TBR Football

Tottenham sealed one deadline day signing when taking Randal Kolo Muani on loan from PSG.

It was a deal that ensured Thomas Frank can embark on the 2025/26 campaign with three strikers to call upon in Dominic Solanke, Richarlison and the France international.

However, Tottenham also made a bid for another forward in Ademola Lookman – who continues to be exiled by Ivan Juric after failing to leave Atalanta during the summer.

Ademola Lookman dropped by Ivan Juric amid “unpleasant” situation

The Nigeria international released a public statement in August confirming his desire to leave Bergamo, and has been on strike at Atalanta too.

Fabrizio Romano revealed Tottenham saw a loan bid for Lookman fail on deadline day – which included an option to buy – while Bayern Munich and Inter Milan failed with offers too as Atalanta held firm on a €50m (£43m) asking price.

The expectation was that the Atalanta No.11 would refocus on the Serie A side, but Juric has now suggested in a press conference that the 27-year-old remains unsettled by the summer saga.

Atalanta News quote the Croatian as saying: “He won’t be called up (to face Lecce on Sunday).

“It’s an unpleasant and difficult situation, a real drag. What I feel as a coach is that we need other things: spirit, humility, hard work, a sense of belonging. Our players need to be like that and do better, take responsibility. I want a different sense of belonging. The club will continue like this.”

Lookman was a key man for Atalanta before he started to burn his bridges, scoring 20 goals in 40 appearances last season, while also providing seven assists.

The versatile attacker – who can play centrally or out wide – is contracted to Atalanta until June 2027.

What Ademola Lookman thought of a move to Tottenham

TBR Football understand Lookman was open to joining Spurs if the north Londoners had been able to agree a deal with Atalanta.

The exiled attacker was actually born in Wandsworth, so a move to N17 would signal a return to London for the Charlton academy graduate.

If Juric continues to leave Lookman out, the situation will presumably be revisited in the winter transfer window, especially if Spurs are struggling to score goals by that stage of the season.

The Premier League is filled with brilliant goalkeepers, and Guglielmo Vicario has revealed who he thinks is the best in the division between Gianluigi Donnarumma and Alisson Becker.

Vicario has thrived at Tottenham Hotspur, keeping two clean sheets already this season in the Premier League.

However, Alisson has been one of the most dominant goalkeepers in Premier League history, helping the Reds to the Premier League last season.

He will now face competition to be the best in the division, though, after Manchester City signed Donnarumma to replace the outgoing Ederson.

Donnarumma is fresh off winning the Champions League with PSG, and will be aiming to prove himself in the Premier League as well this season.

Guglielmo Vicario believes Gianluigi Donnarumma edges the Liverpool goalkeeper

Both goalkeepers have thrived in the game during recent seasons, but Vicario believes Donnarumma just edges the battle between them.

“This season, he won the Champions League with PSG, and I think he played the main role in the Champions League knockout stages.

“The team was playing very well, but I think without him against Villa away, Arsenal as well, the results could have been much different.

“I put Alisson number two because he won the Premier League, and he has been amazing. He’s been injured for a while, but when he steps back, he has been insane for his club.”

While Vicario praised Man City’s new shot-stopper, he ranked both Premier League goalkeepers ahead of Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, demonstrating his high rating for them.

Gianluigi Donnarumma will look to thrive for Man City this weekend

Premier League fans are expected to get their first experience of Donnarumma in the English top flight this weekend in the Manchester derby.

It is a high-pressure fixture for the Italian goalkeeper to debut in, as Manchester United have confirmed that they will not debut their new goalkeeper, Senne Lammens.

Donnarumma has admitted he will make mistakes during his spell at the Etihad Stadium, but supporters are confident and excited about his arrival.

Graham Potter should feel confident about West Ham United’s chances of beating Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

The Hammers will host Tottenham at the London Stadium with the side in positive spirits following a morale-boosting victory against Nottingham Forest before the international break.

TBR Football reported that David Sullivan is backing Graham Potter despite the immense pressure on the manager’s shoulders following the crushing 5-1 loss against Chelsea in August.

Potter has worked hard to overturn his fortunes in East London, although one victory in three matches will not be enough to fend off the critics.

And now the 50-year-old faces the ultimate test at West Ham, but he will undoubtedly be encouraged by an interesting stat surrounding Pedro Porro, which has emerged ahead of the clash.

Pedro Porro has never been involved in a 0-0 draw in the Premier League

According to BBC Sport, Porro has never been involved in a scoreless draw throughout his Tottenham career, which stands as the second-longest streak in Premier League history, only behind former Man United man Mikael Silvestre, whose run lasted 134 games.

