The Boy Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly shown interest in Leicester City defender Caleb Okoli, according to TBR Football.

Spurs have been keen on securing young talents in the last few seasons, and Okoli has surfaced as a key player they are monitoring closely.

TBR revealed that Tottenham considered making a move for the 23-year-old centre-back during the recent summer transfer window when he left Atalanta to join Leicester City for a fee of €14 million.

Although Spurs ultimately did not proceed with the transfer at that time, they remain interested in following his progress at Leicester.

However, the Lilywhites are not the only Premier League club keeping tabs on the defender. They face competition from Newcastle United and West Ham, with both clubs also reportedly monitoring his development.

Okoli began his football journey in Atalanta’s youth academy and made his Serie B debut while on loan at SPAL. After another loan spell with Cremonese, he returned to Atalanta and made his Serie A debut in 2022, cementing himself as a promising talent in Italian football. His potential was recognised by Leicester City, who secured him on a five-year deal earlier in July this year.

Tottenham sees Okoli as a possible future addition to strengthen their backline, as they continue to focus on building a young and energetic squad under Ange Postecoglou’s guidance.

Should his development at Leicester continue to impress, Okoli could become a valuable target for Spurs in future transfer windows.

Tottenham assistant manager Ryan Mason was linked with a move to European club Anderlecht this past week.

It was reported that the Belgian club were considering bringing him in as first-team manager to fill the vacant job. Mason was also said to be very much interested in taking the leap towards first team management with them.

However, despite initial interest from the club and the player, Anderlecht ended up deciding against hiring him. That is according to Evening Standard, who report that the decision was a mutual one, as both decided that now was not the right time for him to take the leap into the head coach role.

Despite his interest in the opportunity, the 33-year-old will remain part of Ange Postecoglou’s backroom staff at Tottenham for now.

Mason, who has worked alongside notable managers like José Mourinho, Antonio Conte, and Postecoglou, continues to be a key figure in Spurs’ coaching setup.

His experience and leadership at the club, where he has been a coach since 2018, suggest that while first-team management remains in his future plans, his focus is currently on contributing to Tottenham’s ongoing progress under Postecoglou’s leadership.

Lucas Bergvall has opened up on his feelings regarding his early substitution in Tottenham’s Europa League tie against Qarabag.

Bergvall made his second start since joining from Djurgarden in the summer as Spurs beat the Azerbaijani champions 3-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in late September.

However, the 18-year-old was brought off after just 12 minutes as Ange Postecoglou introduced an extra defender following Radu Dragusin’s early red card.

Bergvall looked extremely frustrated and upset at his early withdrawal after patiently waiting for extended minutes during his formative weeks with Spurs.

“We entrusted him with starting a really important game for us, so he knows how we feel about him,” Postecoglou said at the time. “It was a tactical decision. He was disappointed. I expect him to be disappointed, but he’s going to have plenty of moments like that in his career.

“It’s always about how you respond to those things, how you grow from those things. He was training this morning – and he was flying – so he’s all good.”

Lucas Bergvall opens up on early Qarabag substitution

Bergvall is now on duty with the senior Sweden national team for their Nations League fixtures against Slovakia and Estonia.

The teenage midfielder has been asked about his substitution against Qarabag and while he couldn’t deny his ‘disappointment’, he did insist he understands Postecoglou’s decision.

“Of course you were disappointed, as you should be,” Bergvall said (via Football.London). “But after that it was just a matter of letting it go and moving on.

“I completely understand the decision that he is making. It was just a matter of letting it go and moving on.”

Given his considerable talent, there will be plenty of chances to come for Bergvall to impress in a white shirt.

Up next for the Lilywhites is a home clash with London rivals West Ham United following the international break.

Wilson Odobert says he’s ‘pushing’ to get back fit from the hamstring injury that has derailed his start to life at Tottenham Hotspur.

The France youth international joined Spurs from Burnley for £25m (via BBC Sport) in the summer following a 2023/24 campaign in which he registered five goals and three assists across all competitions, despite the Clarets suffering relegation.

Odobert played 180 minutes in four appearances across all competitions for Spurs at the start of the season before succumbing to a hamstring injury just 18 minutes into an EFL Cup tie against Coventry.

“Wilson doesn’t look good, we are still waiting for it to settle down and get all the information but he will definitely be out for the next period,” Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said of Odobert at the time.

Wilson Odobert provides fitness update

The 19-year-old hasn’t played since but, speaking at an event with local sixth-form students at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Odobert says he’s working hard to get fit again.

