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Analysing the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours - with stories from Spurs, Manchester United, Everton, Nottingham Forest and more.

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Another day of global gossipmongering has come to an end, and that means it’s time for us to sift through the stories and bring you our round-up of – and reaction to – the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours, starting with a story which should interest Tottenham Hotspur and Everton fans.

Sport Witness have brought together stories from multiple sources to suggest that Spurs “remain in the picture” for FC Midtjylland striker Franculino Djú, who has been scoring for fun in Denmark, with Everton also in the frame.

It’s claimed that Midtjylland have increased their asking price from €20m to €30m (£26m) which has been enough to scare off some suitors, including AS Roma, but not Spurs or Everton, who are apparently mentioned by the Danish media alongside Bayern Munich. Arsenal are mentioned in passing, too. It seems as though Djú has no shortage of suitors.

Both Italian and German outlets agree that Spurs have him down as “a target” but there’s no word on whether they’d be looking at a January deal or whether they’re planning ahead to next summer as they monitor the talented 21-year-old.

The 3AM Verdict: An awful lot of teams are being linked with Djú now – we’ve also seen West Ham mentioned in recent weeks – and it’s hard to build an accurate picture of who’s really in the race or not, but the sheer number of separate sources suggesting that Spurs are interested is hard to ignore. Everton are fairly well established as being keen by now as well, Arsenal rather less so. We’re discounting that one for now.

Manchester United have ‘made contact’ with world-class winger

Let’s take in a story from Caught Offside now which claims that Manchester United have “made contact” with the representatives of Vinícius Junior amid growing uncertainty over the forward’s future at Real Madrid.

While it’s said to be “too early” to know whether a deal can be done down the line, United have “established their interest” with the player as they look to learn what terms he might demand should he leave the Bernabeu. The Brazilian is said to be demanding a significant pay rise which his current club may not agree to, and there are also reports that his relationship with Xabi Alonso has become strained.

Should United make a move once it becomes clear whether or not Vinícius is leaving Madrid, it’s said that they are “likely to be joined” in the bidding by cross-city rivals Manchester City.

The 3AM Verdict: Assuming it’s true that United have reached out to Vinícius’ agents, we suspect it’s more preliminary contact than anything substantive – it’s just too early to know whether he really will leave Madrid or not, something that probably won’t happen until next summer. We’d also expect many more teams to make a bid if he does become available, including PSG and teams from the Saudi Pro League.

Nottingham Forest, Brentford & Crystal Palace among teams chasing promising Pole

Finally, let’s have a look at a story from TeamTalk which claims that Nottingham Forest, Brentford & Crystal Palace are all among the suitors for talented Pogoń Szczecin forward Adrian Przyborek, an 18-year-old attracting a lot of attention from teams outside of Poland.

Apparently Forest have made “repeated enquiries” about Przyborek’s availability, with the youngster alleged to “fit their profile perfectly.” Palace, Brentford and Championship side Southampton, meanwhile, have “also registered firm interest” and all three teams are said to have sent scouts to watch him in action for Pogoń.

Not that the four English teams are alone – there’s interest from both Benfica and Sporting in Portugal, with “initial discussions about a January move” already underway with the latter. Apparently Pogoń want a fee in excess of €10m (£8.7m), a club record for them but not all that much for some of the teams mentioned.

The 3AM Verdict: Another situation where so many clubs are allegedly interested in a player that it’s hard to know who’s at the front of the queue and who was never in it in the first place. It’s certainly implied that Nottingham Forest are the most eager of the English teams after Przyborek, anyway.

Rounding up the latest Premier League transfer rumours - with news from Spurs, Arsenal, Sunderland, Newcastle and more.

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Another day of gossip and speculation is in the books, and that means another edition of 3 Added Minutes’ morning round-up of all the biggest and juiciest new Premier League transfer rumours – starting with a story from Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal fans.

Spurs may have been thumped in the North London Derby last weekend, but Caught Offside believe that they could get one over on their old rivals in the transfer market, with Thomas Frank’s team said to be “leading the race” for Porto striker Samu Aghehowa.

Spurs have repeatedly been linked with the free-scoring Spaniard, who would apparently cost them €90m (£79m), just €10m less than his mandated release clause – but Arsenal are also one of the “two main teams to watch” in the bidding, apparently, despite having been mentioned far less frequently as a potential suitor.

Chelsea are “continuing to keep an eye” on Aghehowa, apparently, and Newcastle United are mentioned too although they are said to have “cooled” their interest due to Nick Woltemade’s impressive start at St. James’ Park. There’s no word on whether Spurs or Arsenal have made a formal approach, either.

The 3AM Verdict: Spurs certainly have at least some interest in Aghehowa, but we’d be surprised if Arsenal were in the bidding in the near future after spending so much on Viktor Gyökeres – and to be frank, we don’t expect them to be busy at all in January. They could perhaps be keeping tabs on him ahead of next summer should he still be available, but we doubt that their interest is quite as serious as suggested here, at least at this moment. We do think that Aghehowa is unlikely to move in January, wherever he ends up.