Astonishing, considering Porro has featured in 86 league appearances for Spurs, and this news will be music to Potter’s ears.

The Irons rediscovered their goalscoring touch in the 3-0 win against Forest last time out, with new signing Callum Wilson impressing as he opened his account for the club.

In their previous meetings, West Ham and Tottenham have scored at least one goal each in eight of their last 10 encounters, with the last 0-0 draw between the pair occurring during the 2010/11 campaign.

Tensions will be high at the London Stadium. Mohammed Kudus made the £55 million switch to Spurs in July, and the Ghanaian international will be in for a hostile reception upon his return to East London.

Furthermore, Jarrod Bowen has been involved in nine goals in his last nine outings for West Ham, with only Liverpool star Mohamed Salah registering more goal involvements.

The clash is primed to deliver goals on Saturday, and should the Hammers replicate their display against Forest, there is no reason why Potter should not deliver another loss to Thomas Frank.

West Ham must be wary of Pedro Porro threat

Although the statistic surrounding Porro is encouraging, it can also be interpreted as a warning that West Ham will concede at least one goal at the London Stadium.

Porro is the league leader for passes into the opposition box, and the Spaniard has long established himself as one of the biggest threats in this Tottenham side.

West Ham were brutally undone against Chelsea and also conceded three goals against newly promoted Sunderland on the opening day – Potter must tread carefully.

Indeed, confidence will be brimming in East London, and no other fixture is more perfect for kickstarting their season than this particular London derby. There are goals to be scored on Saturday; the question is whether the players can step up.

Tottenham Hotspur youngsters were given a chance to impress Thomas Frank ahead of this weekend’s game against West Ham United.

Thomas Frank headed into the international break on a low note, as he suffered his first Premier League defeat as Tottenham Hotspur boss.

Spurs were beaten 1-0 by Bournemouth last time out, and barely even caused problems for the Cherries.

Frank could unleash new Tottenham signing Xavi Simons against West Ham United this weekend, while deadline day signing Randal Kolo Muani will be in contention.

Ex-Manchester City talent Dan Batty in Tottenham Hotspur training

The international break is finally coming to an end, but the last two weeks have given Frank the chance to watch some young Spurs talents in action.

It’s common practice for youngsters to step up into first-team training while senior players are away on international duty.

Frank may have been impressed with some of those youngsters, as Football London note that Dan Batty was involved in first-team training on Thursday.

Batty was spotted on a video of Xavi Simons’ first day in Tottenham training, first greeting the Dutchman before walking out to training ahead of Simons, Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin.

Tottenham raided Manchester City to sign Batty earlier this year, bringing the 18-year-old midfielder to North London after spotting his potential.

A diminutive midfield player, Batty bagged three goals and four assists in 20 games for City’s Under-18s last season.

Tottenham swooped in to sign Batty, luring the Stalybridge-born talent away from the North West.

The decision to quit City will not have been an easy one for Batty, but a pathway to first-team action at the Etihad Stadium is a tricky one.

Batty has now trained with Tottenham’s senior players, and while a place in the squad against West Ham is unlikely, he has at least been given a chance to impress Frank and stake a claim for future chances.

Dan Batty joined by other Tottenham Hotspur talents

Batty was not the only youngster in first-team training on Thursday, even with senior players returning.

Defender Dante Cassanova was also involved, with the 21-year-old making the step up.

Cassanova has been a regular for Tottenham at developmental levels and has operated as a left-back this season, despite playing as a centre-back last term.

Winger Yusuf Akhamrich joined Batty and Casanova, having enjoyed a brilliant start to the season.

The 20-year-old Moroccan has bagged three goals and one assist in four games across Premier League 2 and the EFL Trophy this season.

All three will hope to have left a lasting impact on Frank, and they will look for more opportunities around the Spurs first team this season.

Following the departure of Daniel Levy as chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, the Lewis Family have suggested that investment is coming to help the team succeed on the pitch.

Just recently, ENIC made it clear that they had rejected two approaches to buy the football club and that they had no intention of selling at this stage.

Meanwhile, reports elsewhere suggested that the Lewis Family were making their ambitions clear by claiming they ‘want more wins more often’.

So, with ENIC going nowhere and suddenly showing intent at Spurs, TBR Football spoke to the site’s finance expert, Adam Williams, to assess whether or not we could actually see the owners put their money where their mouth is.

Doubts raised over ENIC investing £100m into Tottenham

Sky Sports recently reported that the Lewis family ‘could put money into the club’, with the newly appointed CEO, Vinai Venkatesham, and his new leadership team deciding how that is spent.

