The Boy Hotspur

Gary Lineker believes Tottenham Hotspur may have an unlikely advantage in their upcoming EFL Cup semi-final clash with Liverpool.

Spurs host the Reds a week on Wednesday in the first leg of their final-four clash, with the second leg to follow at Anfield in February.

Tottenham open talks to sign £25m ace who will fit straight into Premier League football!

The Lilywhites will be desperate to make it to Wembley as they seek to win their first major trophy since 2008.

However, they don’t come into the clash against Liverpool in good form.

Spurs have won just three of their last 13 matches across all competitions and none of their last three.

What’s more, they must face a Newcastle side on a run of five straight victories by a 16-1 combined scoreline this Saturday before they can even think about their EFL Cup exploits.

Gary Lineker talks up Spurs EFL Cup chances

With all that in mind, the odds don’t exactly look good on a Spurs win.

However, Lineker has a theory that could see the semi-final swing unexpectedly in Tottenham’s favour.

“Particularly, probably the cup game because it’s been so long since Spurs have won something. It’s hard to see him getting past Liverpool. The only thing I would say is that Liverpool will probably rest quite a few,” the former Tottenham, Everton and Leicester striker said (via TBR).

“I know it sounds mad in a semi-final, but there’s Champions League games coming up, although they’re in pretty good shape there. But with them being so far ahead in the league, that would take absolute priority for Liverpool.

“So I’d be surprised if they didn’t mix it up a little bit, which might help the chances of Spurs.”

Tottenham have identified Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov as a key target for the upcoming January transfer window as they aim to bolster their backline amidst ongoing challenges this season.

Latest report from TBR Football suggest that Spurs have initiated talks to secure the services of the talented 20-year-old centre-back, who Newcastle United is also pursuing.

With defensive frailties and injuries hampering Tottenham’s form, Khusanov’s profile aligns well with the club’s immediate and long-term needs.

The report claims that both Spurs and Newcastle have done their homework on the player valued at £25m and see him as someone who will fit straight into the Premier League.

Previously, the Uzbekistan international showcased his potential at Energetik-BGU Minsk, earning recognition as one of the promising young defenders. His transition to Lens has further cemented his reputation as a composed and dynamic presence at the back.

This season, Khusanov has made 16 appearances across all competitions, starting 13 of those matches. His experience on big stages includes becoming the youngest Uzbek player to feature in both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, highlighting his readiness to compete at the highest level.

While Newcastle also have their sights on the Uzbek talent, Tottenham remain optimistic about Khusanov’s suitability for Ange Postecoglou’s system. His blend of speed, composure, and defensive awareness could provide immediate reinforcement and long-term stability to Spurs’ backline.

Tottenham are currently undergoing a massive injury crisis, in particular at the back with both centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero out injured. Ben Davies, a backup utility defender is also out injured with a hamstring injury while Radu Dragusin who has filled in at the back has been struggling with an injury as well with the club forced to field him despite his injury vs Wolves

The need to sign at least one defender in January is perhaps considered a top priority for the club at the moment.

Tottenham Hotspur will have to overcome two major hurdles if they’re to land the signing of Jack Grealish, according to reports.

Grealish has been with Manchester City since his £100m move from Aston Villa in the summer of 2021.

Tottenham submit €45 million offer to sign South American prodigy

Since then, he’s registered 14 goals and 20 assists in 143 appearances across all competitions, helping City to three Premier League titles and a Champions League among a host of other major honours.

However, Grealish hasn’t always been a nailed-on starter for Pep Guardiola. In fact, he’s started just 16 Premier League matches since the start of last season, with a further 17 appearances coming from the bench.

Can Spurs overcome Jack Grealish hurdles?

Tottenham — who are currently 11th in the Premier League — are among a number of clubs linked with Grealish heading into the January transfer window, with Ange Postecoglou keen to strengthen his injury-hit squad.

But according to TBR, one of the first stumbling blocks is Grealish’s huge salary at the Etihad Stadium.

TBR report that Grealish is among City’s highest earners and, indeed, the England international brings home a whopping £300k per week according to Capology, with only Erling Haaland (£375k) and Kevin De Bruyne (£400k) paid more.

But even if Spurs can cough up Grealish’s wages, find a compromise with Man City on a loan, or convince the player to take a pay cut, that still may not be enough.

TBR also report that Grealish is ‘more than settled and happy’ in the north-west, making a move to Spurs an even harder sell.

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing the Brighton and Hove Albion attacker Facundo Buonanotte.

The 20-year-old is currently on loan at Leicester City and he has impressed with his performances. According to Fichajes, Tottenham are looking to get a deal done and they have submitted an offer of around €45 million for the player.

