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Tottenham set to pocket ‘huge revenue’ as big Son Heung-min reunion lined up

Tottenham’s reunion with Son Heung-min could expand beyond December.

Son departed Tottenham over the summer after almost a decade in North London.

When others left the club in search of silverware, the South Korean stayed and lifted the UEFA Europa League trophy with Spurs as the ultimate reward.

December has already been mooted as a chance to reunite with the left winger, but another reunion date could already be in the works.

Tottenham to face LAFC in pre-season

Son bid farewell to Tottenham to reunite with Hugo Lloris after a successful career in North London.

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Despite netting in stoppage time, Vancouver defeated the winger’s side on penalties in the MLS Playoffs last Sunday.

This means that Son and Tottenham could reunite as early as Spurs’ Premier League clash against Brentford on 6 December.

In addition to this, speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, Tottenham expert and Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham believes that a pre-season friendly game between Spurs and LAFC is already being discussed.

“I sort of expected this to happen at some point,” Wenham said.

“I think it’s natural with the MLS season, now concluding and his side you not making the playoffs. He’ll obviously be warranted a hero’s welcome, and it’ll be great to see him.

“And I said, I probably predict that Tottenham would have already lined up a friendly to take place in South Korea this summer against his MLS side, which will bring in huge revenue for both clubs. I think that’ll just be a continuing positive relationship moving forward.”

Tottenham cannot replace Son Heung-min

Spurs’ left wing has been waiting for someone to stake their claim all season.

Over the last couple of weeks, Wilson Odobert has come close, but the French international has been inconsistent as of late.

Son gave some of his best years to the Lilywhites:

And given Tottenham’s limited attacking intensity this season, Thomas Frank is struggling to replicate the South Korean’s output.

Tottenham are interested in Antoine Semenyo, who has had a great start to the season.

But given the elite output, dedication and heart Son gave Spurs throughout the years, there doesn’t seem to be a world where the Lilywhites replace him as it stands.

Tottenham have to remove a coach from their position after the draw at Newcastle, according to Danny Murphy.

Tottenham fought back for a 2-2 draw at Newcastle on Tuesday night thanks to a brace from captain Cristian Romero.

The second equaliser came in the 95th minute just as an Anthony Gordon penalty looked like securing the points, after Rodrigo Bentancur’s tangle with Dan Burn in the Spurs box.

As the ball came over from a corner with the scores level at 1-1 the Tottenham midfielder tried to block off the massive defender while keeping his back to where the ball was coming from and was penalised after a VAR review.

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Danny Murphy moots set-piece coach sack at Tottenham

Speaking live on talkSPORT on Wednesday former Spurs midfielder Danny Murphy admitted the award was harsh when similar offences are committed all the time.

But he was outraged at the style of defending from Bentancur in not looking for the ball and suggested that if that is what he has been taught to do on the training ground then the coach in charge has to be replaced.

That comes at a time when manager Thomas Frank is already facing questions around his job at Tottenham, after losing three times in a week prior to the point at St. James’ Park.

Murphy said: “Any set-piece coach who is allowing or working with his players on defending against anybody with your back to the ball, trying to block people and stop people while you’re not looking at the ball, should be replaced.

“Because, as soon as you do that, you are a) inviting the possibility of a penalty and b) you’re making it impossible to defend the ball in… it’s absolutely bizarre. You cannot defend properly when your back is to the ball. It’s impossible.”

After admitting he doesn’t know for certain that Spurs are actively coaching their players to defend in that way he later added: “I honestly don’t know if it’s a set-piece coach saying to one or two of them ‘look, stop them by any means necessary, if you have to turn your back [then] turn your back’.

“I can’t see it, but if it is they need replacing because that is the most ridiculous way to defend.”

Tottenham look like individuals under Frank

It is hard to believe that Bentancur would have been actively coached to defend how he did, and he is hardly the first player in Premier League history to focus solely on their man instead of the ball.

But the fact is it was needlessly risky when Romero had only just clawed Spurs level in spite of a toothless attack.