“I’m disappointed about this injury but I’m working hard now to come back and play again,” he said (via Football.London), adding: “I just need to keep pushing and keep working.”

Given his tender age, there’s no need for Spurs to rush Odobert back into action early.

Up next for the Lilywhites is a home tie against London rivals West Ham United following the international break.

Tottenham star Pedro Porro has now opened up on being linked with a move to Real Madrid.

Pedro Porro made the move to Tottenham at the start of 2023. While he initially joined them on a short loan spell, the move was made permanent in the summer and the Spanish full-back hasn’t looked back since. He has established himself as one of the mainstays at the North London club and his consistent performances have resulted in interest from European giants Real Madrid.

Los Blancos are looking for a new right-back with Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez on the wrong side of 30. Porro is one of the names on their wishlist and Carlo Ancelotti is believed to be a big admirer of the 25-year-old. The Italian manager could give the Spurs defender an opportunity to return to his homeland.

The former Sporting CP star recently opened up on links with the Spanish giants to Relevo.

Porro said via Fabrizio Romano: “Of course I’m proud of these links, it means I’m doing things well. If that happens one day, it happens. Now I’m fully focused on my club, Tottenham”.

The Spanish full-back is proud to be linked with a club like Real Madrid. He believes that such links are a sign he’s performing well. The Tottenham mainstay suggested that he is open to a switch to Los Blancos but for now, he is focused on doing his best for Ange Postecoglou’s team.

Porro has featured in 62 matches for Spurs so far and he has contributed towards 18 goals. His consistent performances suggest he could be a great fit for the team in white. While he is an integral part of Tottenham’s first team and they won’t want to lose out on him, it could provide them an opportunity to book a significant profit and reinvest the amount raised to reinforce their squad.

Former Watford skipper Troy Deeney has defended Ange Postecoglou amid criticism following Tottenham’s defeat to Brighton.

After a slow start to the season, Tottenham did turn things around as they went on a five-match winning streak across competitions. But, it seems all their hard work came crashing down with a defeat against Brighton prior to the international break. They had a 2-0 lead heading into half-time but ended up losing 3-2 when the final whistle blew.

Ange Postecoglou has received a lot of criticism following their defeat at the hands of the Seagulls. But, Troy Deeney feels the manager is not the one at fault. He feels sorry for the Australian boss and calls out the Spurs defence who ended up conceding thrice and giving away the game at American Express Stadium.

In a recent appearance on TikTok, Deeney said: “I actually feel sorry for the fella you know.

“You look at how Spurs play, they play some good stuff, they attack well and score loads of goals, but when it comes to defending, people blame the manager for defending, but how can you put on a session that stops people mis-kicking a ball?

“You can’t do anything about poor defending, the last goal for example, Rutter shouldn’t be getting that, foul him, then when you get to the byline Bentancur is there, just get it.

“I think when you look at Ange, I would challenge people to look at the goals they concede, they’re not structural damage ones, they’re not struggling, it’s man to man, me vs you, that’s more mentality.”

As long as Spurs win, everyone tends to praise Postecoglou for his attacking approach but as soon as things don’t go their way his tactics are questioned. The fact that he plays with an extremely high backline always comes into the limelight along with their inability to deal with set-pieces.

Deeney feels people need to change how they look at Spurs’ defensive errors. He believes these are mistakes at an individual level and it has nothing to do with the defensive structure that has been used by the former Celtic boss. It’s the mentality of the defenders that cost them the game.

He feels Postecoglou has got them playing an attacking and attractive brand of football. The manager is doing great things at the club and he can’t be blamed for people not doing their job defensively.

Tottenham are willing to battle rival clubs for the services of SC Braga’s Roger Fernandes.

Roger Fernandes has attracted much interest thanks to his impressive rise in recent years. It has been five years since he moved to Portugal to join SC Braga and the teenager has only gone from strength to strength. The 16-year-old is on the wishlist of some of the biggest clubs from across Europe and according to O Jogo via SportWitness, Tottenham are one of the clubs interested in the young winger.

Spurs are well covered on the flanks. They added Wilson Odobert to their team in the summer and highly rated Mikey Moore has managed to break into the first team. But, that doesn’t stop the North London club from exploring opportunities to strengthen the wide areas on the pitch further.

Fernandes prefers playing as a right-winger but he can feature on the left flank as well. His versatility is one of the reasons why Spurs are keeping a close eye on him. He has already featured in 52 matches for Braga and has even contributed towards 16 goals (8 goals, 8 assists). The teenager has huge potential and Tottenham do not want to miss out on him.

