TBR Football

Tottenham Hotspur are assessing their wide options and are interested in Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, TBR Football can exclusively reveal.

Madueke has made 28 appearances under Enzo Maresca at Chelsea this season, scoring eight goals and providing four assists.

And despite enjoying some good spells of form, Chelsea told Madueke that he was playing for his future at the start of the season alongside Christopher Nkunku and Mykhaylo Mudryk – three forwards who have often been in and out of the team.

Now, Chelsea are prepared to let Madueke leave and Tottenham are one of the sides who admire the winger’s skillset, who has now earned five caps for England.

Chelsea are frustrated with Noni Madueke and Tottenham are interested

Graeme Bailey – TBR Football chief correspondent, understands that Chelsea have become increasingly frustrated with former PSV Eindhoven forward, Madueke.

It’s understood that Madueke is now one of a number of players who Chelsea will allow to move on in the summer.

Newcastle United held talks with Chelsea last summer over a number of potential deals and one of those was for Madueke.

Newcastle’s interest remains, but they are not alone – Aston Villa and Spurs also appreciate the England winger.

Villa, who could move on from Leon Bailey this summer, are yet to make a decision on loan stars Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford and a deal for Madueke can’t be ruled out.

Likewise, Tottenham are assessing their wide options and Madueke is a player they have appreciated since before his move to Stamford Bridge.

Enzo Maresca has made his Noni Madueke feelings very clear

On his part, Maresca has questioned Madueke more than once in public this season.

And despite the £30m winger impressing in a win against Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this season, Maresca criticised Madueke for how he ‘stopped playing’.

Speaking after a 3-1 win against Wolves in January, Maresca said: “Yes, he scored a goal but after he scored the goal he stopped playing.

“This has to be something that we need to improve immediately, absolutely.

“Never happy if you score one, two, you go for more and I think after he scored the goal he stopped a little bit playing and that is something we need to improve.”

And should Spurs’ interest develop, perhaps a new challenge under Ange Postecoglou could ultimately prove to be a better fit.

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Tottenham Hotspur are due to hold contract talks with Rodrigo Bentancur amid strong interest from Europe, TBR Football exclusively understands.

As things stand, Bentancur will have one-year left on his Tottenham contract when he reaches the summer, a midfielder who has made 32 appearances under Ange Postecoglou this season.

Bentancur arrived from Juventus for £16m back in 2022, a double-deal that also saw Dejan Kulusevski rock up in north London.

And whilst Spurs could be set for a big summer of investment and change, there is little appetite for losing a player like Bentancur, who’s often leading Postecoglou’s midfield.

Tottenham keen for Rodrigo Bentancur to sign a new deal

That being said, Graeme Bailey – TBR Football chief correspondent, understands that Spurs are ready to start talks with Bentancur over a new deal.

Both Tottenham and Bentancur are happy with each other and plan to assess the situation during talks.

The Uruguayan has won nine major honours in his career to date with both Boca Juniors and Juventus – a tally he’s yet to add to in N17.

And perhaps understandably with just over a year left on his contract, TBR understands that there is ‘significant’ interest from the Serie A in Bentancur.

It is believed that Spurs’ former managing director Fabio Paratici could look to take the Tottenham man to AC Milan, if and when he is confirmed as their new sporting chief.

Paractici has snubbed a return to Tottenham, and could actually become a thorn in their side in the future.

Rodrigo Bentancur’s new role under Ange Postecoglou

Interest from abroad considered, Spurs want Bentancur to stay but his future will depend on how negotiations go.

Tottenham want to give Cristian Romero a new deal too – there’s one or two important situations to sort at the club.

But amid the club’s attempts to keep Bentancur around, it’s worth mentioning that the Uruguayan has taken on more responsibility at the club behind the scenes this season.

Tottenham staff have been impressed by Bentancur’s leadership, a player who should be entering his prime years at 27-years-old.

An important figure at the club, and the kind of player Postecoglou will want to keep around as looks to rebuild Spurs’ fortunes.

Last season Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa were fierce rivals dueling for the final European spots.

However, as Villa have risen into European heavyweights under Unai Emery, Tottenham have unfortunately headed in a different direction.

Spurs’ own European campaign is still going steady, with a two-legged tie against Eintracht Frankfurt to look forward to after the international break.

But in terms of their league position, Ange Postecoglou’s side are down in 14th, having lost 15 Premier League games already this term.

That being said, that hasn’t stopped Villa from spotting a potential signing they could make from Tottenham this summer.

Aston Villa are interested in signing Yves Bissouma from Tottenham

According to Give Me Sport, Villa are considering a move to sign Yves Bissouma – interest that might be welcomed by Spurs.