Sunderland get problematic update in midfielder hunt

Over to Sunderland now, who have been strongly linked with a January bid for Mattéo Guendouzi this January – but may find it tougher to sign him than they thought, according to Sport Witness.

Apparently there was “confidence” that the Black Cats could meet Lazio’s asking price for the midfielder (which isn’t specified) and that the Serie A side were happy to negotiate to help alleviate their financial situation, but there’s one unexpected barrier to a transfer – Guendouzi himself.

Reports from Italy seem to suggest that the former Arsenal man “isn’t interested in a move” and that he doesn’t want to go to the North East. Further complicating matters is the fact that Napoli might be interested, too, and are likely to be rather more appealing to Guendouzi.

The 3AM Verdict: The sources for this story are Italian journalists who may well have an inside track, and if they’re right then a deal which had seemed very likely to take place may be off after all. Don’t expected Sunderland to give up easily, but this deal could be in trouble.

Newcastle want £21m as Crystal Palace target midfielder

Let’s wrap up with a story from The Daily Telegraph which claims that Crystal Palace are “considering” a January bid to sign Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock, with the London club under the impression that he is available after falling down the pecking order on Tyneside.

Newcastle would apparently want to recoup the £21m they spent to sign Willock from Arsenal to help with their PSR position, although it’s suggested that Eddie Howe may be “reluctant” to let Willock leave mid-season. It’s unclear whether Palace are prepared to pay full whack or whether they are hoping to negotiate a reduced fee.

Newcastle’s transfer team may be more keen than Howe to sell Willock in order to provide funds for a bid for AZ Alkmaar midfielder Kees Smit, widely regarded as one of the most talented young players in the Netherlands. It’s suggested that an offer could well be made in January if the funds are there.

The 3AM Verdict: It’s hard to question the logic of trying to move from Willock, who has had a rough ride with injuries since the start of last season, to Smit, who seems to be a huge talent – the reporter behind the piece, Luke Edwards, is typically reliable for Newcastle-related stories, so we suspect there’s every chance that a deal takes place, although there could be a lot of haggling left to take place.

With rumours swirling around Antoine Semenyo, will his past help Manchester United to sign him this January?

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When Antoine Semenyo was a teenager trying to make his way in the cut-throat world of academy football, he didn’t have a great deal of luck, with at least four London clubs turning him down when he went for trials – an experience that he claims he “couldn’t cope” with.

Now, at the age of 25 and with speculation swirling that he will join one of the Premier League’s biggest teams in a £65m January deal, some reports suggest that Semenyo will have the chance to exact a measure of revenge on team like Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur that turned him away – by joining Manchester United, among the teams said to be keen on signing him. But how likely is that to happen this winter, and will Semenyo’s past experiences play a part in his own decision?

Can Manchester United incentivise Antoine Semenyo to sign for them this winter?

In an October interview, Semenyo described the experience of struggling to find a club at which to kick-start his career as a youngster, and at least two of the teams who now seem to want to sign him are among those who turned him down when they had the chance to get hold of him as a youth prospect.

“I think I want to Millwall four times, went to Tottenham, went to Arsenal, went to Chelsea,” he told The Daily Mail. “I went to so many clubs and I just got the same result – never making it. Being so young, I couldn’t really cope with the emotions of rejection. I felt I needed to take a break… go back to school, give myself a year to calm down.”

A decade on, Semenyo, who eventually found an academy place with Bristol City, is a target for Arsenal, Chelsea, and perhaps Spurs as well, depending on which stories you believe. Both Manchester clubs and Liverpool are also interested.

It isn’t clear that Semenyo holds a grudge, but the Manchester press are starting to get a little excited about the possibility of getting hold of one of the best players of the 2025/26 season so far, who has already scored six goals for Bournemouth – and The Manchester Evening News even suggests that plans could be afoot to take the number 24 away from André Onana in order to give it to Semenyo, so he can have the same number he wears for his current club.

It sounds like a fairly thin incentive compared to, say, being the team that offers the highest salary or the best chance of silverware, and it’s worth noting that Semenyo was an Arsenal fan as a child – and they have the number 24 available too, should that be a genuine bargaining chip.

But if United can keep pushing towards European contention again, and keep playing as well as they had prior to Monday’s unexpectedly dismal 1-0 defeat to Everton, they might be able to offer much of what Semenyo wants anyway, and the sheer volume of stories suggesting that they’re keen suggests that their interest is very genuine. So what are the chances that they do indeed sign Semenyo ahead of their rivals and the teams that once turned him down?

Why Semenyo is more likely to end up at Liverpool or Manchester City than Old Trafford

Semenyo’s £65m release clause kicks in for a small portion of the January transfer window, but if he does leave over the winter than Manchester United have a significant problem – the Premier League’s PSR rules.

