Maybe we are a bit tired, but it’s not an excuse. So, a strong reminder: sometimes you need a punch in your face to say, oh, the season has restarted – and that was the case.” – Regis Le Bris

Sunderland XI: Moore, Hume (Tutierov 70), Ballard (J Jones 70), Seelt (Lavery 70), Huggins (H Jones 70), Sadiki (Diarra 31), Neil (Sadiki 63), Le Fee (Browne 70), Adingra (Roberts 70), Talbi (Aleksic 70), Mayenda (Abdullahi 70)

STOKE CITY 1-1 WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

Goals: Hwang

Hwang Hee-chan (£6.0m) was on target as Wolves earned a hard-fought draw at Stoke.

The South Korean stepped up to take his side’s penalty only to see it saved by Viktor Johansson, but the forward was first to the rebound to spare his blushes and level the match.

Stoke had taken the lead through Bae Junho’s first-half effort, with Fer Lopez (£5.5m) coming close at the other end for Wolves. But the visitors improved in the second half following the introductions of Hugo Bueno (£4.5m), fresh from his loan spell at Feyenoord, and Rodrigo Gomes (£4.5m).

Goncalo Guedes (£5.5m) fired over and Hwang had a chance cleared off the line, but Wolves had to settle for parity.

Elsewhere, there was more involvement from budget defender Ki-Jana Hoever (£4.0m), who has been on various loan spells over the last three years. Last week, he provided an assist and this weekend he played as both a right-back and right centre-back.

“I feel like I’m a wing back. I think he [Pereira] sees that as well. But he spoke to me in half-time and asked if I could play as a third centre-back and obviously the way we play, I think it’s also something I can do, and it’s no problem for me.” – Ki-Jana Hoever

Among the 11 pre-season friendlies taking place on Saturday was Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to third-tier Reading.

The match at the Select Car Leasing Stadium (bring back Elm Park!) was Thomas Frank’s first game in charge of Spurs.

And there were new faces on show for the Lilywhites, including big-money signing Mohammed Kudus.

Here’s what we saw in Berkshire.

READING 0-2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Goals: Lankshear, Vuskovic

Assists: Vuskovic, Kudus

KUDUS DEBUT

Anyone who saw Kudus going through the motions at West Ham United last season would have no doubt been wondering what on earth possessed Spurs to shell out north of £50m on the Ghana international.

But Saturday’s display at Reading was a reminder of why he was sought-after.

Boy, he was good – even if it was just against a League One side.

Introduced at half-time and used on the right flank, he was a big upgrade on Brennan Johnson, who floundered there in the first half.

Pacy, fleet-footed and strong on the ball, the highlight of his 45-minute showing was a superb bit of trickery on the wing (even if the ball may have gone out…) to set up Jamie Donley for a chance in the 78th minute.

Another one of his match-high four chances created was an assist for young centre-half Luka Vuskovic.

He was on set plays, too, with his corners on point. One of his deliveries was nodded on by Vuskovic for Will Lankshear to head in.

An encouraging debut.

“He was exciting to watch. He had four, five very good actions where you could see what he’s about. His pace, one-on-one skills, the way he can twist and turn going forward. That was a positive.” – Thomas Frank on Mohammed Kudus

UDOGIE + PORRO POSITIONING

Arguably the most eye-catching aspect of Frank’s first match at the helm was his use of full-backs.

Pedro Porro has been the go-to Spurs defender in FPL in recent seasons, thanks to his attacking threat.

But on Saturday, it was Destiny Udogie who was afforded more attacking license.

While the formation was 4-2-3-1 on paper, the 3-2-5 build-up was common throughout the first half.

It was Udogie who was pushed high and wide up the field, however, not Porro. The Spaniard instead hung back more, trying to break the Reading defence with balls from deep.

Above: Spurs’ first-half set-up against Reading, via Sofascore. 31 = Kinsky. 13 = Udogie. 4 = Danso. 17 = Romero. 23 = Porro. 30 = Bentancur. 29 = Sarr. 47 = Moore. 45 = Devine. 22 = Johnson. 19 = Solanke.