But, TBR Football’s finance expert raises doubts as to whether ENIC would actually be prepared to invest the reported £100m sum into Tottenham Hotspur.

Williams told TBR Football: “There have clearly been a few friendly briefings about the Lewis family investing £100m in the club, but the language has all been very conditional, like ‘could’, ‘on course to…’

“Also, the line about them not taking a dividend is true, but it’s also true of every other Premier League club owner besides the Glazer family. So it’s not as if they’re being particularly charitable in that respect. In fact, there are only a handful of club owners who have invested less in their teams out of their own pocket.

“They have also just taken out what is effectively a short-term loan of £90m from Macquarie, which is secured against future Premier League TV revenues. That is going to have interest attached, which is money that the club, not the Lewis family, will repay at a later date.

“We don’t know the details, but we’ve seen other Premier League clubs have similar deals at an interest rate of 5-10 per cent, potentially higher. This is short-term borrowing for short-term costs – wages, other expenses and so on, not investment in transfers.”

“It’s a cash flow solution, and it’s becoming increasingly common for Premier League clubs. But if the Lewis family were ready to invest, why not do it as soon as possible? That way, you make a statement to usher in this new era and you save the club £5-10m in interest, which could otherwise be reinvested in the team in January.”

ENIC facing Premier League title investment dilemma

As history suggests, ENIC’s cost-benefit analysis suggests it’s tricky to see the owners putting in the necessary funds to have Tottenham competing right at the very top.

“The briefings to the press certainly make it clear that the Lewis family have plenty of liquid capital, and that is why they are not looking for a sale. Equally, that means there is no impediment to investing in the club via equity or no-interest loans,” added Williams.

“That to me suggests they aren’t quite as ready to pump money into the club freely in order to achieve more glory on the pitch as they are suggesting. I think it’s much, much more likely that they take on some minority investment and reinvest some of that cash, but we’re probably some way off that happening.

“Until then, I think it probably is ‘business as usual’, as Vinai Venkatesham put it. And by business as usual, I mean the club will reinvest what it earns. There’s nothing wrong with that model in isolation, especially given that Tottenham have huge revenue and therefore huge scope to reinvest. But when you have rivals who are willing to push the boundaries in terms of PSR and take the maximum possible funding from their owners, it means those clubs are catching up in terms of their total spending.

“What those clubs like Aston Villa and Newcastle lack in revenue, they make up for with owners who are willing and able to underwrite financial losses to fund investment in their squads.

“I have zero doubt that the Lewis family want more glory on the pitch. That is going to grow the club’s brand, create more revenue and inflate the value of the club, which they will one day sell for billions. But if it is a choice between a Premier League title or saving themselves the £500m or so in external investment that might be needed to get them there, I’m 100 per cent confident they would choose the latter. That’s the cost-benefit analysis which has been at the heart of everything they have done over the last 25 years.”

Dominic Solanke has named the Tottenham Hotspur player who could produce the best moment of the Premier League season, and his answer is pretty obvious.

Currently, Solanke is injured with a thigh problem, which forced Spurs to react quickly in the final days of the transfer window.

Tottenham signed Randal Kolo Muani from PSG on loan to add to what was a successful transfer window for the North London club.

The striker has now been raving about another of Spurs’ new additions and backed him to be key for the Lilywhites this season.

Dominic Solanke backs Mohammed Kudus to shine for Tottenham

Dominic Solanke is backing new signing Mohammed Kudus to produce plenty of special moments for Tottenham Hotspur this season.

Tottenham signed Kudus for £55m back in July, and the winger has been quick to make a strong impression in North London.

Solanke believes that the Ghanaian international plays with real ‘flair’, which he has already shown on several occasions since signing for Spurs.

Solanke told the Premier League’s YouTube channel: “Kudus will produce the coldest moment of the season. He’s definitely got that flair, so I think we’ll see a lot of special moments this year.”

The winger has two assists in three Premier League matches already, having formed a great partnership with Richarlison.

The 24-year-old looks to be a real menace down Spurs’ right-hand side and is quickly becoming the new talisman for Thomas Frank’s team.

Mohammed Kudus could cause upset vs West Ham

Kudus is set to face his former club on the weekend, as Tottenham travel away to West Ham United in the Premier League following the first international break.

The 24-year-old is likely to receive a frosty reception from the London Stadium, given his controversial move across London.

Jamie O’Hara slammed West Ham’s decision to sell Kudus to Tottenham, and it could come back to bite them on Saturday with the arrival of their bitter rivals.

