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‘Tottenham must avoid Ivan Toney transfer after what I’ve heard about him’

Tottenham have been warned to steer clear of Ivan Toney this winter.

It has been widely reported that Tottenham are keen to arm Thomas Frank with reinforcements come January.

Toney has emerged as a viable option for Tottenham given his time playing under Frank at Brentford.

However, the Lilywhites could be better off looking for alternative targets or relying on the stars already at their disposal this winter.

Ivan Toney not a better option than Dominic Solanke

Dominic Solanke has been sidelined for Tottenham with a long-term ankle injury.

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Only Brennan Johnson netted more goals than the England international last season, and his absence has been deeply felt.

While Solanke’s return is still uncertain, speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, Tottenham expert and Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham believes they should wait for him to regain fitness rather than going all out for Toney this winter.

“It could only be a full-term investment. You’ve got massive money and he’s over 30,” Wenham said.

“I don’t really like him. Listening about him, I just don’t don’t really get on board with him if I’m being honest with you. When we were linked with him before, I didn’t really want him, and I would have much preferred Solanke, and we got him.

“I still prefer Solanke to him. I would just rather that Solanke came back to fitness rather than signing Toney on any sort of basis, I’m being honest with you.

“And I know Frank has worked with him before and likes him and relies on him, but I just think Solanke is a better footballer.”

Signing Ivan Toney would be a mistake

Forget Solanke for a second, Toney’s final season at Brentford highlights why signing him would be a mistake.

The former Bees striker was fantastic in the 2022/23 season:

However, his subsequent season was not as impressive. Riddled with injuries and poor performances, Toney scored four goals and provided two assists in 17 appearances.

There is an argument to be made that the striker was already on the decline before he signed for Al-Ahil at the end of the 2023/24 season.

Therefore, Frank should leave the past in the past and look to build a better, more sustainable future in North London.

Danny Murphy criticised Tottenham’s non-existent creative output in their defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.

Tottenham suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on 23 November, marking their worst league performance of the season.

The game saw former Tottenham target Eberechi Eze net a North London derby hat-trick for the first time since 1978.

While Tottenham were not the favourites to win against Arsenal, the players’ mentality left Spurs supporters reeling after the match.

Tottenham ‘struggling’ to create under Thomas Frank

Thomas Frank has been criticised for Tottenham’s poor creative output, and it was no different against the Gunners.

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The Lilywhites recorded 0.07 expected goals, which is the lowest expected goals in the Premier League this season.

This beats their previous record of 0.1 expected goals in Spurs’ 1-0 defeat to Chelsea earlier this month.

While the absences of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, and Dominic Solanke are noticeable, Murphy believes that Spurs’ creativity is just not good enough.

“It’s the lack of fight, but it’s also the lack of creativity,” he told the BBC’s Match of the Day on 23 November.

“In the last couple of games, Arsenal and Chelsea at home, you can see here, the top two lowest in the last two games, and obviously they’re one of the bottom three of the worst eight this season.

“Yes, you can hide behind Kulusevski, Solanke and Maddison not being there, but the players they’ve got in that squad are struggling. Really struggling to be brave enough, get on the ball, to make things happen.”

Tottenham fans had already begun losing faith in Frank, and this recent defeat against Arsenal hasn’t done him any favours.

Mohammed Kudus only redeeming factor for Tottenham

Mohammed Kudus has been Tottenham‘s best creator this season despite arriving in North London over the summer.

Furthermore, 69 per cent of his long balls and 67 per cent of his chip passes have been accurate, according to Sofascore.

“You can argue only Kudus out of all their front players can hold his head up a little bit and say he’s created stuff, that he’s had a go. There’s a lot of fear in that side, probably too much pragmatism,” Murphy continued.

“Frank is obviously new to it. He’s working out who he can trust and who he can rely on. The reality is that they need to pick up soon because the level of performance in the past couple of games is causing discontent amongst the fans.”

The feat has made Kudus one of Frank’s most-used players in games, with him averaging 50 touches per match.

However, his impressive start to the season has made both him and Tottenham predictable. Frank couldn’t exactly rely on his pass to Kudus and pray tactics against the Gunners, who limited him to 30 touches.

As a result, the Dane will need to have a long think about how to get the best out of all his players, not just Kudus this season.

Jamie O’Hara left red-faced over embarrassing Arsenal take as Tottenham fail ultimate test

Tottenham suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Arsenal, as Jamie O’Hara was left red-faced by one of his takes.