At the moment Frank is in trouble because, contrary to his admirable reputation at Brentford, his Tottenham side look like a team of individuals rather than a unit in terms of how they are playing.

Guglielmo Vicario’s gaffe in defeat to Fulham, Romero’s star turn at Newcastle, Richarlison being mocked for diving at St. James‘, and Bentancur’s bizarre defending all feel like players trying to hard in isolation rather than working coherently and it has largely backfired, so the Dane has a lot of work to do behind the scenes.

Tottenham fans have been left frustrated by the lack of attacking football on show under Thomas Frank, although one signing could transform their fortunes.

For the fourth league game running, Spurs failed to land a shot on target in the first half of a match, before playing out a classic against Newcastle United.

Four goals in the space of 24 second-half minutes, including a Cristian Romero brace, saw Tottenham salvage a 2-2 draw at Newcastle on Tuesday night.

But whilst Frank required heroics from his centre-back, scoring with their only two shots on target in the match, the Dane could use the January transfer window to fix that problem.

Tottenham make contact to sign Yan Diomande

According to Sky Sports reporter Sacha Tavolieri, Tottenham are in advanced talks to sign Yan Diomande, the exciting young winger who is lighting up the Bundesliga at RB Leipzig.

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Spurs are joined in the race for his signature by Liverpool and Barcelona ahead of January, and the 19-year-old would provide Frank’s attack with electric pace and line-breaking runs.

Capable of playing on the right or left of a forward line, Diomande has posted three goals and two assists in 12 Bundesliga appearances this term.

More impressively, the Ivorian ranks in the top one per cent of wingers across Europe’s top five leagues for progressive carries and successful take-ons, while placing in the top seven per cent for shot-creating actions.

Diomande is quickly becoming a reliable goalscoring winger, and according to Sofascore, boasts a conversion rate of 17% in the Bundesliga, whilst outperforming his xG by 1.01.

As a result, it’s no surprise that the teenage sensation has drawn comparisons to one of the world’s best footballers.

Diomande likened to Kylian Mbappe

Combining his attacking versatility with electrifying pace and ruthless finishing, Diomande has been likened to Kylian Mbappe, the Real Madrid superstar who initially broke onto the scene at Monaco at the age of 17.

That was a comparison made in a report by SportBILD in November, who believe he has the potential to follow in Mbappe’s footsteps after establishing himself as one of Europe’s ‘greatest talents’.

Tottenham may be worried about shopping in the Bundesliga after Xavi Simons joined from RB Leipzig, with the Dutchman failing to impress so far.

However, Diomande arguably holds more promise than Simons, with his physical attributes making him the perfect fit to resolve Frank’s attacking issues in the Premier League.

A chaotic second half at St James’ Park saw Tottenham secure a point against Newcastle United, although supporters still weren’t happy with the performance.

An incredible Cristian Romero brace, which included an outrageous overhead kick, cancelled out strikes from Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon as Spurs drew 2-2 against Newcastle.

In a drama-filled match, there were multiple controversial moments, with Rio Ferdinand feeling Newcastle shouldn’t have been awarded a penalty after Rodrigo Bentancur tussled with Dan Burn in the box.

Thomas Frank’s men showed great character to come back twice in the final moments, and their second-half performance was far better than what they produced in the first.

Tottenham fans react to hideous stat vs Newcastle

Heading into the fixture at St James’ Park, Frank was placed under increasing pressure after Tottenham dropped points at home to Fulham on Saturday.

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Sadly, what his side served up in the first half against Newcastle did him no favours, as Spurs failed to register a shot on target for the fourth successive league match.

Reacting to this statistic via X, one fan said: “The 4th Premier League game without a shot on target in the first half is an absolute joke. I’m Frank in but that stat is inexcusable and needs to be sorted sooner rather than later.”

“Four successive PL first halves without as much as a shot let alone an SoT…” someone else pointed out, while a third wrote: “0 shots in the 1st half of 4 straight games is absolutely diabolical but certainly not surprising when you say how poor our football is.”

