TBR Football

Leeds and Burnley have now managed to shake off Sheffield United and secure automatic promotion to the Premier League.

An emphatic 6-0 win over Stoke on Easter Monday saw Leeds return to the Premier League after two seasons in the Championship, while a 2-1 win for Burnley over Sheffield United secured an immediate return for the Clarets, who suffered relegation under Vincent Kompany last term.

Scott Parker has already secured millions for Tottenham in getting Burnley promoted, triggering the permanent signing of Marcus Edwards, which lands Spurs some cash due to a sell-on clause.

Now, Burnley – and Leeds – have earned Tottenham and the other 19 Premier League clubs some additional cash after winning promotion.

Parachute payments now divided up between Premier League sides

As you may already know, parachute payments exist to help clubs who have been relegated from the Premier League cope with the signifiant loss in revenue from broadcasting deals, with payments made across three years.

However, there is now a surplus of cash after Leeds – who tried to hire Arne Slot – and Burnley went up, as neither side have been in the Championship for those three years of parachute payments.

On Monday, Football finance expert Kieran Maguire wrote on X (previously known as Twitter): “When Leicester and Southampton were relegated in 2022/23 and promoted the following season £102m in parachute payments were saved…these savings have been split between Premier League clubs.

“Should Burnley and Leeds be promoted today then a further £51m will be saved…this will also be divided between PL clubs.”

Maguire added: “Instead of receiving parachute payments of £35m and £16m next season Burnley and Leeds will both be picking up £110m plus in the Premier League. The parachute payments not being paid out will be divided by the 20 PL clubs.”

How much each Premier League clubs receives

It means each Premier League side involved in the 2024/25 campaign will receive £2.55m each after Leeds and Burnley were promoted, on top of the £5.1m Leicester and Southampton earned them, as aforesaid.

Of course, in the grand scheme of modern day football in the Premier League, £2.55m is not a great deal of money, but it is sure to be a welcome boost to all 20 clubs who may not have been expecting a minor financial boost.

There is – however – the moral argument of this cash trickling down and being spread between Championship clubs, who are in greater need of the money than those in the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur would consider selling Pedro Porro for the right price this summer, TBR Football can exclusively reveal.

Porro started his journey in English football with Manchester City in 2019, before he then returned to the Premier League with Tottenham four years later.

Now, the Spaniard has amassed 46 appearances for Ange Postecoglou in all competitions this season, scoring three goals and providing eight assists from right-back.

Porro has been an ever-present for Spurs in an injury-hit season, but his spot is now being targeted by Djed Spence.

Spence made the most of his opportunity at left-back whilst Destiny Udogie was injured in recent months and he’s now in contention to start on either side of Postecoglou’s back line.

Tottenham ready to sell Pedro Porro to fund summer transfers

That being said, TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that Spurs would entertain the possibility of selling Porro for more than £50m this summer.

As mentioned, Spurs have seen Spence emerge as a true option to be first choice this season and Tottenham’s hierarchy are now looking at their budgets.

Tottenham have been wise with their financial arrangements, but like most Premier League clubs they are always considering PSR and Porro could be an option to sell as a result.

Spurs are looking to bolster their squad in almost all areas and to do so they will likely need to cover their incoming purchases with a sale or two.

Porro was an option for Real Madrid along with Trent Alexander-Arnold this summer, with the Galaticos ultimately opting for the Liverpool full-back.

However, TBR can confirm that there is interest in Porro — who has emerged as one of the best attacking full-backs in the Premier League.

Man City interested in Pedro Porro return

Man City have kept tabs on Porro’s progress and are in need of a new right-back to replace Kyle Walker this summer.

Porro failed to make a senior appearance during his time at the Etihad before being sold to Sporting CP.

And Pep Guardiola’s side have also held talks with another former academy star in the shape of Jeremie Frimpong.

But in terms of Porro’s future, Juventus and Bayern Munich are also believed to see the Spaniard as a real option for their respective projects.

Tottenham Hotspur have lost another game in the Premier League this season.

Spurs have been shocking since the start of this campaign. Every fan expected to see some improvement under Ange Postecoglou in his second season, but that hasn’t happened.