On an afternoon where Spurs could have sent a statement to their Premier League rivals, Thomas Frank’s men were decimated by the Gunners.

Leandro Trossard broke through Frank’s low block as Tottenham failed to register a shot on goal in the first half.

Eberechi Eze, who almost joined Spurs in the summer, then scored a second-half hat-trick, either side of a Richarlison wonder strike, to hand Arsenal a 4-1 win.

Jamie O’Hara said Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are better than William Saliba and Gabriel

The Lilywhites were second best in every aspect against their fiercest rivals and were ultimately picked off.

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Although Arsenal were without Gabriel Magalhaes through injury, Arteta’s side were secure defensively, even with the introduction of Piero Hincapie.

It was only Richarlison’s long-range hit that breached their defence, conceding just a 0.07 xG, whereas Spurs were all over the shop at the back.

Frank started with a back three of Kevin Danso, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, with Xavi Simons replacing Danso at half-time.

The Dane typically plays a five-man defence in the big games, but his setup didn’t work today, while Jamie O’Hara was surely left feeling embarrassed.

In a recent interview on Sky Sports, O’Hara said that Van de Ven and Romero were better as a partnership than Saliba and Gabriel.

“I’m gonna stick to my guns and say yes,” he said when asked who he thinks is better of the two partnerships.

“The reason being, Arsenal defensively are incredible as a unit, as a team, they’re brilliant, Spurs are not. But I think the two centre halves are absolutely fantastic.”

“I think if you were going to take two of them out and put two of them in, I think [Micky] van de Ven’s got more about him than Gabriel, and I think [Cristian] Romero is on par with [William] Saliba.”

O’Hara’s comments backfire

O’Hara’s take on the Spurs duo being better than Gabriel and Saliba was done with zero substance, and they made him eat his own words.

Arsenal have the league’s most feared defence with only six goals conceded in 12 matches, while Tottenham are known for being leaky at the back.

Of course, they weren’t helped by the lack of protection in front of them from Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha, but they were still erratic in their defending, something that must be improved.

Van de Ven and Romero arguably let the emotions of the game get the better of them, whereas the Gunners kept composed and were assured in possession.

Eberechi Eze issues five-word response after addressing Tottenham transfer saga

Tottenham were on the receiving end of some Eberechi Eze magic in the North London derby, as the Englishman added insult to injury.

In an alternate universe, the former Crystal Palace maestro could have been turning out for Tottenham in this fixture.

Spurs were close to signing Eze ahead of Arsenal, but Daniel Levy’s inability to negotiate the structure of the deal and add-ons meant they missed out on the attacking midfielder.

Tottenham supporters cursed Levy for this transfer blunder as a result, and watching the 27-year-old run riot in the North London derby would have hurt even more.

What Eberechi Eze said about Tottenham links

Eze scored a wonderful hat-trick as Spurs were thrashed 4-1 by Arsenal at the Emirates, as the England international showed why missing out on him was painful.

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The Gunners’ No.10 became only the fourth player to score a hat-trick in this fixture, completely decimating Frank’s defence.

But on an afternoon when Tottenham were punished for parking the bus, Eze was asked about the fact he almost joined the Lilywhites in the summer, to which he replied on Sky Sports: “Let’s not speak about that.”

While Arsenal signed Eze for £68million, Spurs’ £51m capture of Xavi Simons is proving a terrible piece of business, only further accentuated by the Englishman’s performances.

Xavi Simons fails to impress against Arsenal

Tottenham fans will be cursing Levy knowing that signing Eze ahead of Simons was a real possibility until he fumbled negotiations.

Simons is yet to score since sealing his switch from RB Leipzig, assisting twice across 16 matches in all competitions.

It’s often difficult for young players to adapt to the Premier League, and the 22-year-old has struggled to assert himself in England’s top-flight.

Tim Sherwood thinks that Frank not playing Simons as a number 10 is a key reason for his struggles, but the Dutchman failed to impress in an attacking midfield role against the Gunners.

The youngster replaced centre-back Kevin Danso at half-time as Spurs looked for a way back into the game, and Simons didn’t complete a single dribble or key pass.

Unfortunately, he was one of several who produced an anonymous display in arguably their biggest match of the season.

‘Why am I still watching?’ – Ex-Tottenham player in disgust after Gary Neville reveal amid derby collapse at Arsenal

Tottenham’s miserable showing in the North London derby at Arsenal drew condemnation from multiple angles.