Meanwhile, Xavi Simons and Kolo Muani could also feature in East London, making their debuts for Spurs in what will be a new-look attack.

Ange Postecoglou has been presented as the new Nottingham Forest boss, but he has offered a comment about his final season at Tottenham Hotspur.

Nottingham Forest axed Nuno Espirito Santo earlier this week, bringing an end to weeks of speculation.

Evangelos Marinakis is a big fan of Ange Postecoglou, and it was little surprise to see the Australian arrive as Nuno’s successor.

Forest’s interest in Postecoglou began in August, and the former Tottenham boss is now preparing for his first game against Arsenal this weekend.

Ange Postecoglou admits major Tottenham Hotspur problem

Postecoglou arrives with major question marks over his suitability at Forest.

Nuno had Forest well-drilled in a low block, using serious pace on the counter-attack to cause problems.

Postecoglou is almost the complete opposite, preferring to press high and dominate possession.

Tottenham axed Postecoglou despite winning the Europa League, and Forest are now hoping to see him bring silverware to the City Ground.

Postecoglou has spoken to the media after being presented as Forest’s new manager, and as captured by Hayters, he admitted one problem from his final season at Tottenham.

Postecoglou admitted that Tottenham’s pre-season preparations were poor, and his Spurs side ‘weren’t prepared’ for a busy season ahead.

Spurs won the Europa League but endured a terrible Premier League season, with Postecoglou suggesting that the poor pre-season ‘cost’ his side.

“Last year was a unique season anyway. We [Tottenham] didn’t have a great pre-season. We just weren’t prepared. Ultimately, that cost us. We just didn’t prepare well,” said Postecoglou.

Ange Postecoglou spots early difference between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur

Postecoglou added that he now believes he will be able to handle the rigours of Premier League and Europa League football this season.

The new Forest boss also drew attention to the experience at his disposal, compared to the youth of the Tottenham squad.

“I do think that when I look at the squad, there’s certainly a little bit more experience than there was [at Spurs]. We signed some young players in the beginning of the year at Spurs.

“I just know the demands of Thursday, Sunday football, particularly playing away in Europe. I think I’ll be better equipped to handle it as well as the staff I have.”

Chris Wood, Matz Sels and Willy Boly are all experienced performers, while the likes of Douglas Luiz, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ola Aina are all proven Premier League players.

Postecoglou will look to lean on that experience upon arriving at Forest, and will hope for success in both the Premier League and Europa League this season.

Tottenham managed to offload some deadwood during the summer transfer window.

Spurs were able to move on the likes of Bryan Gil to Girona permanently and Manor Solomon on loan to Villarreal – while Sergio Reguilon and Fraser Forster were released.

Tottenham also tried to sell Yves Bissouma – but Fenerbahce President Ali Koc has now revealed why a move to Turkey failed to materialise for the Mali international.

Injury at Hotspur Way scuppered Yves Bissouma to Fenerbahce

The 58-year-old has now revealed that he was “close” to bringing the £25m Tottenham man to Fenerbahce, but the deal collapsed after he suffered an injury in training at Hotspur Way.

Koc said: “We all want a number eight. Bissouma was very close, but he got injured. A smart number eight. Someone who can distribute the ball intelligently, play box to box. We are working on a young name. At Fenerbahce, transfers don’t end until the last minute. Neither the arrivals nor the departures end. We will push the conditions until the very last moment.”

Thomas Frank confirmed to reporters that the Malian suffered his current injury during a training session, revealing before the 3-0 win against Burnley: “Unfortunately he got injured in training yesterday, so very unfortunate. An injury we (will) look into how (bad) it is.”

TBR Football understand Tottenham were eager to sell Bissouma and a move to West Ham was discussed, but the 29-year-old ended up staying with Spurs.

Spurs now likely to miss out on a fee

Bissouma – who shone in the Europa League final – only has nine months remaining on his contract, and the summer transfer window just gone represented Tottenham’s last chance to receive a decent fee for the midfielder.

The Tottenham No.8 will now be able to strike a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club such as Fenerbahce in January, ahead of making a free transfer when his terms expire in July.

Either that, or Tottenham could receive a low bid from a club hoping to take Bissouma in January and avoid having to battle for his signature in the free agent market, like Inter Milan did when spending £16.9m to sign Christian Eriksen in January 2020.

A free transfer feels more likely – however – so the injury suffered by Bissouma could well mean Spurs have to accept a £25m loss on the June 2022 arrival from Brighton.

