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Dominic Solanke edging closer to Tottenham comeback after what he posted on Instagram

Dominic Solanke’s latest Instagram post will give Tottenham fans hope that a return to action is around the corner.

Solanke has suffered an injury-hit campaign at Spurs, seeing him restricted to just 49 minutes of competitive action across all competitions.

The 28-year-old last featured for Thomas Frank during Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in August, coming off the bench in the final 12 minutes.

Spurs have since struggled to score goals in the Englishman’s absence, with Richarlison assuming that responsibility by netting seven times in 23 appearances across all competitions.

Dominic Solanke shares injury hint on Instagram story

Ahead of Tottenham’s 2-0 victory over Brentford last weekend, Frank was dealt the crushing news that Solanke wasn’t close to returning, alongside fellow long-term absentee Dejan Kulusevski.

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Supporters were therefore left in the dark about his potential injury timeframe, although Solanke himself has now provided a subtle update.

The former Liverpool striker posted two hourglass emojis on his Instagram story, perhaps fuelling excitement that his return to action is closer than people think.

Solanke has been a huge miss for Tottenham this term, after scoring 16 goals in his debut campaign for the club in 2024/25.

Stats that show Solanke’s importance to Spurs

It’s never easy for players to return from a long-term injury and hit the ground running, but Spurs may need Solanke’s goalscoring heroics to secure European football.

As it stands, defensive players Micky van de Ven, Pape Matar Sarr and Joao Palhinha make up their top five list of Premier League scorers this campaign, and that explains the problem Frank is having.

Mathys Tel, Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani have all lacked consistency, something Solanke provided on Tottenham’s way to winning the Europa League.

A return of one in three goals in the top-flight was hardly setting the world alight, but his hold-up play and chance creation were crucial under Ange Postecoglou.

Ultimately, Tottenham currently lack an out-and-out striker, and Solanke is someone who can supply the attributes they’ve been missing.

Granit Xhaka experienced his fair share of North London derby showdowns during his time as an Arsenal player.

The now-Sunderland midfielder played 15 times against Tottenham in total across all competitions between 2016 and 2023.

Indeed, Xhaka has only played against five teams more often than he has Spurs, with Bayern Munich topping that list.

However, the 33-year-old has now made a surprising admission about the famous Tottenham and Arsenal fixture.

Granit Xhaka says Wear-Tyne derby is bigger than North London derby

Xhaka is now plying his trade at Sunderland, who recently took inspiration from Tottenham – or more specifically, Daniel Levy.

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The Switzerland international has admittedly been superb upon his return to English football and will be one to watch when Spurs face Sunderland early next month.

Xhaka will have his first taste of the Wear-Tyne derby on Sunday when Sunderland host fierce rivals Newcastle at the Stadium of Light.

And speaking to Premier League Productions ahead of the game, Xhaka made a comment that will not go down well on either side of the North London divide.

“I had many rivals as well in my career, but I think this one will be the biggest,” he said.

“Let’s try and give the fans and the club something big. We have one object­ive, and it’s to win the game.“

It may well be a case of Xhaka pandering to his new fanbase, but it is a huge shout to suggest there is a bigger rivalry around than Tottenham against Arsenal.

Xhaka already relishing Tottenham clash with Sunderland

There is no love lost between Xhaka and Tottenham fans, who will be sure to give him a ‘warm’ welcome in January.

Speaking to Sunderland’s media team upon joining the club in the summer, Xhaka picked out Tottenham – alongside Newcastle and Arsenal – as the three fixtures he was most looking forward to.

“I have the derby as well, Arsenal versus Tottenham, the atmosphere there is incredible,” Xhaka said.

Xhaka was on the winning side in six of his 15 meetings with Arsenal – all in the Premier League except one EFL Cup tie – while drawing three and losing the other five.

Not many players get to experience multiple high-profile derbies in English football, and it will be interesting to see if Xhaka stands by these comments after this weekend’s match.