The North Londoners crashed out of both domestic cup competitions, and they have lost 18 games in the Premier League so far, which is simply not good enough.

Daniel Levy, however, has still not sacked Postecoglou yet, and Jamie O’Hara thinks he knows the real reason why.

Jamie O’Hara says one ‘excuse’ has saved Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham job

Postecoglou is very fortunate to have not lost his job at Tottenham.

Levy is one of the most ruthless chairmen around, and he has sacked managers at Spurs for far less over the last two decades.

Postecoglou has suffered 18 defeats in the Premier League, and there are still five games left to be played. There’s every chance that number will go up.

Many Spurs fans want Postecoglou gone, but it is looking very likely that he will stay until the end of this season.

O’Hara believes Postecoglou would’ve been sacked a long time ago, but his ‘excuse’ of injuries has kept him in the job until now.

The pundit said on talkSPORT: “That (injuries) was an excuse, mate. He was getting away with that excuse for a long time.

“That kept him in the job. All them players being injured actually kept him in the job. That was the excuse: ‘I’ve got too many injuries’.

“He’s got a full squad to choose from now, and he’s still terrible.”

Tottenham could still break three unwanted records

Tottenham are safe from relegation, so they don’t really have to worry about the Premier League anymore.

The focus is on the Europa League as winning that competition will not just end Spurs’ trophy drought, but it will also open the Champions League doors for them next season.

But, if they continue to lose games in the Premier League, they will be the not-so-proud owners of three unwanted records.

According to the BBC’s Nizaar Kinsella, here are three records Spurs are at risk of in their final five games in the Premier League this season:

That’s how bad Spurs have been this term, and O’Hara may just be right – if there weren’t that many injuries, Levy would’ve sacked Postecoglou a long time ago.

Ahead of Liverpool’s upcoming contest against Tottenham Hotspur, Virgil van Dijk will be gearing up his teammates not to let complacency set in.

For the Champions League winner personally, he has the chance to become the first Dutch captain to win the Premier League title if Liverpool get the all-important three points on Sunday evening.

Virgil van Dijk will be determined to spearhead his side to a monumental victory as becoming the champions of England in front of the Anfield crowd will be the stuff of dreams for the Reds players.

As the Liverpool fans serenaded Trent Alexander-Arnold against Leicester City after his late winner, there seems to be a real party atmosphere amongst the fanbase as they look set to lift the title.

With Van Dijk rejecting interest from other clubs such as Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Chelsea in favour of signing a two-year contract extension with Liverpool, a title-clinching victory against Tottenham would mean the world to him.

Virgil van Dijk says Tottenham are “very good” ahead of clash vs Liverpool

After Liverpool’s 1-0 win against Leicester, Van Dijk had his say on Tottenham as a team, telling Optus Sport: “Yeah, listen, it’s a great feeling to be in this position, something that we don’t take for granted. It’s been, in my opinion, an outstanding season. Lot of good moments, a lot of good moments actually, a lot of wins and good performances and now we have a chance to finish it on the weekend against a very good Tottenham Hotspur in my opinion.”

Van Dijk also revealed that Liverpool’s games against Tottenham have been testing this campaign: “We played already three times against them this season and every game is very intense and we’ve got a week to prepare, if anything happens on Wednesday, happy days, if not, then we have to finish it off and we’ve got to be at our best to do that and that’ll be our main focus.”

“We still have a big game on the weekend.”

Van Dijk is arguably Liverpool’s most important player and his message to the supporters to flock to Anfield in numbers to watch them lock horns with Tottenham will be heard loud and clear by the fans.

“I encourage everyone, Liverpool fans of course, be there, support us and it’ll be all worth it at the end, we’ve all worked so hard to be in this position throughout the whole season, we’ve been so consistent in the league especially. With the results, with the wins and now we have a big opportunity because it’s an opportunity, nothing else.”

Virgil van Dijk has already said what he could do if Liverpool win the Premier League

Van Dijk revealed he’d let his hair down if Liverpool won another league title back in 2022.

When Gary Neville asked the former Celtic defender to so, he replied: “No no no, I can’t. Maybe when we win another Champions League or Premier League.”