Tottenham Hotspur have a number of very exciting young players coming through at the moment.

Indeed, Mikey Moore has been tipped for big things at Spurs, while Lucas Bergvall looks like he could become a star too.

However, perhaps the most exciting young player at Spurs is Archie Gray.

Gray has huge potential, and speaking on the Training Ground Guru Podcast, Nick Montgomery has been discussing the youngster and his attitude.

Montgomery was, of course, a coach at Tottenham alongside Ange Postecoglou, and he says that Gray was absolutely brilliant at Spurs on the training ground last season.

Archie Gray always did extra in training

According to Montgomery, both Gray and Lucas Bergvall are incredibly hard workers in training at Tottenham.

Indeed, according to the coach, both youngsters have a brilliant mindset, claiming that Gray does a lot of extras in the gym after training.

In fact, Montgomery says that Gray and Bergvall sometimes have to be forced off the training ground because they are doing too much.

“Yeah, I think they’re two of many. There’s a lot of young players now around the Premier League that are coming in. But I mean, obviously Archie is an English player coming from Leeds and Lucas coming from Sweden.

But I mean, to work with them two players, I think people always ask what’s the biggest difference. And for me, it’s always the mindset, it’s always the belief and obviously the ability is one thing, but the attitude has to be spot on every day. And you look at them two and you’re always in the gym, always doing the extras, whether it’s training, you have to pull them off the training ground.

And I think looking at both of them two last season, playing 50-odd games each and winning Europa League in the first season of Premier League football, it’s an amazing start for them and hopefully they continue to progress”

Nick Montgomery shares Archie Gray’s best position

Montgomery continued to speak about Gray, making a claim about his best position on the pitch.

Gray has been used as a defender for both Tottenham and Leeds throughout his career, but according to Montgomery, his best position is in the midfield.

“Yeah, I think Archie’s always been a midfielder, but I think his problem is he’s such an honest player that he will play in any position, he will play anywhere to play in the team,” Montgomery said.

“Obviously coming from Leeds when he came, obviously he played a lot at full back, sort of running inside as a midfielder. And obviously at Tottenham as well, he played at centre back quite a lot this season because we had so many injuries.

“So to think most of the season, big part of the season Archie was playing left centre back, he’s right footed, he’s playing left centre back in the Premier League against the best players in the world.

“And he’s a midfielder coming in in his first season, but he just got on with it. Like I said, his attitude was amazing and to see him progress and work with him.”

Thomas Frank’s plans for Randal Kolo Muani have been made clear and TBR Football can now reveal where Tottenham’s new boss is ready to play him.

On transfer deadline day, Tottenham completed the signing of Kolo Muani on loan from PSG, after his move back to Juventus fell apart.

The North London club have now managed to secure the Frenchman’s services for the season and he could end up playing a key role under Thomas Frank.

Spurs’ new head coach is excited to work with Kolo Muani in North London and TBR Football has learned where he plans to play him.

Randal Kolo Muani is expected to play ‘multiple roles’ under Thomas Frank

Randal Kolo Muani is expected to play ‘multiple roles’ under Frank, with the Dane open-minded to the 26-year-old’s best position, sources have told TBR Football’s chief correspondent, Graeme Bailey.

The French international can play in the number nine role, whilst also being able to play both left and right wing.

Left wing is an issue for Spurs right now, with Brennan Johnson having struggled there against Bournemouth.

Tottenham moved for Kolo Muani after learning that Dominic Solanke’s injury was worse than initially feared, so the attacker could feature mostly up front.

He will face strong compeiton from Richarlison for the number nine role, with Frank a big fan of the Brazilian, despite his poor display in Spurs’ last outing.

“I am told that he arrived with Frank fairly open-minded,” Bailey told TBR Football about the Spurs boss’s man for Kolo Muani’s best position.

“I think he likes the fact that Richarlison, Johnson, Kolo Muani, even Tel, can mix and match, so you could see Richarlison and Kolo Muani out wide, with Johnson centrally – for sure. I personally believe we see Kolo Muani playing multiple roles.”

Tottenham hope Kolo Muani will continue to develop during his time working with Frank, with the sense that he is yet to peak as a striker.

Randal Kolo Muani set for Tottenham debut vs West Ham United

Tottenham travel to West Ham on Saturday evening, and Kolo Muani is likely to make his debut for the club at the London Stadium.

The 26-year-old could be joined by Xavi Simons, starting against their London rivals in the first game back after the international break.

Spurs will be keen that their two new arrivals can quickly spark up a strong relationship on the pitch, with Simons completing his first training session on Wednesday.