Xavi Simons has burst into life at Tottenham over the past few games and Thomas Frank is full of praise for the Dutchman.

Simons had a slow start to his Tottenham career after a summer move from RB Leipzig, but he now seems to be finding his feet in North London.

The 22-year-old grabbed his first goal for Spurs during their 2-0 win over Brentford last weekend, and also picked up an assist for Richarlison’s opener.

He then backed up his display against the Bees by scoring again on Tuesday night, as Tottenham cruised to a 3-0 victory against Slavia Prague in the Champions League.

Thomas Frank loves Xavi Simons’ work rate

Djed Spence was the star for Tottenham in the win over Slavia Prague, but Simons was impressive once again and has now made the number 10 position his own.

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The Netherlands international was utilised on the wing during his first few months under Frank, but has looked far more dangerous since being moved centrally.

Simons is clearly impressing his manager as well, with Frank coming out and giving the former Leipzig man a lot of praise.

Speaking in his post-match press conference after the Slavia Prague game, Frank said: “I think he built on the good game on Saturday, produced again, I would say.

“Good link-up play, nice turns in the middle of the pitch, where he also has that acceleration to go past the player and open up the spaces.

“I also like his work ethic. For example, there was a great recovery run in 90-plus minutes where he just got all the way back, which is crucial for me, for us, for everyone, to work very hard. So, I like his overall performance.”

Xavi Simons shows different side of his game for Tottenham

While Simons is known for his attacking talent and ability on the ball, you cannot ignore the work he does defensively.

Playing in behind the striker, the Dutch star is often required to track back and help out the Spurs backline, a task which he doesn’t shy away from.

Against Slavia Prague, Simons won six duels, completed two recoveries, made one interception and made one clearance.

It didn’t stop the midfielder from making an impact going forward either, getting three shots off across the 90 minutes, as well as grabbing his goal.

If Simons can continue to impress in attacking areas as well as contribute defensively, then he will flourish into a top player for Tottenham.

Tottenham have seen a raft of changes at the boardroom level in recent months.

Daniel Levy was the most high-profile exit at Tottenham, leaving his role as executive chairman in September.

While Levy delivered on his main task of bringing the state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to life, there is still one problem.

Tottenham do not have a naming rights deal in place for their new home, and are losing out on a huge potential windfall as a result, and one man has had the blame placed firmly at his door.

Who is at fault for Tottenham’s lack of a stadium naming rights deal?

Tottenham are set to bring Alex Scotcher on board as their commercial director in January, to try and finally secure a deal.

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John Wenham believes the blame lies squarely on Todd Kline, who joined Tottenham as Chief Commercial Officer in June 2021, but departed his role in February 2024.

Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, he said: “On the naming rights deal, what a failure that whole process has been, they brought in a guy, Todd Kline, on big money, who had secured multiple deals in the American system.

“His only job was to secure a naming rights deal and the fact that he failed to do it, you could say ‘well Tottenham have been holding out for £25million’, but if they had taken £15m, they would have had money coming in at that rate since 2019, so a significant period of time has been missed on that.”

Why is the lack of a naming rights deal such a problem for Tottenham?

As Wenham states, the North London club have already lost out on a huge sum over the years, as they have not had a deal in place.

The fact that they brought Kline in to do so, and he failed, due to whatever reason, whether it be the finances on offer or not, is simply not good enough.

Thomas Frank’s side could have been further along in their progress, if the money had been rolling in constantly since the stadium opened in 2019.

Instead, they are playing catch-up, and a deal is still not in place, and Kline has left his post, it is an utterly embarrassing situation for all involved, and one that the N17 outfit needs to sort as soon as possible.

Daniel Levy’s genius may have been underrated by Tottenham supporters.

Levy resigned from his role as Tottenham’s executive chairman in September after 25 years in the role, to the delight of a huge section of the fanbase.