The 20-year-old is capable of operating as the number ten as well as a winger. He will help create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates with his passing, vision and flair. He is capable of chipping in with goals as well.

Buonanotte is quite young and he is likely to improve with coaching and experience. He could develop into a future star for Tottenham if they can nurture him properly. The London club have already acted on their interest and it will be interesting to see if Brighton are prepared to sanction his departure.

Tottenham need to improve their squad to do well. They have been quite mediocre this season and the right additions in January will help them bounce back strongly.

Meanwhile, the report states that Brighton will not let the player leave easily, and it will be interesting to see if Tottenham can convince them. The Argentine attacker has a bright future of himself and joining a big club like Tottenham will be quite attractive for him. It could be the ideal next step in his career.

James Maddison has not been at his best this season and Spurs need more competition for places. Signing Buonanotte will help share the creative burden with the England international. The 20-year-old could push Maddison for the starting spot and the competition will help both players improve.

It remains to be seen how the situation unfolds over the next few weeks.

Tottenham Hotspur are keen on signing the Rayo Vallecano defender Andrei Ratiu.

The 26-year-old right-back has impressed with his performances for the Spanish club and multiple clubs are keen on him. According to a report from Mundo Deportivo via SportWitness, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Roma are keen on securing his signature.

It will be interesting to see if Tottenham can win the race and secure his services. The defender has a €25 million release clause in his contract and Tottenham certainly have the financial muscle to get the deal across the line.

Ratiu could be attracted to the idea of competing in the Premier League and the opportunity to move to Tottenham will be hard to turn down. They have an exciting project and a talented squad. Even though they have been inconsistent the season, they will be an attractive destination for the player.

The Romanian has established himself as a key player for Rayo Vallecano and he has the quality to do well in the Premier League as well. He could be an understudy to Pedro Porro at the North London club for now. The Spanish international has been linked with a move away from Tottenham and Ratiu could be his long-term replacement.

The 26-year-old is entering the peak years of his career, and he will want to compete at the highest level. Tottenham could provide him with the platform to push for trophies in the coming seasons.

The report states that the player is very likely to change clubs in January and it remains to be seen where he ends up. Tottenham need to add more quality and depth to their squad in order to do well across multiple competitions. Signing the 26-year-old full-back could prove to be a wise decision.

Crystal Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell will be out of contract at the end of the season and Tottenham Hotspur are keen on securing his signature.

According to Caught Offside, top European clubs are keen on securing his signature and he is on the radar of the two London clubs – Arsenal and Tottenham.

Tottenham have reportedly held talks with him regarding a potential move, and it will be interesting to see if they decide to make a move for Mitchell in January. The 25-year-old will be a free agent in the summer and signing him for free would be a major coup. He is a proven performer in the Premier League, and he will add more quality and depth to the Tottenham defensive unit.

Ben Davies needs to be replaced in the summer when his contract expires and Destiny Udogie has been underwhelming with his performances this season. More competition for places would be ideal and Mitchell could compete with the Italian international for a starting spot.

The 25-year-old is well-settled in English football and he could hit the ground running at Tottenham. It will be interesting to see how the situation develops. The opportunity to join the North London club is likely to be an attractive proposition for the 25-year-old defender. It would be a major step in his career, and he will look to compete for trophies with them.

The opportunity to play for clubs like Arsenal will be attractive for the defender as well. It will be interesting to see where he ends up eventually. Whoever ends up signing him on a free transfer at the end of the season will have a major bargain on their hands.

The player is entering his peak years and he could improve further with coaching and experience. Joining a big club and playing alongside top-class players could bring out the best in him.

Fraser Forster has been blasted for his role in Tottenham slipping to a draw at home to Wolves on Sunday.

After coming from behind to lead 2-1 at half-time, Spurs couldn’t see off the game in the second 45 minutes.

And late on, they were punished as Jorgen Strand Larsen blasted home at the near post in the 87th minute following some poor defending from Radu Dragusin.

Although it was a powerful effort, Forster will be frustrated at conceding a goal at his near post and former England international Stephen Warnock has criticised the stand-in goalkeeper for his efforts.

“Fraser Forster has been done near post. The run from Jorgen Strand Larsen is lovely, as is the pass from Rayan Ait Nouri, and Strand Larsen lashes the ball as hard as he can near post, top corner,” Warnock told BBC Final Score.

“Forster almost turns his back on it rather than standing tall and being brave. He should not be beaten from there.”

Ange Postecoglou comments on Spurs 2-2 Wolves

Spurs have now won just two of their last nine Premier League matches, slipping to 11th in the table, 11 points adrift of the Champions League places.