Tottenham are willing to sell Bissouma according to reports, a midfielder who has had mixed success since his £25m move from Brighton & Hove Albion back in 2022.

According to the report, Bissouma also had offers to return to Ligue 1 this summer when he will have only one year left on his Spurs deal.

But Villa are interested in the Mali international and Emery has already demonstrated this season that he is able to revive the careers of players who are struggling.

Both Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio have been excellent since joining on loan in January for example.

And perhaps at a cut-price deal, Emery might be able to do similar with Bissouma next season, a midfielder who has delivered some excellent performances in N17, albeit without too much consistency to date.

Yves Bissouma could pave the way for Johnny Cardoso at Spurs

Postecoglou is losing patience with Bissouma this season according to reports, something that was evident after a recent defeat to Fulham.

Postecoglou publicly berated Bissouma, and perhaps it would be best for all parties to seek a solution this summer.

In terms of his efforts this season, Bissouma has racked up 35 appearances for Spurs, proving that he would need to be replaced.

Of course, Tottenham might sign Johnny Cardoso who is continuing to impress at Real Betis.

A busy summer ahead of both Spurs and Villa, and were Bissouma to move to Villa Park then it would be a fascinating journey to follow.

In terms of recruiting players in the summer, the one possible hurdle that could stand in Tottenham Hotspur’s way is if they fail to qualify for Europe.

However, that would be easier said than done for a Tottenham side who have been incredibly inconsistent in the league this season.

The hope for Ange Postecoglou is that Spurs could still win the Europa League, an accomplishment that could send a message to all their transfer targets that the Lilywhites’ project is heading in the right direction under him.

Postecoglou must win the Europa League in any case to avoid the sack, with Daniel Levy’s “minimum requirement” for this season being qualification for Europe.

Tottenham are pushing to sign Angel Gomes, a player who is accustomed to rubbing shoulders with the best of the best now after playing in the Champions League and for England.

But Spurs are expected to face competition to sign the former Manchester United midfielder, with Fulham interested in signing Gomes from Lille as well.

The possibility of signing Angel Gomes is one Tottenham would not like to pass up on, considering he looks set to leave France on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Still 24, the silky technician is still not in his prime and has plenty to offer, as demonstrated by his performances for both club and country over the past few years.

Journalist Ben Jacobs told GiveMeSport that even if Tottenham do not qualify for Europe next season, they could still sign Gomes as his decision will not merely hinge on that being a factor coupled with his burning desire to return to England: “Tottenham are interested as well and the player, by all accounts isn’t going to make his decision solely based on who does or doesn’t have European football, which means that if Tottenham don’t get any European football next season, it may not put Gomes off.”

“And I’m told that he’s relatively keen on returning to England as well, so that could give Spurs an advantage.”

Will Yves Bissouma leave if Angel Gomes signs for Tottenham?

If Gomes does end up signing for Tottenham, Spurs fans might be wondering whether his arrival would have any impact on Yves Bissouma’s future.

After all, the Englishman has found success in either a sitting midfield role or as a number eight, two positions whether the former Brighton & Hove Albion man also plays.

Tottenham could sell Bissouma this summer anyway and it seems like his future has no correlation with Gomes’.

However, it could be possible that Spurs view the latter as a possible replacement for the former.

A potential midfield trio of Gomes, Lucas Bergvall and Dejan Kulusevski reads as one that could work incredible well together.

Ben Davies starred for Wales as they beat 3-1 Kazakhstan in the opening game of their qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Davies was paired by former Tottenham Hotspur defender Joe Rodon at centre-back and managed to score as well as provide an assist on Saturday night.

Ben Davies’ endeavour in winning back the ball from inside the opposition box and handing Daniel James a golden opportunity to score was impressive as Wales initially took the lead.

The Spurs defender’s close-range header meant Craig Bellamy’s side went 2-1 up before Rabbi Matondo’s third goal put the game to bed. Recently, Aaron Lennon claimed Davies is “underrated” for Tottenham but the Welsh public must value him highly.

Davies, who Heung-min Son named as his favourite-ever teammate might go under the radar at times but those who play with him seem to rate him highly as both a player and a character.

Welsh media hail ‘solid’ Ben Davies after Wales beat Kazakhstan

Wales boss Craig Bellamy must be relieved that he can still rely on Davies, 31 who is their skipper and has the experience of playing at the highest level — as he proved by stepping up against Kazakhstan.

This Welsh side have plenty of players still looking to prove themselves for both club and country, such as Brennan Johnson and Neco Williams and working with the former Swansea centre-back will help them in their development.

Davies must enjoy the responsibility of being the senior figure in the side, perhaps having learned loads about being a leader from his nation’s previous captains such as Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.