“75 minutes gone not a single shot on target,” another person posted, shortly before Romero produced his heroics.

“Shot shy is an understatement, another shocking performance,” someone else stated.

“Why do I feel even an ounce of happiness getting a point at SJP after not registering a shot on target for 4 first halves in a row. This dude is conditioning us,” an eighth wrote.

Frank hails Tottenham character vs Newcastle

Newcastle is one of the hardest places to go in the Premier League, which is why Frank hailed the character his side showed in the North East.

“I think I really liked the character, the mentality in the team, what they showed after three tough games, I think it’s been,” Frank said in his post-match press conference.

“To go here, the fourth game in 10 days, the third away game, very difficult place, going down two times, being behind two times, and come back, it shows everything about the willingness and the mentality in the team.”

That being said, whilst supporters were pleased with a point, Frank must take more risks in matches and play an attacking brand of football; otherwise, fan discontent will only increase.

‘Oh crikey’ – Alan Brazil rages at what he saw in Tottenham draw with Newcastle

Newcastle were awarded a penalty against Tottenham that has caused plenty of controversy.

Tottenham secured a point in a 2-2 draw with Newcastle on Tuesday, coming from behind twice at St James’ Park to do so.

Cristian Romero scored twice for Spurs, making him their joint-third top scorer of the season, behind Micky van de Ven and Richarlison.

Bruno Guimaraes was on the score sheet for the hosts, as was Anthony Gordon, with the latter’s goal coming from the spot in a decision that has Alan Brazil baffled.

Rodrigo Bentancur penalised for holding Dan Burn

Gordon’s goal looked as though it was going to be the decisive one, though Romero had other ideas with his late overhead kick that caught Aaron Ramsdale off guard.

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However, despite the Argentine rescuing a point for Spurs, fans are still baffled that the Magpies were awarded a penalty, and Brazil agrees.

Rodrigo Bentancur was deemed to have been holding Dan Burn as a corner came in, with the 6 ft 7 defender going down quite easily.

It was given due to sustained holding, but Brazil has echoed the thoughts of many when dissecting the incident live on talkSPORT.

“One of the big talking points was the penalty given to Newcastle with the score at 1-1,” Brazil said.

“Bentancur was adjudged to have fouled Dan Burn, purely because he wasn’t looking at the ball. Oh crikey, what do you mean? How many times do you see that in a Premier League box?“

What did Thomas Frank say about Newcastle penalty?

It’s a fair case to make that most people aren’t frustrated with the foul being given, but more so with the fact that it isn’t given several times throughout the season.

Premier League referees come in for a lot of criticism, with the majority of it down to the fact that they fail to show any consistency with their decisions, and Tottenham have fallen victim to several of those already this season.

This incident was no different, and Thomas Frank believes it was an error made by the officials.

Via BBC Sport, he said: “It was an absolute mistake from the VAR.

“The referee did good to do the ref call and they encourage the refereeing call on the pitch. For me, that is never a penalty.

“I think the referee’s call on the pitch, he nailed it, and VAR can only be if it’s clear and obvious.”

Whether the incident was a clear and obvious error is certainly up for debate, but it won’t be the last time it happens this season.

Cristian Romero has reacted after Rio Ferdinand was left raging at the decision to hand Newcastle a penalty against Tottenham.

Tottenham rescued a 2-2 draw against Newcastle late on at St. James’ Park on Tuesday.

The Lilywhites came back twice thanks to a Romero double, but controversy struck when the Magpies were awarded a penalty in the second half on 2 December.

Spurs fans felt robbed after the decision to penalise Rodrigo Bentancur, and the football world has come together to substantiate their position.

Rio Ferdinand fumes at Newcastle penalty decision

Referee Thomas Bramall was directed to the pitchside monitor after VAR spotted Bentancur holding Dan Burn during a Newcastle corner.

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It looked like a tussle between both players, with an argument to be made that Burn actually ended up impeding Bentancur.