But Ange Postecoglou is trying his best to cut his players some slack, with Spurs suffering a chronic injury crisis this season — especially in defence.

“It’s a disappointing outcome,” Postecoglou said of Sunday’s result (via Football.London). “Obviously we went a goal down but after that, I felt we controlled the game. It wasn’t easy always to get openings but we did look pretty threatening every time we did get forward. We scored a couple of goals, we obviously missed the penalty and then second half, I just thought we had some really big moments to kill the game off.

“They weren’t really creating much, I mean I think Fraser had one save to make with his feet, that was about it. You felt we kind of needed that third goal and obviously they score at the end and you’re kind of left with a disappointing outcome, but it’s not through the want of trying. It’s obvious, you know, the lads are fairly fatigued, especially in that front third, we’re not as sharp as we can be, which is understandable because we’re asking a lot of a sort of small core group of players and, as I said, it’s not for the want of trying and they’re trying to get the outcomes for us.”

Ange Postecoglou has given an update on the fitness of Destiny Udogie and Radu Dragusin following Sunday’s clash with Wolves.

After coming from behind to lead 2-1 at half-time, Spurs will be desperately disappointed to only take a 2-2 draw from Sunday’s match.

The Lilywhites have now won just two of their last nine Premier League matches and none of their last three, slipping 11th in the table and 11 points adrift of the Champions League spots in the process.

Postecoglou has, of course, not been helped by a chronic injury crisis in his Tottenham squad, especially in defence.

Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies and Guglielmo Vicario are all sidelined at present, while Djed Spence was also suspended for Sunday’s match.

And now he may have a further headache with Udogie coming off in the 50th minute against Wolves, just weeks after returning from an injury of his own.

Postecoglou has confirmed the Italian full-back has picked up a hamstring problem brought on by being overworked in a threadbare squad.

“Yeah, I think it was a hamstring,” Postecoglou told reporters (via Football.London). “Again like I said, we’ve been relying on a core group of players because we just haven’t had the ability to rotate so at some point it was going to catch up with us. Unfortunately, it caught up with Destiny.”

Ange Postecoglou comments on Radu Dragusin performance

Postecoglou also commented on Dragusin’s situation.

The Romanian defender didn’t cover himself in glory on Wolves’ second goal. But, of course, in better circumstances, he wouldn’t have even played on Sunday after coming off injured late into the defeat against Nottingham Forest earlier in the week.

“Well we had no choice, if Radu doesn’t play, I don’t know who plays,” Postecoglou said of Dragusin, who managed the full 90 minutes against Wolves.

“He wasn’t 100%, but he felt he could get through with his ankle and again, I think the players are all giving everything they can at the moment. It’s just unfortunately we can’t give them what they really need and that is some recovery and rest because we’ve got so many players out, but Radu wanted to play today and you know while he wasn’t 100%, we had no choice to put him out there.”

Suddenly it’s a big game for Angelos, certainly one of far greater significance than many might have suspected when the fixture list was released. Some fans are talking about a six-pointer…

Ange’s luck with injuries this season has been horrific, and yet the Australian’s unwillingness to change his tactics has surely played its part in Tottenham’s struggles.

The Wolves may scent blood this afternoon, having enjoyed two strong Premier League wins, scoring five goals in the process.

Tottenham Hotspur are considering a move for the Lecce defender Patrick Dorgu.

According to a report from Give Me Sport, the 20-year-old Denmark international is at the top of the shortlist heading into the January transfer window. The player is reportedly on the radar of multiple European clubs, and it will be interesting to see if Tottenham can beat the competition for his signature.

The 20-year-old is capable of operating as a left-back as well as a left-sided winger. He could contribute at both ends of the pitch.

Ben Davies will be out of contract in the summer of 2025, and Destiny Udogie has been quite underwhelming in recent matches. Tottenham need more quality and depth in the left full-back position, and Dorgu would be the ideal long-term investment for them.

He has shown his quality in Italian football and he has the physical and technical attributes to succeed in England as well. He could develop into a key player for Tottenham with the right guidance. It will be interesting to see if the North London club can agree on a reasonable fee for him.

The 20-year-old is still quite young and he will only improve with coaching and experience. The transfer could look like a major bargain in the long term if Tottenham can sign him for a reasonable amount of money.

It will be interesting to see if Lecce are willing to sell the player midway through the season. He is a key player for them and losing him in January would be a major blow. They will struggle to replace him.

Tottenham could be made to wait until the summer transfer window for the talented young full-back. It remains to be seen how the situation develops over the next few weeks.