Spurs went in at the break trailing Arsenal 2-0 and immediately conceded a third after re-emerging for the second half on the way to a 4-1 loss.

Leandro Trossard opened the scoring before Eberechi Eze doubled the lead in the first 45 minutes, with both goals going in via the aid of deflections off Micky van de Ven.

After Eze added the third Richarlison pulled one back in spectacular fashion, firing into the Arsenal net over a back-pedalling David Raya from just inside the Gunners’ half, but while it would briefly halt the home side’s rampage by that point the damage was pretty much done, and Eze still completed his hat-trick later on.

Jamie O’Hara furious as Tottenham fail to register a shot

There were major questions over offside Arsenal players obstructing Guglielmo Vicario’s vision for the second goal, but Thomas Frank‘s men were offering absolutely nothing at the other end at that stage.

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Shortly after Eze’s strike Gary Neville revealed on the live Sky Sports match commentary: “Spurs have not had one single shot and that is unacceptable.”

In reaction former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara posted his outrage at the stat on X, saying: “We’ve not had a single shot not even off target,” with an angry-face emoji, followed by “why am I still watching turn it off Jamie”.

Richarlison‘s incredible strike from close to the half-way line was the first time Spurs had even had an effort on goal, and the stunning nature of it came completely against the run of either side’s play given the visitors hadn’t fashioned anything like a real chance from anywhere closer.

Thomas Frank faces major questions

Coming off Ange Postecoglou‘s reign ending in a 17th-placed finish that would have seen Spurs in genuine relegation danger in many other years last term even mid-table is an improvement.

The Europa League trophy can never be overlooked when considering the Australian’s reign but Tottenham increasingly were a mess in the Premier League.

In that context Frank surely deserves time to fix what was broken, and defeat at the table-toppers is an occupational hazard whoever they are.

But while the former Brentford boss made a positive start to the season and has had to contend with injuries there are some significant alarm bells ringing now.

As with Spurs’ 1-0 loss to Chelsea it is not just the result that will infuriate fans but the manner of it.

Putting up such weak resistance in losses to two of the club’s biggest rivals is hugely concerning, and with the likes of Xavi Simons struggling badly for Spurs the manager has a huge job on his hands while under increasing scrutiny.

Richarlison stuns with screamer as 3/10 performs horrifically – Tottenham player ratings vs Arsenal

In the most eye-catching fixture of the Premier League weekend, Tottenham clashed against league leaders Arsenal in a North London derby showdown.

Spurs entered their clash with Arsenal on the back of a 2-2 draw against Manchester United before the international break.

Thomas Frank’s men were aiming to build on that result by winning a league match at the Emirates for the first time since 2010.

The visitors knew that wasn’t going to be an easy task, and so it proved, as Tottenham’s attempts to park the bus and counterattack were broken in the first half.

Leandro Trossard’s left-footed finish squirmed past Guglielmo Vicario in the 36th minute, with the Belgian punishing Frank for his lack of ambition.

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Arsenal then doubled their lead as Eberechi Eze – who almost signed for Tottenham in the summer – rifled a fierce strike into the net.

Eze then grabbed a hat-trick, either side of a stunning Richarlison strike, to hand the Lilywhites a 4-1 defeat.

So, following a disappointing afternoon where Spurs offered very little in attack, Tottenham News rates the performance of every player.

Richarlison impresses with stunner vs Arsenal

In a largely anonymous performance against their fiercest rivals, Richarlison earned some plaudits for his long range stunner.

The Brazilian spotted David Raya off his line and lobbed him from around 40 yards out to give his side a slight hope of mounting a comeback.

Richarlison is one of the most frustrating players to watch in the Premier League, as he can come up with spectacular goals – like the one against Burnley on the opening day – but also look anonymous in matches.

On this occasion, the 28-year-old deserves credit for taking responsibility and scoring a wonderful goal, even if it meant nothing in the context of the match.

Rodrigo Bentancur was poor for Tottenham vs Arsenal

Spurs could have sent a statement to their rivals with a brilliant performance, although their game plan meant they never deserved anything.

Frank’s men parked the bus from minute one, with Tottenham failing to register a shot on goal in the first half.

The visitors were undone by some brilliant Arsenal attacking player, and those standing in front of the defence – including Rodrigo Bentancur – could only hang their heads in shame.

Bentancur is normally known for his ability to break up play and the aggressive side to his game, something he failed to show.