But before we get too carried away, maybe this was just horses-for-courses. In the second half, the roles were reversed: Ben Davies hanging back at left-back, Djed Spence advancing more from the right. Perhaps if Porro is playing behind the drifting Kudus, he’ll be asked to get forward more.

Porro did retain set-piece duties in the first half, at least. And, with defensive contribution points brought in, who is to say that a centre-half stationing wouldn’t benefit him either…

ABSENCES EXPLAINED

There were some rusty performances elsewhere, Johnson aside. Dominic Solanke and Son Heung-min delivered two of them, the former skying over in the first half.

As for absences, Archie Gray, Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert were late back from the European U21 Championships and not involved. Richarlison should be back next week, meanwhile, James Maddison is training partly.

Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin look set to miss the start of 2025/26, however.

While the Morgan Gibbs-White pursuit looks like becoming a saga, Tottenham Hotspur have relatively decisively wrapped up a move for Mohammed Kudus.

Arriving as their first major signing since Thomas Frank’s appointment as head coach, Kudus slides across London from West Ham United in a £55m deal.

After an underwhelming 2024/25, what impact will the 24-year-old attacking midfielder have in Fantasy Premier League (FPL)?

We’ll take a look during this Moving Target piece, including data and images from our Premium Members Area.

HISTORY

At Nordsjaelland, the Ghanaian impressed Ajax enough for the Dutch giants to make a move in 2020.

While an early meniscus injury kept Kudus out for several months, he went on to win consecutive Eredivisie titles before catching attention with his 2022/23 breakthrough.

It wasn’t just his 11 league goals. He netted four times in a Champions League group featuring Liverpool, Napoli and Rangers.

He even found time to score a goodbye hat-trick versus Ludogorets in August 2023, before sealing the switch to England.

From the initial £100m received for Declan Rice, West Ham dedicated a larger chunk to Kudus than to other incomings. Fans quickly discovered why.

Season one peaked with a 10-match winter spell of five goals and four assists, while he scored another five during their run to the Europa League quarter-finals. One of them – an incredible solo effort versus Freiburg – was nominated for FIFA’s end-of-year Puskas Award.

The spectacular strikes didn’t end there either, as acrobatic moments stunned Brentford and Manchester City. As for FPL, a brace against Wolverhampton Wanderers brought in a 16-point haul, later racking up 12 at Newcastle United.

However, in 2024/25, no double-digit tallies took place. Only once did Kudus exceed seven points. Accusations of the attacking midfielder not putting in the graft became more frequent from the Hammers’ faithful.

And after putting West Ham 1-0 up at *checks notes* Spurs last October, he was sent off and given a five-match ban for hitting Micky van de Ven‘s face.

Luckily, there’s already an uploaded video of the new teammates definitely shaking hands. But these rival teams aren’t usually as friendly with each other.

COMPARING HIS TWO FPL SEASONS

With the early 00s flurry of Frederic Kanoute, Jermain Defoe and Michael Carrick long gone, it’s very rare for them to do business together. This is the first time since 2011, when the recently-relegated Hammers sold Scott Parker and loaned in David Bentley.

Is it, therefore, a huge red flag that West Ham were willing to sell Kudus to Spurs for far below his £85m domestic release clause? Or is it deemed a necessary sacrifice that allows Graham Potter’s overhaul to take place?

Playing a similar amount of league minutes in both campaigns (2,521, then 2,591), the latest one brought a big drop from 17 attacking returns.

Part of this can be explained by managerial upheaval and the team dropping down to 14th – still higher than Spurs – but looking at Kudus’ underlying data tells a different story.

Using our Members Area to compare, he was actually better in season two.

The first was a huge overachievement for expected goal involvement (xGI, +8.19). This time had him more productive in most areas, such as chances created, expected goals (xG) and touches in the box.