While top-flight clubs have voted to replace the profit and sustainability rules going forward, they still apply for the 2025/26 campaign and United are believed to have relatively limited headroom after their summer spending, which ran to around £220m.

There is usually some room to amortise costs, of course, but release clauses typically have to be paid in a strict structure for them to be triggered – which is why United ended up paying over Joshua Zirkzee’s release clause when they bought him from Bologna, for instance. They needed to get Bologna to agree to a payment structure which was more flexible for PSR purposes, and so offered extra as an incentive. Bournemouth may not be in the mood to play those kind of games mid-season, and it’s highly unlikely that United can afford £60m up front, as the release clause appears to demand.

That puts teams like Manchester City and Liverpool in the driving seat – other teams in the running either have financial hurdles to clear (including Chelsea) or are not believed to want to spend over the winter (Arsenal), but City and Liverpool have the resources to make a deal happen if they so choose.

If Manchester United are to sign Semenyo, their best hope may be that he opts to stay put until the summer, when his release clause reportedly drops slightly. Not only would it be cheaper, but it would be easier for teams like United and Chelsea to make the money work.

If Semenyo waits the winter out at Dean Court, then United become serious contenders for his signature, and Semenyo will have more choices in front of him – perhaps then we’ll find out whether shirt numbers and the shadow of past rejections has any impact on his decision.

The latest Tottenham Hotspur team news and injury updates ahead of the north London derby.

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Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action on Sunday when they face fierce rivals Arsenal in the latest edition of the north London derby – but they come into a crucial match in the teeth of an injury crisis.

As many as 12 Spurs players could be unavailable this weekend, including strikers Randal Kolo Muani and Dominic Solanke, winger Mohammed Kudus and midfielders Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr, who picked up an injury while on international duty for Senegal.

With so many players out or doubtful for the game at the Emirates, we’ve brought together all of the latest Spurs team news and injury updates ahead of Thomas Frank’s pre-match press conference, and offered up our prediction for Sunday’s starting line-up.

Updates on Randal Kolo Muani, Dominic Solanke & Mohammed Kudus ahead of Arsenal showdown

Spurs seem set to be without several key attacking players this weekend, including strikers Kolo Muani and Solanke – with the former suffering a fractured lower jaw and the latter still unavailable following ankle surgery.

No official timeline has been placed on either player’s return but Kolo Muani was forced to withdraw from France’s squad and his participation is very much in doubt. A fractured jaw would normally put him out for around four more weeks, but he has since been training with a special protective face mask. It is unclear whether that will be sufficient for him to play. The Evening Standard, meanwhile, reports that Solanke remains out for the Arsenal match with uncertainty over when he will be back in training.

Kudus was another player who skipped international duty over the past fortnight after he picked up a “knock” – in Frank’s words – which kept him out of Spurs’ last two games. The Ghanaian winger is expected to be fit to face Arsenal, however, with Frank adding that he was “very confident” the summer signing would be available.

Other attacking players out for Sunday’s game include long-term absentees James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski (both ACL) although the Swede is back on grass and is inching towards a long-awaited comeback which is likely to happen in December.

Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall among fresh doubts for Spurs

The international break didn’t provide much good news for Spurs, with Sarr limping off during a friendly against Brazil which happened to take place at the Emirates – the midfielder remained in London as a result and left his international squad to recover.

Spurs have yet to offer an update on Sarr’s situation but Senegal manager Pape Thiaw said that the 23-year-old was taken off purely as a “precaution” and added that “I don’t think it’s a big deal.” As it stands, Sarr is expected to be ready to face Arsenal.

The same may not apply to Bergvall, who missed Sweden’s final World Cup qualifiers after failing to clear concussion protocol. It remains unclear whether he will be available this weekend. Archie Gray (calf) and Yves Bissouma (ankle) are not expected to be involved.

In defence, Cristian Romero is believed to be fully fit, while both Kota Takai and Ben Davies (both thigh) and Radu Dragusin (ACL) are getting closer to their returns – Dragusin played 45 minutes of a behind-closed-doors friendly against Leyton Orient during the break and could make the bench. None of the trio are liable to start, however, if they are ready for the matchday squad.

Running the rule over the latest Premier League transfer rumours.

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Another day’s worth of gossip and speculation is in the books, and that means that it’s time for our regular morning round-up of the biggest and juiciest new Premier League transfer rumours – starting, today, with a story for Manchester United and Arsenal fans.

They are two of the teams said to be “eyeing up” a January move for Borussia Dortmund striker Serhiou Guirassy, a rumour mill staple who is set to be available this winter as a release clause in his contract comes into force – according to Caught Offside, anyway.

Apparently the 29-year-old striker, who has 65 Bundesliga goals to his name since moving to Germany in 2022, can be bought for €50m (£44m) and both Arsenal and United are “showing an interest” in striking a deal, along with European champions PSG.