However, the Tottenham midfielder was deemed to have committed a “holding offence”, and the hosts were awarded a penalty which Anthony Gordon slammed home.

The incident has caused widespread outrage on social media, with Manchester United legend Ferdinand coming to the Lilywhites’ defence.

“Disgraceful decision to reward Newcastle penalty… whoever is controlling the VAR should be ashamed, and the ref who then reviews and should also be.

“Well done Newcastle,” he told his followers via X on 2 December.

While Romero’s 95th-minute overhead kick rescued the visitors, Tottenham fans were unimpressed with the decision and were quick to criticise.

Amongst this, the Spurs captain also made his opinion on the situation known when he retweeted Ferdinand’s X post.

Either way, most fans will feel that their side deserved to return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with all three points.

Thomas Frank weighs in on penalty debate

After Tottenham’s shock 2-1 defeat to Fulham at home in the Premier League, Thomas Frank needed the game against Newcastle to produce something of substance.

The Lilywhites were overrun for most of the game, but were clinical in the moments where it mattered.

“It was an absolute mistake from the VAR,” said Frank after the game.

“The referee did good to make the call, and they encourage the refereeing call on the pitch. For me, that is never a penalty.

“Even speaking to some from Newcastle, they don’t think it’s a penalty and we need consistency.

“I think the referee’s call on the pitch, he nailed it, and VAR can only be if it’s clear and obvious.”

Frank has come under immense pressure at Tottenham after several difficult results, with fans quickly losing faith in the Dane.

While it would’ve been an ugly win, three points away from home certainly would’ve boosted morale among the players and fans.

But some things are simply not meant to be, and Frank will need to offer a quick response against his former side, Brentford, on Saturday.

Kevin Danso once again proved his worth for Tottenham against Newcastle United on Tuesday.

Tottenham’s 2-2 draw against Newcastle was an interesting and controversial affair at St James’ Park.

Newcastle’s penalty was the most spoken about event of the night, with most fans believing that Dan Burn prevented Rodrigo Bentancur from watching the ball before supposedly being dragged down.

Meanwhile, Tottenham captain Cristian Romero netted a spectacular brace to salvage a point late on.

Kevin Danso tops clearance stat once again

Danso also started for Thomas Frank in Spurs’ draw to Fulham, which came at the expense of Romero, who was suspended for that one.

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Micky Van de Ven hasn’t been the same since Tottenham’s shock 4-1 defeat to Arsenal, so resting him on 2 December made sense too.

However, the Netherlands international may need to accept a peripheral role in the near future after his teammate’s colossal performance against the Magpies.

Danso recorded 11 clearances versus Newcastle, including one goal-line clearance and seven headed clearances.

This doesn’t come as a surprise, given that Danso leads the clearances per game stat in the Premier League this season.

But after such a strong performance against Newcastle, Tottenham fans can expect the Austria international to feature more frequently for their side, which won’t be good news for van de Ven.

Kevin Danso learned from his mistakes against Newcastle

Guglielmo Vicario was flamed in Spurs’ 2-1 defeat to Fulham after he was at fault for their opponents’ second.

The Italian keeper dribbled off his line and into the corner to clear the ball, but ended up leaving the goal unmarked and conceded soon after.

While Vicario was rightfully to blame, not one of Spurs’ defenders took the initiative to guard the goal line while their keeper was preoccupied.

Danso was the closest to the goal, but failed to take action during the 30-second sequence.

A similar situation took place against Newcastle, only this time Vicario wasn’t dribbling in the final third.

But when faced with a Newcastle attack, Danso made sure he covered the left side of the goal and cleared the ball once the shot came in.

While he lacked initiative against Fulham, Danso has clearly learned from his mistakes.

Newcastle’s penalty against Tottenham has sparked delight thanks to Thomas Bramall’s controversial decision.

Cristian Romero equalised twice for Tottenham to snatch a point at Newcastle with a 2-2 draw on Tuesday night, and ease a bit of sack pressure on Thomas Frank.