Above: Statsbomb shows that several low xG Kudus shots became goals in 2023/24

Furthermore, Kudus ended with a greater number of shots than Chris Wood, Luis Diaz and Jean-Philippe Mateta, a higher number on target than Morgan Rogers, more big chances than Matheus Cunha and an xGI tally that bettered Anthony Elanga.

Despite this, he didn’t finish among the best 45 FPL midfielders.

Though what both seasons have in common is this strong dribbler being the league’s number one for attempted take-ons.

Above: Players ranked by total attempted take-ons during 2023/24 (left) and 2024/25 (right)

Using his low centre of gravity, Kudus is a superb ball carrier and can attract lots of fouls. That’s potentially good news for Spurs’ set-piece takers.

WHERE KUDUS FITS IN AT SPURS

It should fit in well with Frank’s preferred style of quick and direct attacks. So it’s just a question of where he’ll be deployed.

“I’m a very direct winger, strong, very good at taking players on and creating chances, so there is a lot of flair in my game. I like to entertain the fans as well.” – Mohammed Kudus to the Spurs website

The left-footed attacker prefers the right flank, but the untouchable presence of Jarrod Bowen forced Kudus to showcase his versatility once Potter came in and applied a wing-back system.

Above: A graphic from Sky Sports showing the many positions of Kudus

He’s spoken of the frustrations this brings, but has been professional about it.

“When you play in a certain position for a long period of time, it becomes natural. The movements are natural. But being versatile is good for the coach, especially with the injuries. I can play a number of positions and I don’t mind that and I don’t mind doing a job for the team to get the three points.” – Mohammed Kudus to Sky Sports

Right now, his new side employs Dominic Solanke, Son Heung-min, Brennan Johnson, Mathys Tel, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison. We might soon be able to add Gibbs-White to the mix, too.

Until several of these names depart, our resident Spurs fan, Sam Bonfield, thinks there’s lots of uncertainty about Kudus’ main position. She spoke about this on one of our recent videos.

“What we seem to have is a lot of players who can play a bit of everywhere. Even Tel, he can play on the left or the centre-forward position. Now that’s great, it’s helpful because it gives you better backups. I just don’t know that Kudus is the thing that we’re missing.” – Sam Bonfield from FPLFamily

“You would expect that Johnson would be out on the right. The left is more contentious because I’m not convinced that Son is still going to be at Spurs next season. Even if he is, I’m not convinced he’s going to get the same level of minutes.

“We’ve just signed Tel full-time, maybe he wants to give [Maddison] more game time, so maybe he puts Johnson on the left.” – Sam Bonfield from FPLFamily

Frank surely has a position in mind. While Potter inherited Kudus, Spurs have actively gone out and bought him for £55m. And West Ham didn’t really have a striker, whereas the Lilywhites do.

Perhaps Frank intends to play Kudus on the right, as his next Bryan Mbeumo. But that’s Johnson’s best position – he was the club’s leading player for goals (11) and FPL points (137).

WILL KUDUS BE WORTH BUYING IN FPL?

Either way, Spurs fans can be hopeful that their new signing will be a success. Not needing Premier League adaptation is good, as are the two seasons of underlying stats.

Because, as excellent as his 2023/24 was, numbers say he was even more threatening in 2024/25. Sometimes players just fit better in a different team.

Tottenham’s campaign begins at home to Burnley and the early fixtures are generally attractive.

But competition for places is currently strong. Although Frank won’t ignore the league like Ange Postecoglou did near the end, there’ll still be rotation once the Champions League gets underway after Gameweek 4.

Sam reckons a better, more reliable Spurs attacker will emerge for investment.