The Uruguayan made zero tackles and won zero ground duels, which is unacceptable in a derby fixture.

Tottenham player ratings vs Arsenal

Guglielmo Vicario – 3

Djed Spence – 4

Cristian Romero – 4

Kevin Danso – 4

Micky van de Ven – 5

Destiny Udogie – 4

Rodrigo Bentancur – 3

Joao Palhinha – 5

Mohammed Kudus – 6

Wilson Odobert – 4

Richarlison – 7

Tottenham had a rotten start to their match against Arsenal on Sunday as they went 2-0 behind at the Emirates just before half-time.

While Arsenal were predicted to overcome Tottenham before the game, it was an embarrassing showing in the first period, with Spurs not even managing a shot.

The lack of attacking intent was then punished by the Gunners, as they quickly found the net twice at the end of the first half.

Leandro Trossard netted the opener after a big deflection, with Eberechi Eze, who was linked to Tottenham in the summer, putting Arsenal 2-0 up five minutes later.

However, this was a controversial moment in the match, with an argument to be had that Guglielmo Vicario’s vision was blocked by some Arsenal players.

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VAR deemed no Arsenal players in the line of vision of the goalkeeper

Arsenal’s second was a suckerpunch for the visitors, and put Spurs in a terrible position at half-time.

However, there was an argument to be had that Eze’s goal should have been disallowed.

Several Arsenal players were offside when the midfielder struck the ball, with many believing that they were blocking Vicario’s vision and therefore hindering his ability to make the save.

However, the Premier League Match Centre on X on 23 November has since confirmed VAR deemed the incident not to have impacted Spurs.

Thomas Frank got it all wrong against Arsenal

Tottenham’s first half performance will be rightly criticised by the media.

Spurs had already been blasted for their lack of attacking intent against Chelsea, and a repeat of this occured at the Emirates.

Tottenham did not lay a glove on the Gunners, and were rightly behind at the break, with Frank showing no amibition to beat Arsenal in his first North London derby.

It was always a risk to play a five-at-the-back against a side who were dominating the Premier League, and Frank’s tactics were completely shown up on Sunday.

Xavi Simons has “absolutely no excuse” for not performing at Tottenham unless Thomas Frank wasn’t clear how he planned to use him, says Tim Sherwood.

Simons arrived to much excitement after Tottenham hijacked Chelsea in the summer transfer window, but the early months of his Spurs career have been disappointing.

Tottenham’s 1-0 home loss to Chelsea saw Simons particularly anonymous, and Sherwood feels there is a potential issue with how the Dutchman is being used in Frank‘s set up.

Spurs face Arsenal in the North London derby on Sunday needing a big result, and Simons hasn’t been chosen in the starting XI.

Sherwood says Frank doesn’t play Simons where he wants to be

Speaking about the situation live on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday ahead of the North London derby the following day Sherwood accepted it’s hard to adapt to the English top flight, but claimed Simons shouldn’t have signed if he didn’t like Frank’s plans for him.

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The ex-Spurs boss said what needs to happen for an improvement: “Play him where he wants to play. He wants to play as a number 10 and Thomas Frank don’t play him at number 10.

“[Frank] must have told him when he’s come to sign. Xavi Simons shouldn’t have come. If he said ‘I’m gonna play you off the left and you can drift in, or I’ll play you off the right and you can drift into central areas‘, then fine.

“He’s got absolutely no excuse not to deliver when he gets on the ball and he’s got to show more than what he’s shown. I think there’s a lot of onus on him, the reputation, but it’s difficult to adjust to a different country and adjust to the Premier League.”

Simons can re-write Tottenham story off the bench

Simons and Frank are in a similar boat for the trip to the Emirates in that both have their critics so far this term and could completely change the tune on themselves with impressive returns at their rivals.

The Dane faces the most immediate pressure if Tottenham‘s form continues to be disappointing, but his misfiring summer recruit really needs a spark.

If Simons is introduced off the bench against Mikel Arteta’s league leaders and scores his first goal for the club then it would be the perfect way to finally announce himself properly.

Despite results being increasingly inconsistent Spurs have been able maintain a decent position in the league, but entering the derby ninth after the rest of the weekend’s action they are starting to sink, and fans don’t want a repeat of last season.

Tottenham’s struggles to bring through new players from the academy stem from a change made under Mauricio Pochettino, it has been revealed.