The Spurs captain’s first was almost immediately cancelled out when Rodrigo Bentancur was penalised for holding Dan Burn at a Magpies corner mid-way through the second half, following a VAR review.

Bramall was sent to the screen and awarded the penalty, with Jamie Carragher claiming it was “harsh” on the Sky Sports match commentary, and both Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards questioning the consistency in the decision in the broadcast studio after the final whistle.

Keith Hackett hails Newcastle penalty award vs Tottenham

But former PGMOL boss and ex-FIFA referee Keith Hackett is extremely pleased with Bramall and wants “grappling” at corners to be further stamped out.

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Such infringements are frequently allowed to slide in the Premier League but the former top flight official feels they are against the rules and wants to see them punished more frequently.

He exclusively told Tottenham News: “At last!! I send my congratulations to referee Thomas Bramall and VAR for penalising the grappling offence by Spurs’ Bentancur on Dan Burn and awarding a penalty kick decision to Newcastle United.

“If we are going to see a reduction in these grappling offences we need more referees to follow Bramall’s course of action.”

Bentancur escapes brainless incident

Tottenham fans might justifiably ask why their struggling side are suddenly the ones who get penalised for something that seems to happen every week up and down the league.

But by the letter of the law Bentancur fouled Burn and by giving the officials the opportunity to actually do their job properly, by never looking for the ball and using both hands to impede Burn, he was wrong.

Were it not for Romero delivering a 95th-minute overhead kick to steal a point it would have been the reason why Spurs had been beaten in a fourth-consecutive game.

There are such fine margins when a team are down on their luck so throwing away a vital equaliser – Romero’s first was just moments before the penalty which Anthony Gordon scored – could have sunk Spurs.

Frank has criticised the decision to award the penalty, but will surely need to warn his midfielder to be smarter, while all can rightly praise Romero for leading from the front when his team couldn’t have needed it more.

Tottenham twice fought back to level at Newcastle thanks to Cristian Romero as they escaped with a point to ease some pressure on Thomas Frank.

An uneventful first 70 minutes was notable more for the ongoing lack of anything in terms of a threat from Spurs going forward, with only Randal Kolo Muani have any real urgency in attack.

But despite Guglielmo Vicario rebounding from his error against Fulham in the Tottenham goal he couldn’t keep a clean sheet, with Bruno Guimaraes firing a Nick Woltemade lay off into the far corner in the 71st minute.

Frank, facing questions over his Tottenham job, made a triple substitution and almost immediately equalised out of nowhere through two players already on the pitch, with Mohammed Kudus producing his first piece of attacking brilliance to cross for Romero to dive and head into the bottom corner ahead of Dan Burn.

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It was Spurs’ first attempt on target in the game in the 78th minute, but after climbing the mountain of actually troubling the opposition net Rodrigo Bentancur quickly threw it all away by conceding a slightly harsh, albeit totally needless, penalty for holding Burn at a corner, which Anthony Gordon converted.

But even more unexpectedly Romero again equalised, this time with an overhead kick, in the 95th minute, sparing Spurs a fourth-consecutive defeat and more problems for the manager.

Romero wows in captain’s performance

With Micky van de Ven surprisingly left on the bench by Frank in favour of Kevin Danso it was all the more crucial for Romero to stand up at St. James’ Park.

He takes the headlines for a stunning brace at the other end, both finished superbly despite the second coming off his shin.

The blunt Tottenham attackers could all take a few lessons from their captain, but a few crucial blocks in defence were also important.

Aside from the move for Guimaraes’ opener Spurs were never really pulled apart at the back, although Vicario made some good saves, which is a credit to the senior centre-back.

But with sack speculation ready to reach overdrive around Frank the Dane simply had to avoid defeat, and with so little attacking trust from the expensively-assembled Spurs forward options it really was invaluable for the manager to get two vital goals from his defender.

Thomas Frank to be furious with Bentancur

Had Spurs lost this Frank’s job may well have truly been on the line, not least thanks to the self-inflicted manner of the second Newcastle goal.