“I don’t think he comes in as the best Spurs attacker to own. I’d still rather go for Solanke. And depending upon who we see playing in the Damsgaard role during friendlies and the Super Cup, I’d rather have them. If it’s Kulu or if it’s Madders, he’ll be high on my wishlist.” – Sam Bonfield from FPLFamily

“It doesn’t make me feel lots of joy, as a Spurs fan. And as an FPL manager, I’m very lukewarm to this one. Whereas last summer, when we got Solanke, I ripped my FPL team up to bring him into it.” – Sam Bonfield from FPLFamily

Initially priced at £6.5m both times, this high-profile move probably keeps him there for 2025/26, rather than dropping to £6.0m.

As exciting as Kudus can be, we need lineup answers from their final friendly and upcoming European Super Cup encounter.

Can Thomas Frank bring the good times back to Tottenham Hotspur – and maybe Bryan Mbeumo with him?

More pertinently, from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective, can the newly appointed Spurs boss make the Lilywhites’ assets attractive picks again?

In this Moving Target piece, we take a closer look at the 51-year-old former Brentford head coach.

CAREER SO FAR

An amateur footballer who quickly realised that his talents belonged to coaching, he started from the bottom and worked his way up to become Denmark Under-16s and Under-17s manager, taking the latter to the 2011 European Championship semi-finals.

Coaching his nation’s younger generation continued until he was appointed as Brondby’s first-team head coach two years later. The Copenhagen-based side were Danish champions on 10 occasions between 1985 and 2005, but had just escaped both relegation and bankruptcy. This represented a big move for Frank.

Goals became a struggle and some players saw him as a soft touch, though fourth and third-placed finishes brought stability. However, Frank quit in March 2016 after it was sensationally revealed that Brondby’s chairman was using an anonymous pseudonym to repeatedly criticise him on an online fan forum.

Nine months later, he decided to join Dean Smith’s coaching staff at Brentford. And when Aston Villa tempted away the latter in October 2018, Frank stepped up to become the new head coach.

A heartbreaking 2019/20 Championship playoff final defeat to neighbours Fulham could’ve derailed them. But it didn’t. 12 months later, a team containing Ivan Toney, David Raya and Bryan Mbeumo went one better and beat Swansea City 2-0 at Wembley, earning promotion to the top flight.

Since then, Frank has not only kept Brentford in the Premier League, but he’s mostly had them comfortably mid-table. Finishes of 13th and ninth preceded a 16th-placed season that was injury-ravaged and mostly without the banned Toney. Still, there was a 13-point gap between them and the relegation zone.

The 2024/25 campaign played out much better for this west London side. Tenth in the table, where European qualification was genuinely realistic until the final fortnight. After this, Frank decided it was time to leave and take on a new, exciting challenge.

FRANK AT BRENTFORD: PLAYING STYLE

The Bees achieved Championship success by focusing on possession but, once promoted, Frank changed to a more pragmatic style. Often switching between 4-3-3 (in easier tests) and 3-5-2 (against the ‘big clubs’), it focused on defensive organisation, counter-attacking and some innovative set-pieces.

Above: The most-used Brentford formations during their four Premier League seasons

After Toney’s departure last summer, the Bees’ fourth season brought evolution. They played out from the back more often, seeking wide passing combinations and regular pressing for high turnovers. 2024/25 was almost exclusively a 4-2-3-1 system, allowing Mikkel Damsgaard to shine.

The playmaker assisted 10 times, thriving around three attackers who each scored at least 11 goals.

Brentford remained great at dead-ball situations, too. Over these four campaigns, no Premier League team recorded more expected goals (xG) from set-pieces than their 64.7. This season’s 48 chances from throw-ins were far in front, as were the six goals that came from them. No other outfit exceeded two. This could be good for Spurs centre-back Cristian Romero, if he’s not agitating to leave.

Meanwhile, there was also a quirk where, between Gameweeks 4 and 6, Brentford became the first side in Premier League history to score within the first minute on three consecutive occasions. In Gameweek 7, they were polite enough to wait until the 75th second.