Spurs have focused on signing young players with huge potential under Ange Postecoglou and Fernades seems to be an ideal fit for their project. But, they will have to compete with quite a few top clubs from across Europe to get their hands on his signature as Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, Atlético Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, PSV and Ajax are all believed to be keen on his signature.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou would ‘100%’ improve Manchester United were he to replace Erik ten Hag.

That’s the view of former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, who is a big fan of the Australian’s style of play.

Postecoglou took the reins in north London at the start of last season and guided Spurs to fifth in the Premier League, returning them to the Europa League after dropping out of Europe entirely the year prior.

However, there was criticism levelled at Spurs, who passed up multiple opportunities to catch Aston Villa in the fourth and final Champions League spot.

This season hasn’t started in convincing style, either, with Spurs currently ninth with 10 points from seven games, four points adrift of the top four following Sunday’s 3-2 collapse at Brighton.

Agbonlahor makes sensational Ange Postecoglou Man Utd claim

Despite his flaws, there’s no denying Postecoglou brings an exciting brand of football to his teams.

According to Agbonlahor, that would be a big improvement for Man Utd, who are currently floundering and must surely be considering sacking Ten Hag.

“If Ange Postecoglou was manager of Manchester United, they’d be in the top four this season. No doubt. Because they lack organization, they lack an identity, they lack a style of play. They lack phases of play when you watch them. They don’t look like a team that have been coached on the training ground.

“Spurs know what they’re doing. Getting it to your number 10s. Get it out to your winger. Number 10s make their runs into the box. They’re a joy to watch. Manchester United are [coached by] old school managers, maybe I played under, go out there and then and do your jobs today, lads.

Don Hutchison believes Tottenham forward Timo Werner will never get over his frustrating habit of missing chances, but still believes he has plenty to offer to Ange Postecoglou’s side.

Werner returned to Spurs on loan from RB Leipzig during the summer following another temporary spell in the second half of last season.

However, the 57-time Germany international has been incredibly disappointing so far, failing to score in any of his eight appearances across all competitions so far this season.

Werner has already missed two ‘big chances’ in Premier League play, while his failure to find the net in five outings in the competition is all the more disappointing considering he’s started the last two in the absence of Son Heung-min.

The 28-year-old has also been guilty of getting into some great positions before failing to find a teammate with what should be a simple killer pass, meaning he has just one assist to his name this season.

Hutchison gives worrying assessment of Timo Werner’s finishing

Werner boasted an incredible record with Leipzig between 2016 and 2020, netting 95 goals in 159 appearances.

However, his output has been on a downward spiral ever since his move to Chelsea in 2020, with Werner scoring just 43 goals in 164 games at club level since then — and just four in his last 35.

Former Everton, Liverpool and Scotland midfielder Hutchison believes the ship has already set sail on Werner’s finishing ability, but he still thinks the German adds value for Spurs.

“I don’t want to be unkind on Timo Werner, but you sort of can’t help it, because you want him to succeed,” Hutchison said (via TBR).

“He’s not a bad player, he’s got loads of strengths, in that Man United game he could’ve scored three or four. There was one moment in that game that summed him up, he ran 50 yards and all he had to do was find a Spurs player, he missed them both and found a Man United player.

“It’s a technique thing, at his age he won’t find the goals because he’s proven that he can’t finish, but he stretches games, that’s why Spurs signed him.”

Lecce left-back Patrick Dorgu has been told he ‘can join a top club’ by his sporting director amid links to Tottenham Hotspur.

Just 19 years old, Dorgu has been a rumoured target for Spurs for some time now. However, the Lilywhites have thus far been unable to meet Lecce’s €30m demands for the player.

But that doesn’t mean Spurs won’t come back again for the teenager who, despite his tender age, is attracting glances from across Europe.

Already, Dorgu has two senior caps to his name for Denmark, scoring on his debut in the Uefa Nations League against Switzerland in September.

Dorgu also has one goal in six appearances to his name in Serie A this season, while he’s second among Lecce players for tackles (13).

Spurs receive Patrick Dorgu encouragement

Spurs are likely to hunt for a new left-back in the next couple of transfer windows with Destiny Udogie somewhat injury-prone, Sergio Reguilon outcast and Ben Davies the only remaining option, though he more often covers at centre-back nowadays.

And the powers that be in north London will be encouraged by the words of Lecce sporting director Stefano Trinchera.

“It’s not true that we had already sold him,” Trinchera told TuttoMercatoWeb (via Spurs Web).

“He is one of our young players, who are being looked at by many important clubs. Today we are all thinking about survival, but Dorgu’s future is in his hands. He can join a top club due to the qualities he has.”