It’s claimed that the release clause only applies to a small group of elite teams and it isn’t clear precisely who can trigger it, but in any case there’s no suggestion that any formal approaches have yet been made by any clubs – or whether Guirassy himself is likely to push for a move.

The 3AM Verdict: Guirassy’s name comes around all the time and we don’t think a Premier League move is likely to materialise this time, either. United could be persuaded to spend that kind of money but may have other priorities, while Arsenal spending that much on another striker this summer seems very unlikely. We think this is pure speculation with nothing much to back it up, quite frankly, and don’t see it happening.

Spurs ‘zero in’ on £70m centre-forward

Let’s head over to Tottenham Hotspur, now, with a story from TeamTalk which alleges that the club have “zeroed in” on 21-year-old Porto striker Samu Aghehowa and have made him their “dream” transfer target.

The free-scoring striker has been linked with several teams in the past but this article reckons that Spurs are determined to get their hands on the Spain international, despite a price tag of €80m (£70m) being slapped on his head.

It doesn’t sound like it’s possible to get this deal done in January, unfortunately for Spurs. Porto’s club president, former Spurs manager André Villas-Boas, has apparently declared Aghehowa to be “not for sale at any price in the winter,” and the report reckons that any hopes of a winter deal are “dead in the water.” Ivan Toney remains of interest, but Aghehowa is the player Spurs “truly covet.”

The 3AM Verdict: We won’t know for sure whether Aghehowa really is their primary target until the summer, but they are in the market for a striker and have been strongly linked with the Porto man before, so it’s perfectly plausible. It will be expensive, but they have the money and sorting out Toney’s salary won’t be easy either.

Manchester City involved in £35m ‘auction’

Let’s wrap things up with a story for the Manchester City supporters reading – Sport Witness have corralled a number of sources to pull together a picture of their apparent pursuit of Udinese midfielder Arthur Atta, who is “attracting interest” from several big sides.

Barcelona, AC Milan and Napoli have all “sought information” about the player and while they have seemingly been told that a January deal is unlikely, Udinese are prepared to start an “auction” in the summer with the bidding to begin at €40m (£35m).

There isn’t any suggestion that City have made an enquiry of their own, merely that they have the 22-year-old Frenchman on their “radar” and that they could be involved in the alleged auction in 2026. No word on the player’s own thoughts about his future.

The 3AM Verdict: Atta’s reputation is certainly growing but it’s too early to have a clear picture of which teams will make a bid – we’re at a speculative stage where a host of teams are said to be keen but where it’s also too early to know which will decide to make a move and which will hang back. At this point, Manchester City could fall into either camp.

Arsenal’s predicted XI against Tottenham Hotspur as they look to further cement their status as league leaders

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After falling to a surprise 2-2 draw against newly-promoted Sunderland in a roller coaster afternoon of football before the international break, Arsenal return to action to face North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

It’s a derby match and an occasion which always has an extra edge due to the long-standing rivalry between both players and supporters. Arsenal have the chance to try and further cement their status at the top of the table, but are more than aware of the threat posed by a Tottenham side that would love nothing more than putting a dent in their local rivals’ title dreams.

Arsenal remain in pole position to end their 21-year-wait for a league title but know that there’s plenty more challenges that they’ll have to overcome if they are to end up in the summit by the final kick in May.

The latest challenge and the one that everyone at the club’s been dreading is an injury to star defender Gabriel, who is out until January. But how will Arsenal replace him? And could we see a return for stars like Martin Odegaard and Viktor Gyokeres this weekend?

Arsenal predicted line-up vs Spurs: goalkeeper and defence

GK: David Raya: The Spaniard has arguably been the best goalkeeper in the Premier League this season and more than justified Arteta’s decision to bring him in for the popular Aaron Ramsdale over the course of the last few seasons.

RB: Jurrien Timber: Timber was injured by a bad tackle during the first half of the Netherlands' win against Lithuania, adding to the growing list of injury concerns. However, he was treated by physios and played on for another 30 minutes after the challenge, raising hope that he should be fit enough to start against Tottenham.

CB: William Saliba: French international Saliba has been one of the best in the business for a number of seasons now and will hope for another stellar defensive showing on derby day.

CB: Piero Hincape: The likes of Ben White, Timber and summer signing Cristhian Mosquera could all feasibly step up to replace Gabriel. However, this could be the time for Hincapie, a Bundesliga winner with Bayer Leverkusen to make his first league start since arriving from Germany.

LB: Riccardo Calafiori: The 23-year-old Italian is a slight doubt after suffering a knock on international duty, but is expected to regain fitness in time for this game as Myles Lewis-Skelly waits for an opportunity to shine.

Arsenal predicted line-up vs Spurs: midfield and attack

CM: Declan Rice: One of the Premier league’s finest midfielders on current form. Rice has lived up to the hype of being a £100m+ player from the moment he signed for Arsenal. His set piece ability is amongst the best in the league and could prove to be the difference-maker.