Onto Davies’ display against Kazakhstan, Wales Online handed him an 8/10 match rating and praised him defensive display and goal: “Solid as ever, and produced a marvelous header to put his side back in front.”

Clwb Peldroed also claimed Davies was “solid” and gave him an 8/10 rating: “Davies stepped up with a captain’s goal when they really needed it to ease the pressure around the stadium following a frustrating first half.”

“He was solid defensively and will be frustrated not to keep a clean sheet.”

Ben Davies stats during Wales vs Kazakhstan

The Neath-born defender must appreciate all the praise coming his way and it’s fair to say that it was deserved.

The statistics back up how well Davies fared against Kazakhstan for Wales as well.

The Tottenham man scored and assisted a goal but also managed not to be dribbled past even once, made two clearances and played eight passes into the final third.

Davies’ only complaint might be why he lost two out of his four duels but ultimately, that would be a case of being overtly critical of what was an imposing performance from the Welshman.

Tottenham Hotspur may have had a difficult season, but there’s no denying that there’s some good camaraderie in the club’s dressing room.

Spurs’ players have done the best they can for each other in very trying circumstances, with injuries having decimated the squad at various times of the season.

And while most of the focus around football is on how the players perform on the pitch, it’s nice to find out more about the players themselves and get a more light-hearted view on things.

For instance, Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke was interviewed by Sky Sports and, while many of the questions were about on-pitch matters, there were also some more light-hearted subjects.

Solanke was asked which Spurs teammate he’d least like to be stuck on a desert island with, and had to pick between Richarlison, Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro.

Dominic Solanke says Richarlison would be the player he’d least like to be stuck on a desert island with

Solanke didn’t really hesitate when it came to his pick – he opted for Richarlison, but stressed that this would only be because of the language barrier.

The England international stressed that the £60million man is a “great character” and would also be the most entertaining on the desert island.

“I just think I’d have to go with Richie straight away, just because of the language barrier,” said Solanke.

“He’s a great guy great character but, I think we just run out of stuff to talk about or like just survival we just bit of a crossroads.”

Solanke then put Porro second, saying he’s a “great guy” he gets along with “really well” but “not too sure he’d bring enough”.

Van de Ven was Solanke’s pick for the player he’d most like to be stuck on a desert island with.

“I think me and Micky could do more to to get out of the situation we’re in,” said Solanke.

“Richy’s a great character for sure. but like I said. we’d just be a bit lost like trying to explain stuff – it just wouldn’t work!”

Which Tottenham player Dominic Solanke thinks would make the best James Bond

There was another light-hearted question for Solanke, namely which Tottenham player he feels would make the best James Bond.

He had to pick between himself, Lucas Bergvall and Son Heung-min, and he opted for the Spurs captain in top spot.

“I’ll put Sonny at one.” he said. “Like, even from the picture he just looks like a Bond, obviously a cool calm guy, so I’ll go with him number one.”

Solanke then placed himself in second place, while Bergvall took third and last spot.

When asked what Bergvall would make of being at the bottom, Solanke joked: “I don’t know, he might be a bit annoyed about it.

“But to be fair, if he was in a black suit it might save my judgment but, in a bright blue suit…”.

Heung-Min Son has seen some incredible players come and go at Tottenham over the years.

Indeed, Son has played through numerous eras at Spurs and he’s seen some of his best teammates leave the club over the years.

Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembele have all left Tottenham in recent years, and all three players are missed at Spurs in their own ways.

However, of course, the most upsetting departure at Tottenham in recent times was the sale of Harry Kane.

Kane left Tottenham to join Bayern Munich last summer, and speaking to Goal, Heung-Min Son has been discussing his former Spurs teammate.

Heung-Min Son still misses Harry Kane

Son spoke about Kane when asked to name the most intelligent player he’s ever played with.

Son said that he used to love playing with Kane and that he still misses him to this day.

Kane and Son still have a great relationship. In fact, Kane hailed Son as one of the best strikers around last year.

“Who is the most intelligent player you have played with” Son was asked.

“Harry Kane,” Son said.

“That duo,” The host said.

“Dude, that duo was fun, so I still miss him, so,” Son said.

Heung-Min Son’s record alongside Harry Kane

Son and Kane were one of the best partnerships in football for a long time at Tottenham.

Indeed, these two had a telepathic understanding of one another on the pitch, and they also had the talent to turn that understanding into goals.

Son and Kane were simply unbelievable together, and it’s not a coincidence that just 18 months after Kane’s departure, Spurs sit 15th in the Premier League table.

Kane was described as ‘underrated’ during his time at Tottenham, and while that sounded ludicrous at the time, Spurs’ results since his departure suggests that he was indeed underrated.

As for Son, unfortunately, the Korean’s form has dropped off since Kane’s departure too.