“I came here as a guy who wanted to show off and shine. I became a leader and people remember me as a good captain and a good person. The way he changed me, I will never forget. He is a friend for life, the best coach I ever worked with.” – Pontus Jansson

Frank doesn’t seem to be a believer in long-range efforts. His tactics emphasise getting the ball into the penalty area before shooting. The Bees are usually the league’s best for xG per non-penalty shots (between 0.13 and 0.14). In 2024/25, only Liverpool netted more times from inside the box.

At the back, Frank’s trick is to force opponents into harmless shots from distance. For example, his team conceded the second-most overall attempts (647) – more than relegated duo Leicester City and Ipswich Town. But they also allowed the seventh-fewest big chances (80).

Because of this, Mark Flekken made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the ‘big five’ European leagues (156).

ARRIVING AT TOTTENHAM

Gameweek 37 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) kicks off with the unusual spectacle of two Friday night games.

Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur gets us underway at 19:30 BST, with Chelsea v Manchester United following on 45 minutes later.

Both UEFA Europa League finalists are in action tonight and Ange Postecoglou clearly has one eye on Wednesday’s game in Bilbao.

He’s gone with the Spurs second string again, although the injury-free Son Heung-min gets some fitness-boosting minutes under his belt on his first league start since Gameweek 31.

Postecoglou makes three alterations in all from the similarly under-strength starting XI he sent out against Crystal Palace.

Son is joined by Sergio Reguilon and Mikey Moore in the visitors’ line-up.

Dejan Kulusevski is injured, of course, while Pedro Porro and Rodrigo Bentancur drop to the bench.

If anything, then, it’s an ever weaker (on paper) line-up to Gameweek 36.

As for Aston Villa, there are also three alterations – and all of them pretty much as expected.

Ian Maatsen and Pau Torres return in defence, with Lucas Digne and Tyrone Mings back down among the substitutes.

Unai Emery’s other change is enforced as John McGinn comes in for the suspended Jacob Ramsey.

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has gone stronger for the Red Devils’ trip to Chelsea.

He’s made five changes in total, recalling Andre Onana, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Casemiro and Patrick Dorgu.

Leny Yoro is injured, while Altay Bayindir, Harry Amass, Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte drop to the bench.

Enzo Maresca makes three alterations, one enforced due to Nicolas Jackson‘s suspension. Tyrique George comes in for his full Premier League debut.

Reece James and Tosin Adarabioyo also oust the benched Romeo Lavia and Trevoh Chalobah.

LINE-UPS

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen, Kamara, Onana, Rogers, Asensio, McGinn, Watkins.

Subs: Olsen, Disasi, Mings, Barkley, Digne, Garcia, Malen, Bogarde, Bailey.

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Kinsky, Spence, Danso, Davies, Reguilon, Gray, Sarr, Moore, Odobert, Son, Tel.

Subs: Vicario, Bissouma, Richarlison, Solanke, Johnson, Porro, Bentancur, Cassanova, Olusesi.

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, James, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Madueke, Palmer, Neto, George.

Subs: Jorgensen, Bettinelli, Gusto, Acheampong, Chalobah, Anselmino, Badiashile, Lavia, Dewsbury-Hall.

Manchester United XI: Onana, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, Mazraoui, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu, Diallo, Mount, Hojlund.

Subs: Bayindir, Amass, Fredricson, Heaven, Collyer, Eriksen, Mainoo, Ugarte, Garnacho.

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In this article, we identify the opposition weaknesses that teams and players could try to exploit in Gameweek 37.

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TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

HIGH DEFENSIVE LINE

Tottenham Hotspur’s high defensive line has its benefits, as it allows them to press high and aggressively.

If it isn’t implemented properly, however, which has so often been the case this season, it can cause huge problems.

Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace side were successfully able to exploit the space behind Spurs’ backline on Sunday, counter-attacking sharply, particularly in the first half.

The Eagles racked up 23 shots in total, and had it not been for some profligate finishing and two disallowed goals, they would have ended with a scoreline that reflected their dominance.

This is all good news for Aston Villa in Gameweek 37.