CM: Martín Zubimendi: Spanish midfielder Zubimendi has adapted excellently to life in English football and really looks at home in Arteta’s midfield. He’s expected to retain his starting spot.

CM: Eberechi Eze: Martin Odegaard is approaching a return to fitness and could feature in a cameo role, but we expect Eze to get the nod from the start. He’s shown plenty of promise since joining and has looked decent in the middle of the park so far.

RW: Bukayo Saka: Arguably Arsenal’s most influential attacking player. Saka often turns up in North London derbies and has delivered three goals and as many assists when facing the Lilywhites, winning six of his 10 matches against them.

ST: Mikel Merino: Spanish international Merino may have been signed as a central midfielder, but he’s often proved incredibly useful as a makeshift centre forward in a crisis. The former Newcastle United man could be asked to lead the line once again.

LW: Leandro Trossard: Gabriel Martinelli missed the last outing with a groin problem and is pushing for a return, but for the time being Trossard seems to be the first choice. The Belgian has been a great signing since his move from Brighton and is amongst Arsenal’s top players for goal contributions over the last 18 months.

Spurs are reportedly searching for a new top class goalkeeper

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If the gossip columns are even half-right, then Tottenham Hotspur will be one of the Premier League’s busiest teams come January. Scarcely a day goes by without the club being linked with a new player, be it a striker, a winger, a midfielder – or, now, a goalkeeper.

A new report from The Daily Mail claims that Spurs are actively pursuing a deal for a “world-class goalkeeper” to replace Guglielmo Vicario, and even gives Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez as a player they might go after in 2026. But is that a deal they could really make – and do they really need a replacement for their current number one?

Why Spurs might want to replace Guglielmo Vicario this season

At first blush, Spurs’ interest in moving on from Vicario after just two full seasons may seem a little strange. While not necessarily regarded as one of the very best in the business, Vicario has scarcely been the club’s biggest problem since he joined in 2023 and is currently having a highly productive season between the sticks.

Vicario is currently operating at a towering 77.3% save percentage, the best of his top-flight career to date and the third highest mark in the Premier League behind only Sunderland’s Robin Roefs and Manchester City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma. Meanwhile, he’s prevented 3.7 goals compared to the number he ‘should’ have conceded according to the xG model – only Dean Henderson has prevented more. By any standards, his shot-stopping has been superb since the summer.

Shot stopping isn’t the only metric by which a goalkeeper is judged, however, and there are areas in which Vicario can be improved upon, with his handling of set pieces and high balls into the box chief among them.

Vicario has previously acknowledged his need to work on the way he deals with dead ball situations and while it’s an area in which Spurs have improved considerably since Thomas Frank took over (they have conceded just two league goals from set pieces so far), Vicario is still finding the high ball to be a problem.

So far this season, Vicario is credited with having directly stopped just five of the 134 crosses he’s had launched into his box – a success rate of just 3.7%, a worrying low mark. It’s been a persistent weakness for much of his career, with the 2024/25 season when he handled 9.7% of crosses (an above average mark for the top flight) a distinct outlier. For much of his career, he has lacked conviction against the high ball, and it’s a concern in an age in which set plays are becoming increasingly important.

Vicario’s distribution may be making Frank fret, too. While accurate over short distances – he has completed every single attempted pass of under 30 yards he has attempted this season – he isn’t at his best playing the ball over longer distances, and that’s something Frank wants him to be doing. Since Ange Postecoglou left the club, the number of long kicks Vicario has been asked to attempt has more than doubled and while he isn’t the worst in the league by any stretch, his success rate with long passes is more than 10% lower than that of Alisson, who sets the bar for the Premier League right now. There is room for improvement.

The bigger picture does not suggest that Spurs should be immediately worried about Vicario, and replacing should surely not be the club’s first priority, but there are clear-cut weaknesses in his game and those provide reason to believe that the club can do better. But would Emi Martínez really be the answer?

Why Aston Villa’s Martínez is not the solution to Spurs’ goalkeeper search

It should be noted from the start that The Daily Mail did not suggest that Spurs have made a direct approach for Martínez, or that he is necessarily their preferred target – but he is suggested as a possibility, and is the only player named in their report about the club’s transfer strategy.

Martínez has, undeniably, been among the best goalkeepers in the world in recent years, winning the Yashin Trophy twice as well as a World Cup and the Copa America – but there have been definite signs of decline since last summer, and Villa appear to be relatively keen to move on from him themselves, with recent reports suggesting that they’re open to offers a few months after they came close to selling him to Manchester United.

As is the case with Vicario, Martínez’s shot stopping is now the primary concern, but his stats are still worse than those of Spurs’ current number one this season and have, more disconcertingly, fallen away considerably since some very impressive peaks in 2023/24.