Regardless of how Ange Postecoglou’s future pans out, Tottenham Hotspur’s need of bolstering their squad in the summer transfer window is indisputable.

While Tottenham could revive their reputation by winning the Europa League, it is questionable whether even winning such a prestigious trophy will deem their season as a success due to their struggles for most of the campaign.

Daniel Levy will be determined to do everything in his power to equip Spurs with the best-possible squad next season so they can show the progress they did during the previous term.

One player who is on the Lilywhites’ radar is Nico Paz, who has impressed Tottenham’s scouts.

However, Real Madrid are eyeing Tottenham target Paz, who they sold to Como but still have a buyback clause to bring him back to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Xabi Alonso could help Tottenham seal Nico Paz signing

Tottenham’s eternal rivals Arsenal showed interest in signing Paz as well but Real Madrid are keen on him staying in Italy for another season and returning to the Spanish capital in 2026.

But Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Nico Paz’s future depends on Real Madrid’s replacement for Carlo Ancelotti, who looks likely to be Xabi Alonso wishes to work with him — which could be a plus for Tottenham.

“Nico Paz, Como, this week told Real Madrid once again that they want to keep Nico Paz for one more season. Real Madrid have a buyback clause and a 50 per cent sell-on clause. Como are prepared to do everything to keep Nico Paz at the club but Real Madrid say, ‘okay, let’s discuss as soon as we clarify the coach situation.’ So, the coach situation will be really important to understand what Xabi or let’s see what happens but eventually, Xabi, who is the clear favourite will decide on Nico Paz.”

“But this shows how the coach situation is evolving as Real Madrid will make a decision on several things, including Nico Paz in the next days and weeks.”

If Xabi Alonso does not fancy Paz, Tottenham could pounce upon the chance to sign him in the summer.

Alonso could bring Florian Wirtz to Real Madrid, who plays in the same position as the Argentine and as a result, Spurs should try their hand at signing him — considering they are one of the biggest clubs in Europe and would offer the 20-year-old a huge step-up in his career from Como — who are sitting in 13th place in Serie A.

With Dejan Kulusevski almost having excessive responsibility in the number 10 role this season, Paz could help him shoulder the burden of making Tottenham tick if they did sign him.

Nico Paz has already revealed his “dream” move

While Ange Postecoglou and Co will be hoping to lure the youngster, he has already had a say on his future.

Paz revealed he dreams of representing Real Madrid one day and Tottenham will have to sell their project to him to persuade the highly-rated number 10 to change his mind — who Cesc Fabregas revealed they value over £50 million.

The Santa Cruz de Tenerife-born attacker said in February: “For now, I’m not planning my future yet, I’m focused on Como. Then who knows, my dream would be to return to play for Real Madrid one day.”

Guglielmo Vicario has shared his honest thoughts on how he feels about Ange Postecoglou after Tottenham Hotspur reached the final four of the Europa League.

Ange Postecoglou helped Tottenham Hotspur reach just their second semi-final of a European competition in the last 40 years.

Dominic Solanke’s first-half penalty was the winning moment in the tie as the North London club produced a coming-of-age performance to see the win over the line.

After the win in Germany, Tottenham’s goalkeeper shared his honest thoughts on Postecoglou, who has been under real pressure this season to keep his job.

Guglielmo Vicario ‘really believes’ in Ange Postecoglou

Guglielmo Vicario insists that he still ‘really believes’ in Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou in the aftermath of their win over Frankfurt.

The Italian was so proud of the team’s performance against the Bundesliga club, and he is confident Spurs can achieve something special this season if they replicate that performance going forward.

Vicario told SpursOfficial: “I really believe in this football club, I really believe in this manager, in the way we want to play. If we suffer the way we did tonight, we can achieve big, big things.”

Coming from such a big voice in the dressing room, it is a strong indication as to why the North London club have stuck behind Ange Postecoglou despite calls for him to be sacked.

Ange Postecoglou still has support of Tottenham dressing room

Alasdair Gold believes that Postecoglou still has the full support of the Spurs dressing room because of the performance his team produced against Frankfurt.