Tottenham’s frugality in the market left supporters angry, with many feeling like they could have done more in the market.

However, his business acumen off the field cannot be questioned, especially after a new reveal on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that may leave rivals in awe.

Newcastle and other Premier League clubs realise Levy was a genius

John Wenham believes that Levy cannot be faulted for his decision off the field, and that rivals are learning about how good the businessman was, as they try to build their own new stadiums.

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He used the example of Newcastle, who are having issues when it comes to building a new home, away from St James’ Park, per Sky Sports.

Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, he said: “Daniel Levy, the businessman, 10 out of 10, on a whole, he was fantastic for Tottenham, bringing in the training ground, moving to a fantastic stadium, that was paid for at such low interest rates over a significant period of time.

“Where the likes of United, Birmingham, Villa, other clubs are planning new stadiums now, Newcastle and Chelsea are unable to get off the ground with it, and are realising the financial cost involved.

“Whereas, Tottenham got rates to borrow for 30 years, at like 1.4 per cent and stuff.”

Why was Levy so hated by Tottenham fans?

His financial decisions were the stuff of dreams, and have left Spurs in a brilliant place to capitalise after his exit, so why do supporters dislike Levy so much?

Wenham believes that it is because he refused to strengthen the squad on multiple occasions, when the Lilywhites were in great positions to push on.

He said: “You look at Levy, the football guy, and there is absolutely right to be frustration there, there has been multiple times that Tottenham could have pushed on and haven’t done so.

“We might be sitting here talking about Tottenham having at least one Premier League title under their belt, if they could have won it in the year when they battled with Leicester, or they could have won it the following year when they finished on 86 points.

“There have been times where a little bit more pushing could have really delivered, I know even under Harry Redknapp, there was a spell where we really pushed on.

“Instead of going out and pushing to get Carlos Tevez, who was reported to be available at the time, getting Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen in on cheap, short-term deals, didn’t cut the mustard.

“There was a time when we had a midfield of Luca Modric, Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon and Scott Parker, people will say ‘Scott Parker’, but he won the FWA Player of the Year that year, that is how good he is, as a holding midfielder.

“There were times when he could have pushed Tottenham on, and didn’t, and I think the feeling was when he moved on, it was the right time for all.”

Malachi Hardy has been singled out for special praise after Tottenham secured UEFA Youth League victory over Slavia Prague.

Tottenham men’s side beat Slavia Prague 3-0 as the Lilywhites moved up into 11th place with just one matchweek remaining in the initial stages of the Champions League.

The Lilywhites had some key individual performances to thank as Mohamed Kudus was excellent for Tottenham once again at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Thomas Frank’s side sealed victory just hours after Tottenham beat Prague 9-1 in the Youth League in a stellar performance.

Hardy has received a glowing review for his showcase as several of his Spurs teammates were appreciated by the Czech outfit.

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Malachi Hardy gets mention from Slavia Prague coach

Tottenham tied Hardy down to new contract terms earlier in the year as they continue to show faith in the 17-year-old as one for the future.

The centre-back signed for the Lilywhites at just eight years old and in recent months has featured regularly for the under-18s and 19s side.

That has seen him feature in the Youth League and play a key role, as Spurs have already qualified for the round of 32.

Tottenham did so with a superb win against Slavia Prague, with nine goals coming from potential Spurs first-teamer Luca Williams Barnett (5), Tynan Thompson (3) and James Rowswell (1).

Slavia Prague Academy coach Jonathan Davies was left blown away by what he saw from the North London club and took to X to reveal who he rated highly.

He said: “Callum Olusesi, Luca Williams-Barnett, Tynan Thompson. I really liked the two centre-backs too, Junai Byfield and Malachi Hardy.

“Hardy was a real leader and communicator. The goalkeeper [Dylan Thompson] was really good with his distribution.“

Hardy shines alongside Luca Williams-Barnett for Tottenham

There’s no doubting that Williams-Barnett is the jewel in the academy crown in N17 right now after a stellar spell.