His work against the high ball has also dropped off. Between 2022 and 2024 his work in the air was exceptional but he has only dealt with around 7.8% of crosses this year – better than Vicario, admittedly, but down from a single season peak of 12.4% not long ago. To cap it off, Martínez is also not noted for the quality of his long-distance distribution.

At best, Martínez would be a slight improvement in the short term, and given that he is 33 and showing clear signs of decline it would be a rather idiosyncratic decision for Spurs to sign him – there are goalkeepers out there who are stronger in the areas of concern while being rather younger and in no apparent danger of dwindling in the immediate future.

A slightly more thorough search would surely yield better options – perhaps players like Cagliari’s Elia Caprile or Valencia’s Julen Agirrezabala, both 24 and fine shot stoppers who are also superb in the air, or SC Freiburg’s Noah Atubolu, a raw 23-year-old whose positional game needs work but whose distribution is impressive and whose reflexes are beyond question. Chelsea and Manchester United have been linked with the latter already.

Spurs have some reasons to believe that moving on from Vicario at some stage would be the right move, depending on the qualities they prioritise in their goalkeeper – but there are surely better options out there than Martínez, and probably bigger fish to fry in January.

Bayern Munich and Premier League rivals Chelsea are among the other clubs chasing the Real Madrid superstar

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The January transfer window could already be a sliding doors moment for Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur, with the side’s limitations beginning to show themselves particularly in the Premier League. Since Tottenham bounced back from defeat to Bournemouth by emphatically beating West Ham at the London Stadium, they sit joint twelfth in the Premier League form table, level with disaster-riddled Liverpool.

However, while any title aspirations are looking more unlikely with a top-five finish more than adequate progress this campaign following that disastrous 17th place, Spurs still have a chance in the Champions League. In four of the last six seasons since Tottenham themselves reached the final, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Villarreal, and RB Leipzig have all made unlikely runs to at least the last four, and there’s no reason that Spurs can’t be that side this time around.

They’ve already drawn with and beaten two of the last three winners across 90 minutes and though Frank’s conservative style may not be winning over too many fans in North London, there’s no denying it’s effective especially against Europe’s best. Brentford picked up six points against big six opposition in each of Frank’s last two seasons, and a massive 21 in 2022/23 and all the evidence suggests that he’s brought that same effectiveness to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But he’ll need more stardust especially in attack, and hijacking Manchester City’s January move for Rodrygo would be the perfect way to do it.

Tottenham can’t afford to lose out on Rodrygo

Too often, Tottenham’s plan appears to be ‘give it to Mohammed Kudus and hope for the best’, with the Ghanaian having provided 50% of assists by The Lilywhites’ attackers in the league. Spurs need more incision on the left flank with Wilson Odobert having shone in flashes but yet to show the required end product. And though Brennan Johnson scored in that famous win over Manchester City, his underlying numbers aren’t good.

He’s averaging just 1.53 shot-creating actions (SCA) per game - half of Kudus’ tally - and only participates in a goal (GCA) every five matches. By contrast, all three of Pep Guardiola’s frontline wingers this season (Jeremy Doku, Savinho and Oscar Bobb) have higher SCA than Spurs’ top widemen and Johnson sits at the bottom of that combined list too.

And with Rodrygo apparently on the market, he can provide that spark, penetration and most importantly goal threat. In his final season as a regular starter in the capital, Rodrygo was in the top 15 La Liga players for SCA and GCA, higher than any of Spurs’ wingers are doing this season apart from Kudus.

Just as importantly, Rodrygo delivers in the biggest moments. He has 18 goals in senior knockout football - a phenomenal hit rate especially given his age and reduced role last season - and from hitting a hat-trick on his home Champions League debut has thrived the brighter the lights.

Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City are among those who can attest to his ability to break dreams and crush hearts with a timely strike. Which may explain why Guardiola is so keen to land Rodrygo in January.

Can Tottenham outbattle Man City and Europe’s best?

Having initially committed to fighting for his place in the Real Madrid in 2025/26,three starts so far have apparently changed Rodrygo’s mind. Players as talented and established as the Brazilian don’t come along very often and even less so from clubs like Real Madrid, so obviously there are plenty of suitors.

TEAMTalk believe Manchester City are the leaders in the clubhouse but Tottenham are chasing hard while Chelsea and Bayern Munich are reportedly interested.

The Citizens will be hard to beat but they’ll have a tougher job selling Rodrygo on his place at the Etihad Stadium. For all of Guardiola’s undoubted brilliance, he’s not found it as easy to integrate established superstars into his sides (for example Jack Grealish and Zlatan Ibrahimovich) and Rodrygo is undoubtedly in that bracket.

Jeremy Doku has started the season so strongly for The Citizens on the left flank and with the last memory of him in a sky blue shirt being that dismantling of Conor Bradley and Liverpool it seems unthinkable to imagine he could lose his place in the team or be forced out of position in a matter of weeks.