The Tottenham journalist insists you do not get such a level of commitment from your players in the way Postecoglou did against Frankfurt if they are not in full support of him.

Gold said on YouTube: “What was important for me is that the players showed on the night that they’re still fully behind Postecoglou. Van de Ven said that in the press conference ahead of the game, he was very strong on that, and you could see that.

“Look, such a disciplined and brave display does not come from a team that is abandoning their manager, it just doesn’t. I know every time there is a defeat, everyone quickly says, ‘He’s lost the dressing room, the players aren’t playing for him,’ you do not get what happened last night if the manager does not have the support of the dressing room.”

TBR Football understands that Daniel Levy remains keen on bringing Fabio Paratici back to Tottenham Hotspur after his talks with AC Milan collapsed.

Paratici’s move to Milan is off despite an initial agreement, after further talks with Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani saw them back away from a deal. Milan are now talking to Tony D’Amico and Igli Tare.

Paratici can return to football in July and Spurs’ appointment of Vinai Venkatesham does not impact these plans to bring the Italian back to North London.

Venkatesham was made aware of Daniel Levy’s plans before he accepted the newly formed role as Spurs’ CEO.

Daniel Levy wants Fabio Paratici back at Tottenham

Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici have already held talks about his return to Tottenham Hotspur, sources have told TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey.

The Italian director will be available for work when his FIFA ban is lifted on June 30 and the North London club have already started work on his return.

Paratici did an incredible job at Spurs during his 18-month stint at the football club having signed the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero, Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie and Djed Spence.

Now, the Lilywhites are keen to get him back involved, with Bailey telling TBR Football: “The question is, does Paratici have a full-time role? They have had talks about him doing a Luis Campos type role as ‘football advisor’ – that could be the way forward, initially.”

What might Fabio Paratici’s return mean for Johan Lange at Tottenham?

Scott Munn’s future at the club is already in doubt following Venkatesham’s appointment, but doubts over Johan Lange’s future could also arise should Paratici return.

Lange has had mixed fortunes during his time at the club, having overseen signings like Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall.

“I think Munn and Lange will be the victims with Vinai coming in and Paratici doing the transfer stuff, personally,” added Bailey.

Atletico Madrid have now added a second Tottenham Hotspur player to their transfer wishlist having already set their sights on Cristian Romero.

Tottenham Hotspur look set for a big summer of change with Ange Postecoglou’s future still in doubt and several players expected to leave.

One of the players who could depart North London in the summer is Romero, who has paused his contract with Spurs and is strongly linked with a move to Atletico Madrid in the summer.

The Spanish giants are now targeting another player from the North London club, although his recent performance will mean Spurs won’t be keen to sell.

Atletico Madrid have now set their sights on Rodrigo Bentancur

Atletico Madrid have added Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur to Diego Simeone’s list of transfer targets this summer, according to The Mirror.

Simeone is prioritising a move for Cristian Romero as he looks to add to his defensive options, but he is also keen on signing a new midfielder.

Tottenham’s Uruguayan international is another player whom the Atletico boss appears to like, and now, the 27-year-old could join Romero in making the switch to the Spanish capital.

Tottenham has been in talks with Bentancur over a new contract, although his future is likely to be determined by whoever is in charge of the team next season.

Rodrigo Bentancur produced his best game of the season vs Frankfurt

Bentancur saved his best performance of the season for Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in what was a coming-of-age performance for Postecoglou’s team.

The 27-year-old was crucial in the middle of the park for Tottenham as he showed signs of getting back to his best in Lilywhite.

Injuries have hampered his time in North London over the last year or so, but his recent displays have shown very promising signs that he could be getting back to his best.

Tottenham Hotspur may well be in the market for a new manager before too long.

Indeed, Ange Postecoglou is likely to be sacked at the end of the season after dragging Spurs down to being a bottom-half side this term.

Tottenham have a few managerial targets in mind – Marco Silva has been linked to Spurs lately.

However, Andoni Iraola is Tottenham’s top target after a fantastic season at Bournemouth.

Iraola has been ‘brilliant’ for Bournemouth this season, but Iraola is expected to stay at Bournemouth.