It seemed unlikely that Tottenham could muster one goal, let alone two, so having stolen a beauty from Romero’s header Frank will have been raging to see Bentancur concede a spot kick almost immediately.

It was hardly the worst foul ever but the Uruguayan had his back to where the ball was coming from throughout and made no attempt to do anything but impede Burn as the corner came in, with the Englishman’s huge size probably working in his favour given how awkward it made the entire thing look.

Bentancur hadn’t exactly been pulling up trees elsewhere with his overall performance, as he seemed to largely jog around in midfield without making much of an impact.

He was bailed out hugely by Romero’s late, late equaliser, but Frank might not trust him with the pressure on for a while either way.

Tottenham player ratings vs Newcastle

Guglielmo Vicario – 8

Pedro Porro – 5

Cristian Romero – 9 – Man of the Match

Kevin Danso – 6

Destiny Udogie – 6

Pape Matar Sarr (off for Gray ’87) – 6

Rodrigo Bentancur – 2

Lucas Bergvall (off for Simons ’77) – 6

Mohammed Kudus (off for Odobert ’87) – 6

Brennan Johnson (off for Tel ’77) – 4

Randal Kolo Muani (off for Richarlison ’77) – 6

Substitutes

Xavi Simons (on for Bergvall ’77) – 5

Mathys Tel (on for Johnson ’77) – 5

Richarlison (on for Kolo Muani ’77) – 4

Archie Gray (on for Sarr ’87) – 5

Wilson Odobert (on for Kudus ’87) – 6

Tottenham are heading towards a potentially pivotal period of their season, and that could include conducting business in the January transfer window.

Spurs harbour ambitions of qualifying for Europe once more in 2025/26, although their 2-1 defeat to Fulham on Saturday saw Thomas Frank’s men drop down to 12th in a congested Premier League table.

The Lilywhites have now failed to win any of their previous four league matches, and as a result, Frank has been placed under pressure despite making a solid start to life in North London.

In some cases, supporters are right to question the Dane’s decision-making, but he also hasn’t been helped by individual errors.

Guglielmo Vicario was slammed for his error during Tottenham’s loss to Fulham at the weekend, and the Italian could exit the club next year.

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Tottenham set £22m asking price for Guglielmo Vicario

According to Corriere dello Sport, Inter Milan have kept Vicario on their transfer radar after failing to sign the Italian in the summer of 2023.

At the time, the Serie A giants were waiting to sell Andre Onana, but the Cameroonian goalkeeper’s late departure prevented sporting director Ausilio from making a move for Vicario.

Spurs, of course, benefited from Inter’s transfer blunder, although the 29-year-old has a desire to return to Italy after moving to England from Empoli.

Corriere dello Sport claim that Tottenham could demand around €25million (£22m) for their first-choice goalkeeper, and that would land them £5m in profit.

A decision to sell Vicario ultimately depends on whether Frank can locate a replacement, as it’s unlikely they’ll offload him midway through the season.

What Ange Postecoglou said about Vicario

Whilst Tony Cascarino blasted Vicario for his mistake against Fulham, there is perhaps a reason why the talented shot stopper hasn’t performed at his best.

Bryan King told Tottenham Hotspur News that Vicario isn’t enjoying Spurs training, which is impacting his performances on the pitch.

During Ange Postecoglou’s time in charge, though, the Italian mostly saved their blushes between the sticks, even when the opposition unloaded a barrage of attacks.

That is why Postecoglou recognised Vicario as ‘outstanding’, especially after their 2-1 win over Everton in December 2023.

“Vic was outstanding today with a couple of brilliant saves,” the Australian said via Tottenham’s official website. “He’s been brilliant from day one for us, and we haven’t always needed him like we did today.

“Other times, it’s probably one or two saves a game, if that, he’s been important in our build-up and in our organisation, but today we needed his goalkeeping. It wasn’t just the saves he makes. They’re so strong from corners and put so much pressure on the goalkeeper, and I thought he stood up really well.”