Off the back of finally breaking their trophy drought, Tottenham have the opportunity to truly establish themselves among Europe’s elite on the field as well as off it, but players like Rodrygo are who they must sign to make that happen so this is a chance they can’t afford to miss.

Antoine Semenyo’s recently-revealed release clause makes a January move far more likely - we break down the Bournemouth star’s options.

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Ever since Antoine Semenyo started the season with a brilliant brace against Liverpool, there has been speculation surrounding his future. His scintillating form and continued improvement at Bournemouth has made links with wealthier clubs inevitable, even if it all felt thoroughly speculative – until now, at least.

BBC Sport reported this week that Semenyo has a release clause worth £65m in the contract he signed this summer which activates for part of January. All of a sudden, those reports hinting at interest from Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and others seemed entirely realistic in a way that they hadn’t before.

It’s far from certain that he leaves in January. The negotiating window is small, his release clause reportedly drops and reactivates next summer, and more teams will have more cash to burn then – but the offers may well come in as teams search for ways to bolster their attacks heading into the home straight. But of the teams linked with a bid for Semenyo, which are actually likely to make a move this winter? And at which clubs might Semenyo truly thrive were he to leave?

Why Manchester United, Chelsea & Arsenal are unlikely to sign Antoine Semenyo

It would almost be quicker to list the teams which haven’t been linked with a move for Semenyo than to discuss all of those that have been individually – every team in the Premier League that’s noted as being a significant player in the transfer market has found their name crop up in the gossip columns with regularity, and it isn’t easy to discern which teams are seriously interested and which are merely being thrown into the rumours to add some heft.

No doubt all of the top flight’s biggest spenders have at least some passing interest, but a combination of financial realities and footballing factors are likely to rule some out, at least in January.

Chelsea are one of them. Not only have they invested heavily in Alejandro Garnacho (who is starting to find some form at Stamford Bridge) but they are expected to be cutting it fine financially in relation to UEFA’s spending rules, and that’s likely to reduce their financial flexibility in the near future.

The Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules won’t be a problem for Chelsea, with their sale of the women’s team to their owners’ company buying them a large amount of breathing room, but UEFA’s rules don’t allow the club to make use of that same loophole and there are already worries that they are at risk of sanctions from European football’s governing body. Clubs can always amortise their spending to some degree, but they are unlikely to have the breathing room to spend as much as £65m this winter.

Manchester United and Arsenal have slightly more financial breathing room, but not an immense amount – and both spent significant sums over the summer improving the same areas which Semenyo might.

United are looking at signing a new midfielder and a centre-forward with whatever funds they have available and with Mateus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo on the books, a move for Semenyo would be a luxury. Arsenal, meanwhile, may have questions over the long-term future of Gabriel Martinelli but with Eberechi Eze brought in and Leandro Trossard’s contact extended, a winger is not a priority addition – indeed, it would be unsurprising if Arsenal made no signings whatsoever this January.

All three of these teams are being linked with the Ghanaian on the rumour mill, but none are likely to be in position to make a move until next summer. If Semenyo remains at the Vitality Stadium in the short term, then they may become candidates for his signature down the line – for now, it would be a surprise if any of these three teams were involved in the bidding.

Liverpool, Manchester City & Spurs could be serious suitors

Sky Sports recently reported that the three teams they believed to be in the running for Semenyo were Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur – and here the rumours start to become more plausible.

All three teams in question should have the PSR headroom to make a £65m move (depending on how they chose to amortise their summer expenditure) and all three have good sporting reasons to want to add a new wide forward – although Spurs, who have plenty of PSR space to play with, are reported to be less replete with ready cash due in part to the ongoing costs of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

In Spurs’ case, however, the biggest issue may be whether spending £65m on a winger is really the best use of funds. Like United, their priorities are a striker and a central midfielder, and it is likely that the development of players like Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert comes first, especially with Dejan Kulusevski set to return to fitness in December. Semenyo would be a fine addition to the team, but perhaps not an essential one. In any case, they may find it tricky to compete with Manchester City and Liverpool were all three teams to enter the fray.

That probably puts City and Liverpool at the front of the queue. Liverpool may have spent record-breaking sums on attacking additions already and Pep Guardiola may have kicked up a fuss about wanting to reduce his squad size over the summer, but both have issues in the final third that a player on Semenyo’s form could help to clear up.

Liverpool, in particular, have been out of sorts up front and may view themselves as being in something of a sunk-cost situation with regards to the lavish spending that was involved in bringing Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké to the club over the summer – if that hasn’t worked out, then another (relatively unspectacular) splash on Semenyo might make sense.

City, similarly, don’t have a pressing need for attacking reinforcements on paper but have found themselves far too dependent on Erling Haaland for goals – three months into the season, their second-highest scorer in the league is still Burnley’s Maxime Estève after his own goals for them. Semenyo, who has scored six in 11 games in the Premier League, could offer an answer to that issue.