Indeed, Son has been heavily criticised this season, and there have even been calls for Son to be sold in recent times.

Son and Kane will undoubtedly go down as two of the best attackers in Tottenham’s history, and Spurs may never have an attacking partnership this potent ever again.

Tottenham Hotspur may soon be looking for a new manager.

Indeed, Ange Postecoglou is under pressure at Spurs right now, and with Tottenham sat 15th in the Premier League, history suggests that Postecoglou may not have long left.

Spurs managers in the past have been sacked for much less.

Mauricio Pochettino made headlines this week as Pochettino said that he wants to return to Tottenham at some point.

Inevitably, some fans began to get a bit giddy about the idea of Pochettino returning to Tottenham, but according to Jack Pitt-Brooke and James Maw, speaking on The View From The Lane, Pochettino won’t be returning to Tottenham anytime soon.

Mauricio Pochettino return won’t happen anytime soon

Maw and Pitt-Brooke spoke about the idea of Pochettino returning to Tottenham in the near future.

Both men said that there’s no chance of this happening, due to the fact the Argentine is preparing to take the USA into the 2026 World Cup, so he will be tied up for at least another two seasons.

Pochettino still speaks to Daniel Levy, but it would appear a return isn’t on the cards.

“So it wouldn’t really be an ideal situation for him to be manager of any club team working on that calendar in 26/27 either. So you’re probably talking about Mauricio Pochettino, the earliest he could return as manager is when whoever is manager at the start of the season after next leaves the club. And that could be, we could be two or three managers down by that point,” Maw said.

“Yeah, I think the chances of him, I know a lot of people have asked like, do you reckon he can job share with the US? Or do you think he can, can he just take over this summer? Like the chance of Poch not being the US manager at the World Cup are zero, like they’re just absolutely zero,” Pitt-Brooke said.

“For him, like coaching the US at the World Cup is such a huge thing. Like it’s such a rare privilege to coach a host nation at a World Cup.”

Managers who have had two jobs at once

As Pitt-Brooke says, there’s no chance that Pochettino will take on the challenge of managing Tottenham and the USA simultaneously.

However, there have been some rare cases where managers have taken charge of national teams and club sides at the same time.

Guus Hiddink managed Chelsea and Russia at the same time back in the 2000s, while in the 1980s, Alex Ferguson was in charge of both Scotland and Aberdeen for a period.

More recently, Leonid Slutskiy managed both Hull City, while a much lesser-known example is Billy Bingham managing both Northern Ireland and Plymouth Argyle at the same time.

For obvious reasons, job sharing isn’t a common occurrence in management, but, on the odd occasion it has happened – albeit, it hasn’t worked very well.

Tottenham Hotspur may have had a difficult season, but the groundwork is being laid to ensure the team can go on to new heights over the coming years.

Injuries have massively disrupted Spurs’ campaign, with Ange Postecoglou having been without his strongest XI for much of the season.

However, there’s no doubting that Tottenham have some great players in their ranks, along with some exciting youngsters who could grow into stars.

Dejan Kulusevski is one such player, the Sweden international shining for Spurs time and time again.

Stats have now emerged showing Kulusevski leads the way in one particular Premier League metric this season.

Indeed, the Tottenham star is above the likes of Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva and Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali in this category.

Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski has covered the most ground per Premier League game this season

With the March international bringing a halt to Premier League proceedings, it’s a time to take stock of everything that has happened domestically.

Opta Analyst have published an article featuring the statistics involving speed and distance in the Premier League this season.

Unsurprisingly, Tottenham star Micky van de Ven has clocked up the highest speed, at 37.1km/h, but he wasn’t the only Spurs player to lead a particular chart.

Kulusevski topped the stats table when it came to ground covered by a regular starter (minimum 1,500 minutes) per game.

The “Premier League’s Marathon Man” registered an impressive 12.3km per Premier League match this season.

Kulusevski leads the way ahead of West Ham’s Tomas Soucek and Newcastle’s Tonali (12.2km per game), who shone in the League Cup final and for Italy against Germany.

He is also ahead of Man City’s Silva (11.9km per game) and Southampton’s Flynn Downes (11.6km per game).

Other things Dejan Kulusevski excels at

Along with showing impressive stamina and covering every blade of grass in games, Kulusevski also ranks highly in a number of other metrics.

Over the past 365 days, Kulusevski’s efforts for Tottenham have seen him ranked in high percentiles for shot-creating actions, progressive passes and carries, touches in the opposition box, and defensive actions.

At just 24 years of age, Kulusevski is yet to enter his prime and it’ll be exciting to see how he continues to develop at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Kulusevski was surplus to requirements at Juventus but now he’s shining at Spurs, so the Italians’ loss is the north Londoners’ gain.