While a recall for Micky van de Ven (£4.5m), who has incredible recovery pace, will naturally help, Spurs have little to play for and key players may be wary of picking up injuries, with the UEFA Europa League final in Bilbao just five days later.

For Villa, however, it’s essentially a cup final, as they target UEFA Champions League qualification.

It could play into the hands of Ollie Watkins (£8.9m), given his ability to run in behind, test the offside trap and stretch the opposition defence.

Morgan Rogers (£5.7m) could benefit, too – he’s second among all players for through balls (TB) in 2024/25:

ARSENAL

Three more matches follow on from Newcastle United v Chelsea on a busy day of Premier League football.

Ruben Amorim has made six changes to his starting line-up from the midweek win over Athletic Club.

Altay Bayindir, Luke Shaw, Harry Amass, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount and Amad Diallo come into the side as Andre Onana, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Patrick Dorgu, Casemiro and Alejandro Garnacho make way.

As for the visitors, Graham Potter brings in Vladimir Coufal, Guido Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse for Emerson Palmieri, Lucas Paqueta and Niclas Fullkrug.

There is just one change across the two teams at the City Ground, with Morato starting for the hosts in place of the injured Murillo.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has rested many of the players who started Thursday’s UEFA Europa League semi-final win away to Bodo/Glimt, with eight changes in total.

Out go Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Yves Bissouma, Brennan Johnson, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke.

In come Antonin Kinsky, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies, Djed Spence, Archie Gray, Pape Matar Sarr, Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel.

Son Heung-min is back on the bench after missing the last four league matches with injury.

Oliver Glasner’s two alterations see the injured Adam Wharton and benched Daichi Kamada replaced by Jefferson Lerma and Will Hughes.

LINE-UPS

Manchester United XI: Bayindir, Mazraoui, Yoro, Shaw, Amad, Mainoo, Ugarte, Amass, Fernandes, Mount, Hojlund

Subs: Heaton, Dorgu, Fredricson, Lindelof, Maguire, Casemiro, Eriksen, Garnacho, Obi

West Ham United XI: Areola, Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell, Coufal, Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Wan-Bissaka, Kudus, Bowen

Subs: Fabianski, Soler, Paqueta, Fullkrug, Mavropanos, Guilherme, Alvarez, Emerson, Ferguson

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels, Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Dominguez, Gibbs-White, Elanga, Wood

Subs: Miguel, Awoniyi, Toffolo, Jota, Yates, Sosa, Danilo, Boly, Abbott

Leicester City XI: Stolarczyk, Justin, Coady, Faes, Thomas, Ndidi, Skipp, McAteer, Ayew, El Khannouss, Vardy

Subs: Iversen, Coulibaly, Okoli, Kristiansen, Soumare, Evans, Buonanotte, Monga, Daka

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Kinksy, Porro, Danso, Davies, Spence, Bentancur, Sarr, Gray, Kulusevski, Odobert, Tel

Subs: Vicario, Romero, van de Ven, Bissouma, Moore, Johnson, Son, Richarlison, Solanke

Crystal Palace XI: Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Guehi, Munoz, Lerma, Hughes, Mitchell, Sarr, Eze, Mateta

Subs: Turner, Nketiah, Franca, Clyne, Kamada, Esse, Chilwell, Devenny, Kporha

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After the Telegraph’s initial Tuesday morning news, Aston Villa have announced that their Gameweek 37 fixture against Tottenham Hotspur has been moved to Friday 16 May (7.30pm BST kick-off).

It was previously scheduled for Sunday 18 May, but Spurs raised concerns over the timing of the match due to their potential participation in the UEFA Europa League final a few days later.

Crucially for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers, it means that Villa and Spurs still get to take part in Gameweek 37, with Chelsea v Manchester United already taking place on that Friday night.

Speaking of which, the Blues have revealed that their initial 8pm BST kick-off has now been pushed to 8:15pm. All this means that FPL’s current 6:30pm deadline will get moved to 6pm.

It also confirms there won’t be any more Blank or Double Gameweeks this season.