The question Guardiola and his transfer team would have to answer is whether signing Semenyo would stand in the way of the progress of their young corps of wide forwards, many of whom are starting to hit their stride – Jérémy Doku has been excellent of late, Rayan Cherki has the potential to be a hugely productive member of the squad and Savinho is highly promising. If Guardiola is still concerned by his own squad size, he may well be wary of adding Semenyo into the mix.

Which perhaps makes Liverpool not only the most likely candidate to sign Semenyo this January but also the club who would offer him the best landing spot. Cody Gakpo is their only ‘true’ left winger, while Semenyo’s versatility could also make him a natural long-term successor to Mohamed Salah, with whom age finally appears to be catching up. He may make the biggest difference there and have the least impact on starting minutes for other players clubs are keen to develop – although Rio Ngumoha may feel slightly differently.

As it stands, no teams appear to have launched a bid or started discussions with Bournemouth or Semenyo’s representatives. This is still a speculative point in the story, and there is every chance that Semenyo prefers to wait until the summer to leave the south coast, when he may have more options available to him. But don’t be surprised if he’s wearing a red shirt by the middle of January, either. If he maintains his form and scoring rate over the next six weeks, then several sides will be salivating at the chance to sign him.

The latest Spurs injury news - with Mohammed Kudus, Dominic Solanke and Pape Matar Sarr among 12 players who could miss the North London Derby.

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Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action this weekend when they face fierce local rivals Arsenal in the North London Derby – but Thomas Frank will be sweating on the fitness of a number of his first-team players ahead of Sunday’s match at the Emirates Stadium.

Spurs were already dealing with a host of injuries and fitness issues heading into the international break and now have fresh concerns about midfielder Pape Matar Sarr, who was hurt while playing for Senegal, and Lucas Bergvall, who was forced to withdraw from the Sweden squad. Several players including Mohammed Kudus, Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani, meanwhile, face battles to be fit.

In total, Spurs could be forced to make do without as many as 12 first-team players for the game against Arsenal – we’ve got all of the latest injury news and updates below, along with expected return dates for the stricken players.

How bad was Pape Matar Sarr’s injury over the international break?

The international break added a fresh name to the already lengthy list of players with fitness problems, with Sarr coming off just after half-time during Senegal’s 2-0 friendly defeat to Brazil – a match which somewhat ironically took place at the Emirates.

Sarr went down under a heavy challenge but his national manager Pape Thiaw seemed relatively unconcerned by the problem, describing his substitution as a “precaution” and adding that “I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

Despite that, Sarr has reportedly left the Senegal squad instead of travelling to Turkey to take part in Tuesday’s planned friendly match against Kenya. Spurs will assess him ahead of the North London Derby but the initial signs are that he will be available – the same can’t be said of another player who went down in that Senegal game, Arsenal defender Gabriel, who is now a major doubt for Sunday.

The only other fresh worry to emerge from the recent international matches concerns Lucas Bergvall, who has been sidelined since sustaining a concussion during the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at the start of the month. The young midfielder had been due to join Graham Potter’s Sweden side but pulled out with his recovery not going according to schedule. He remains a serious doubt for the weekend.

Will Dominic Solanke, Randal Kolo Muani or Mohammed Kudus be fit to face Arsenal?

Spurs are also waiting on updates on the health of several key players who sustained injuries of varying severity prior to the international break, including strikers Kolo Muani (jaw) and Solanke (ankle).

Kolo Muani is highly unlikely to be involved due to a fracture which Frank initially described as “nothing big” – but The Evening Standard now report that he could be out for as much as six more weeks, meaning the most pessimistic return date for the Frenchman would be late December. The club have not yet provided a full update on the fitness of Solanke, who they had hoped would be able to return to training ahead of the Arsenal match. He remains a major doubt.

There is also some concern over the availability of summer signing Kudus, who missed the last two matches due to what Frank described as a “knock” and eventually missed out on the Ghana squad as a result. The Spurs head coach has, however, said that he is “very confident” that the 25-year-old would be ready to face the Gunners and he is not seen as a major doubt for the derby.

Other doubts heading into the weekend include defenders Ben Davies and Kota Takai (both thigh) who are expected to train ahead of the match, although neither is likely to start if fit.

When Dejan Kulusevski and others could be back for Spurs

Several other Spurs players are set to miss out this weekend, including Archie Gray (calf) and Yves Bissouma (ankle), both of whom are expected back in early-to-mid December, and playmaker Dejan Kulusevski – although the Swede is inching towards a return from a knee ligament injury.

Frank has been coy with details of his return date but the winger is back training on grass and it is hoped that he will be back in the matchday squad at some stage in December. The North London Derby, however, will come too soon.

Radu Dragusin, another victim of an ACL injury, could be back in action this weekend – the Romanian played 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Leyton Orient over the break and is now in full training. He could be ready for the bench this weekend. James Maddison, Spurs’ third and final player to sustain an ACL injury, remains some way from a return and may miss the entire 2025/26 campaign.