The teenage attacking midfielder has certainly caught the eye and looks destined to feature under Frank at some stage in the near future.

It is no surprise when he picks up praise, especially after scoring five goals, but it is nice to see Hardy get that recognition as well.

If he can continue to catch the eye, there is no reason why the defender won’t also be called upon to have some involvement in the Premier League or FA Cup at some stage this campaign.

Tottenham are still planning to trigger a contract extension for Yves Bissouma if he doesn’t leave in January.

The Malian midfielder’s current deal is set to expire in the summer but the club hold the ability to add an extra 12 months.

He hasn’t played at all since Thomas Frank took over, having been left out for lateness soon after the Dane arrived.

Bissouma was then injured on international duty and was recently caught allegedly inhaling laughing gas for a second time, having had to apologise for the same issue after being suspended by Ange Postecoglou last year.

Tottenham want to sell Bissouma in January

Tottenham have been tipped to get rid of Bissouma after the latest incident, and according to an update in The Times they do plan to do so in the January window if possible.

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Spurs were looking to trigger Bissouma’s extension prior to the recent developments but it appeared that ship may now have sailed.

However, according to The Times Tottenham do still plan to add the extra year on if a deal for him to depart cannot be struck in the winter market.

While they are looking to offload him the club are reportedly “determined” not to lose the 29-year-old on a free transfer.

Pressure on Tottenham’s January transfer window

Tottenham’s home win against Brentford last weekend, followed up by a Champions League victory over Slavia Prague, has helped ease some pressure on Frank.

And with Xavi Simons finally finding some form the squad is looking slightly less lacking, but the way Spurs approach the January window still looks crucial to getting much of anything from this season.

Getting rid of Bissouma to clear space on the wage bill and get something in return adds extra pressure to what is sure to be a hectic month behind the scenes, but if they can be successful in striking a deal it could open some doors to an extra new arrival.

Frank and the fans will have to hope that it doesn’t draw the focus away from more pressing areas of need, however, with striker still looking short thanks to Dominic Solanke’s injury issues and inconsistency from Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani.

Jamie Donley’s loan to Stoke has not gone to plan.

Tottenham had a very busy summer window, as expected, with several youth stars moving out on loan in search of regular football.

Will Lankshear joined Oxford, Mikey Moore joined Rangers, and Donley joined Championship side Stoke on a season-long loan.

After an impressive campaign with Leyton Orient, Tottenham had high hopes for Donley, hence his move up the English pyramid.

However, his move has certainly not gone to plan, and he may return to North London within a few weeks.

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Tottenham need to recall Donley

Donley scored eight goals and registered 11 assists for Orient last season, showcasing the undeniable quality he has.

However, since moving to Stoke, the 20-year-old has played just 77 minutes of Championship football, making just four appearances in the league.

Despite his lack of gametime, Donley has still been able to register an assist.

His last appearance for the Potters was in their 2-0 defeat to Millwall, where he was brought on as a substitute in the 72nd minute.

At 20 years old, he needs to be playing regular football, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that he is not going to get that at Stoke.

If his development isn’t going to be stunted, Tottenham simply have to recall Donley in January and reassess their options with the youngster.

Mark Robins’ comments on Donley now seem silly

Anyone who has watched Donley will be fully aware of the fact that he is more than capable of thriving in the Championship.

That sentiment was even echoed by Mark Robins, the manager of Stoke, when his loan arrival was announced.

“He’s bright, and he’s great to have,” Robin said at the start of the season.

“I’m delighted we’ve got him, and he’ll be a big player for us. He’ll get better and better over time.”

However, those comments now hold little to no value given the fact that Robins has, for whatever reason, refused to hand him time on the pitch.

If this continues, it will have a major impact on his development, and Tottenham cannot allow that to happen.

Thomas Frank has not endured the best start to his reign at Tottenham, but he can turn it around against Nottingham Forest.