Dane Scarlett was called up to train with the England first team last month, with the young striker representing one of the two academy graduates in Thomas Frank‘s squad.

The other, Brandon Austin, is yet to feature in goal this season and has made just three Tottenham appearances in his career so far.

Mikey Moore is on loan at Rangers, and perhaps presents the closest Tottenham academy player to make a serious impact in the first team.

After a slow start to his time at Ibrox, Moore has started to perform under Danny Rohl at Rangers, although the youngster has been struck down by a recent injury.

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Source reveals communication issues at the Tottenham academy level

Tottenham’s decision to sell Troy Parrott has been branded a mistake, after the striker scored a hat-trick on international duty for Ireland this week.

The 23-year-old was sold in the summer of 2024 for a nominal fee, after several loans had failed to earn the forward a place in the first team.

But Parrott is only one example of the lack of communication at Tottenham when it comes to academy players.

The Telegraph reported on Sunday that a lack of joined-up thinking has been evident since Mauricio Pochettino was in charge.

A source told the newspaper that Pochettino would involve former academy manager John McDermott in everything. “John would be in every meeting,” the source explained.

“So Mauricio would know exactly who was coming through the academy and John could suggest pathways for players.

“Daniel (Levy) would find out about a young player if he happened to be in one of the meetings and Mauricio and John were talking about him.

“That dynamic changed after Mauricio was sacked and then John left to join the FA, which was a big blow for the academy and took them a long time to start recovering from.”

Tottenham at risk of losing latest academy starlet

As Chelsea have learned in the case of Rio Ngumoha, signing young talents to bolster your ranks is all well and good, until it costs the opportunities of your own.

Tottenham have taken a similar strategy with the signings of Luka Vuskovic, Lucas Bergvall, and Mason Melia, while a player making waves in the academy awaits his first opportunities.

Luca Williams-Barnett has enjoyed a stunning start to the campaign, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists in just 12 appearances across all competitions.

Despite playing four years above his age level, the 17-year-old has scored six goals and provided four assists in just seven Premier League 2 outings.

Yet Frank has handed Williams-Barnett just three minutes for the senior team this season, against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup.

For context, Max Dowman, who is thought of in a similar light, has already made five appearances for the Arsenal first team this season, despite being two years younger.

Such is the demand for young talent in the current game, Williams-Barnett will not wait forever. It is up to Frank and Tottenham to show the England youth international that the opportunities are there.

Tottenham fans have been told not to worry about Yang Min-Hyeok’s limited game time at Portsmouth in recent weeks.

Yang was one of several youngsters who were loaned to various clubs over the summer, and there have been mixed outcomes of their loan spells thus far.

Tyrese Hall has been flying at Notts County, while Tottenham have been told to recall James Donley and Ashley Phillips from Stoke City due to the former’s lack of game time.

Yang started like Hall, but there are now concerns that his time at Portsmouth could turn out to be more like Donley’s at Stoke City.

Tottenham told Yang Min-Hyeok’s minutes not an issue yet

Yang was loaned to Portsmouth over the summer and started well, just like he had at QPR the previous season.

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However, he has played a combined seven minutes across their last three league games and remained on the bench in Portsmouth’s recent 3-1 win over Millwall on Saturday.

This, of course, has caused Spurs fans to worry, but speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, Tottenham expert and Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham believes Yang will start playing regularly again soon.

“I’m not going to worry about it too much because if you remember at the very start of the season, he couldn’t get in the team whatsoever and their fans were screaming, sending him back and all this kind of nonsense,” Wenham said.

“Then he got in the team and he was delivering. He was scoring; his confidence was high. I know he’s coming off the bench in the last couple of games, but I think he’ll have another pickup patch again soon.

“I’m quite confident because he had that run of about seven starts in a row, and you don’t give a player who isn’t performing well that level of consistent game time.

“Maybe he’s got some sort of small knock or something. I imagine he’ll be back. They like him down there at Portsmouth from what I’ve heard.”

Tottenham will need to keep a close eye on Yang Min-Hyeok

The last thing the Lilywhites will want is for Yang’s development to be curbed.

This was something seen with Alejo Veliz before he was loaned to Rosario Central over the summer.

The striker netted just one goal while on loan at Espanyol last season and made only six appearances for Sevilla the season before.

If Yang’s situation at Portsmouth continues, Tottenham will need to consider recalling him this winter.

But for now, with the issue still so fresh, all the North London club can do at the moment is to keep a close eye on the situation.