Speaking on The Transfers Podcast, Duncan Castles has been discussing Spurs’ links to Iraola, and he says that the Spaniard has actually already declined the chance to speak to Tottenham.

Andoni Iraola has rejected Tottenham

Castles shared what he knows about Iraola and Spurs.

The journalist says that Spurs have actually asked Iraola to have a chat recently, but the Bournemouth boss has been quick to knock Spurs back, instead opting to speak to Bournemouth about staying at the Vitality Stadium instead.

“He’s been talked about as a candidate to replace Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham for months now, mainly because Tottenham has been the most obvious well-financed Premier League club who have been, there’s been an expectation that they might change coach in the, through this season and in the summer. Interestingly, my guidance on this is that Tottenham’s approaches to Iraola have been rebuffed by the manager.

“He has been invited, I’m told, to speak to them about that position and has actually declined to do so. And instead has been having conversations with Bournemouth, informal conversation with Bournemouth for several weeks now, about not only continuing on his current contract, but signing a new contract to extend there. The club understandably love him, not just because of his results on the field, but because of his personality, the way he works.

“They find him a really useful coach to have in terms of building a squad, handling that squad and dealing with the media on a regular basis. They’re currently on course to qualify for Europe with an eighth place finish. They’ve won 32 and drawn 19 of his 81 matches in charge.”

Tottenham’s previous managerial searches

Tottenham’s search for a new manager has seemingly already started, and it’s already hit something of a dead end.

Spurs have been knocked back by Iraola, while Tony Khan has made it clear he wants Marco Silva to stay.

Tottenham have hit a brick wall already in their managerial search, and we’ve been here before.

Back in 2021, Spurs went all around the houses looking at different managers, only to be rejected by a number of candidates.

Meanwhile, Spurs also looked at a number of managers in 2023 before settling on Ange Postecoglou.

Ultimately, Tottenham would end up hiring Nuno Espirito Santo and Postecoglou after these failed managerial searches, and they will be hoping for a much smoother process this time around.

Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Newcastle United are likely to have busy summers on the transfer front.

Tottenham will be eager to strengthen their ranks in wake of a difficult season that has seen them in the lower reaches of the Premier League table.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are shining in the Champions League but will likely want to reinforce so they can challenge on multiple fronts.

Newcastle are enjoying a great end to the season and will fancy their chances of Champions League qualification.

Most of their centre-back options are above 30 years of age, so they’ll likely want to sign new centre-backs with a view to the future.

All three clubs have been linked with a 23-year-old defender likened to Sergio Ramos who could cost as little as £22million this summer.

The player in question is Malick Thiaw, who has been a regular for AC Milan this season and has also been capped for Germany.

Arsenal, Tottenham, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest are ‘monitoring the situation’ of the player, according to Calciomercato.it.

However, they will be up against Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, who are said to have already come forward for the 23-year-old.

Thiaw is a ‘main candidate’ to leave Milan in the next few months and they want a fee of €25-30million (£21.5-25.7million) to sell him, added the report.

TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey recently confirmed that Newcastle, Spurs and West Ham United are all circling around Thiaw.

Thiaw is not unhappy at Milan, but whoever is coach at the club next season is key for Thiaw’s future, TBR Football sources understand.

Head coach Sergio Conceicao has had a difficult season, with the club currently ninth in the Serie A table.

What Malick Thiaw could bring to the Premier League

Thiaw has shown great quality and superb potential over the past few years, suggesting he could now be ready for a big move to the Premier League.

In 2023, BILD deemed Thiaw one of the ‘greatest talents in Europe’ and, at just 23 years of age, he already has 83 Milan appearances to his name, plus three Germany caps.

The AC Milan website ran a ‘six things to know about Thiaw’ article after he joined, and they noted how has been compared to Sergio Ramos and Joel Matip.

As per Sempremilan, Thiaw’s one-on-one ability is good, while his ‘ball reading and tactical understanding is of the highest quality’.

In addition, his height and physicality make Thiaw a threat in terms of aerial duels, plus he’s ‘deceptively quick’, proactive in terms of pressing, and a decent passer.