Tottenham fans were beginning to get frustrated with Frank after disappointing losses against Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Fulham.

However, Frank has steadied the ship, with a draw against Newcastle, followed by victories over Brentford and Slavia Prague.

His side face Forest on 14 December, looking to continue that positive run of form, and start a run up the Premier League table.

Why Thomas Frank has the advantage for Nottingham Forest clash

John Wenham believes that Frank has finally found a formula for success at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and he is backing the Dane to succeed at the City Ground.

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He thinks that Frank will ease the pressure, which will come as great news to the beleaguered Lilywhites boss.

Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, he said: “I think Tottenham will continue to improve now, I’m backing us to go to Forest and win at the weekend, and if we do that, and other results go our way, we could be fourth or fifth in the table, any pressure on Thomas Frank will quickly evaporate.

“Why do I say I am confident of going to Forest, they have Utrecht away tonight, whereas we played a home game on Tuesday.

“For years, Tottenham have been the ones that have suffered by playing away in the Europa League on the Thursday, then going to clubs that have played Champions League on the Tuesday or not played at all.

“For once, the boot is on the other foot, and I am expecting this new attacking, dynamic, Tottenham side, featuring Xavi, featuring Kudus and featuring a bit of consistency, for the game on Tuesday against Slavia Prague, we actually kept nine of the same players that had played on the weekend.

For once, we are seeing some consistency in the team, and I think that can only be positive, and we will continue to pick up points on that basis.”

What should Frank’s ambitions be for Tottenham this season?

For starters, Frank should be aiming for a place in the Champions League again, with the most likely route to that, being a top-five finish in the Premier League.

Success in that competition seems like a long shot, with the likes of Manchester City, PSG and Real Madrid boasting superior squads to the Lilywhites.

If he could achieve a top-five finish while adding a domestic trophy, it would be a successful first season in North London.

He can take a step closer to that ambition against Forest.

Jeff Stelling does not fancy Tottenham’s chances of overcoming Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this weekend.

Spurs beat Brentford 2-0 last time out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to relieve some of the pressure on Thomas Frank.

Tottenham followed up that win over Frank’s former side with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Slavia Prague at home in the Champions League.

That has lessened talk of Frank potentially being close to the sack at Tottenham, but that could all change with one bad result.

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Jeff Stelling predicts Nottingham Forest to beat Tottenham

Spurs have four days to rest up between the Slavia match and the trip to City Ground to face Forest on Sunday.

The Reds, meanwhile, have just two full days between taking on Utrecht in the Champions League and welcoming Spurs.

Stelling noted that quick turnaround in his prediction for the match, but still went with an away win this weekend.

“Despite Dyche’s arrival at Forest, they’re still in trouble,” he told talkSPORT. “I think they’ll certainly get out of it, but they have to travel to Europe in midweek, while Spurs stayed at home.

“Xavi Simons has finally come to the party as far as Tottenham are concerned, but Forest did the double in this fixture last season and I think they can just shade this one again. I’m going 2-1 Forest.”

Forest beat Tottenham 2-1 when the sides met in North London in April, with the sides managed by Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou respectively that day.

Tottenham unmatched by any Premier League club in one area

Tottenham’s return of 22 points from 15 matches is underwhelming and has the Lilywhites 11th in the Premier League.

That said, given the congested nature of the division right now, Spurs could climb as high as fifth if results go their way this weekend.

Frank’s side are definitely better on the road, too, even if they have just won a couple of games back-to-back at home.

Indeed, only Crystal Palace have won more Premier League away games (five) and collected more points (16) than Tottenham this season (four wins, 14 points).

Spurs, meanwhile, are also the only side to have scored in all of their games on the road so far this term.

Those travelling to the City Ground will expect nothing more than three points against a struggling Forest side that will be fatigued.

If that does not happen, expect the pressure to right back on the shoulders of Frank.