TBR Football

Mauricio Pochettino has been in the headlines in connection to Tottenham again this week.

Indeed, Pochettino publicly said he wants to come back to Tottenham one day, and there has been some excitement brewing about Pochettino getting the Spurs job.

Ange Postecoglou is under pressure at the moment, and the fires were further stoked by an image on social media that did the rounds of Daniel Levy and Pochettino together at a café.

It’s unclear whether that photo is new or if it’s an old image that has resurfaced.

However, according to Jack Pitt-Brooke, speaking on The View from The Lane, Pochettino does still spend a lot of time in London, while he’s also in contact with Daniel Levy on a semi-regular basis.

Mauricio Pochettino still speaks to Daniel Levy

Pitt-Brooke shared what he knows about Pochettino and his relationship with Daniel Levy as things stand.

Pochettino wanted the Tottenham job before Ange Postecoglou was appointed.

However, Levy never even called Pochettino at that time, hence why he went to Chelsea instead.

“Ok, clear up something else for me because of course the internet, which started out as a source of information, is now, you know, the thing that confuses us more than anything. This photograph of Pochettino and Daniel Levy outside, is it called Limes or Lines in Hadley Wood, a coffee bar in Hadley Wood in their puffer jackets?” The host asked..

“Everyone was going crazy about it on social media, saying here they are organizing this, organizing that. Am I gone mad, was that picture not around a year ago, or was that a different coffee shop and a different day?”

Jay Harris replied saying it was unclear whether the image was new, while Pitt-Brooke then shared some insight into Pochettino and how much time he spends is London as well as his relationship with Daniel Levy.

“But he’s in London a lot. He’s got a house in London. He kind of divides his time between London and Barcelona and Atlanta, where I think the US team are based.

“He’s going to come to games quite a lot in Europe. I know obviously some people see that and think, what is he negotiating to get the job? If he was actually in negotiations to get the Tottenham job.

“Do you think he’d be doing it in a cafe in North London?

“He wouldn’t be doing it over an oat milk latte in Hadley Wood. It just wouldn’t work that way. But also Pochettino has said that he talks to Daniel Levy.

“He’s still got a good relationship with Levy. So I know it’s obviously the photos have certainly got people talking and I get that. But I wouldn’t extrapolate too much from the existence of the photo.

“All the photo says to me is that they’re still talking.”

Ange Postecoglou compared to Mauricio Pochettino

Whether or not Pochettino is in line for a return to Tottenham is unclear, but, one thing is for sure, he did a better job first time around than Ange Postecoglou has been doing in recent times.

Indeed, Postecoglou has taken Tottenham to their lowest ebb in decades. Spurs sit 15th in the Premier League at the moment, and they’re not going to win a domestic trophy this season either.

The stats show that Pochettino was a better manager for Spurs than Postecoglou currently is.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Destiny Udogie started for Italy in their defeat to Germany in the Nations League.

The 22-year-old is an immensely talented footballer. He became a fan favourite at Spurs in his first few months at the club last season and is still adored there.

Udogie has earned 10 senior caps for Italy as well, the latest of which ended in defeat against Germany at the San Siro on Thursday night.

The Tottenham defender, sadly for him, did not do enough.

Italian media react to Destiny Udogie’s performance vs Germany

Udogie has had an injury-hit campaign.

After missing the end of last season and Euro 2024 due to a hamstring issue, Udogie was made to play almost every single game for Tottenham until the end of December.

That took its toll, and the Italian suffered another hamstring injury, which kept him out for about a month.

After starting three of Spurs’ last four games in the Premier League, Udogie joined up with his international teammates and was given a start against Germany.

The young defender wasn’t awful by any means, but he failed to show the world that he deserves to play ahead of the brilliant Federico Dimarco.

CalcioMercato wrote about Udogie: “He covers the flank less diligently than Politano, and Spalletti often calls him back. He wasn’t having a great evening but he came close to scoring the 2-1 with a header.”

FC Inter 1908 added: “Udogie does little to avoid regrets over the absence of Federico Dimarco. The gap between him and the Inter wing-back is clear, especially in this type of system.”

Corriere della Serra said: “Replacing Dimarco is not easy, but Udogie is a bit shy in pushing and is not always reactive in coverage.”

All three Italian outlets gave Udogie a rating of 5.5/10.

Destiny Udogie’s stats vs Germany

Udogie wouldn’t be too happy with his performance.

The Italian often impresses in attack in Ange Postecoglou’s system at Tottenham, but Luciano Spalletti’s style of play has not been easy for him.

His numbers show that.

Udogie is capable of a lot more and he will know that.

The Italian should be doing a lot better than having a 40-per cent dribble success rate. His pace should help him get past players much more often.

If he gets a chance against Germany on Sunday, he will have to fare better to have any chance of becoming a regular starter for the Azzurri.

Harry Redknapp has voiced some strong opinions on the current state of Tottenham.

The man from Poplar guided Tottenham back into the UEFA Champions League in the 2009/10 campaign – winning the Premier League Manager of the Season award – while playing an exciting brand of football.

Such is his confidence, Redknapp thinks he would easily win the UEFA Europe League if he was at Spurs instead of Ange Postecoglou this season.

Interestingly, Harry Redknapp also doesn’t seem to rate the current Tottenham squad by any means.

Harry Redknapp puts Aaron Lennon ahead of Brennan Johnson, overlooking ten others too

Speaking to WeAreTottenhamTV, the Londoner was asked to select between the best Tottenham XI he managed, and the current XI, from each position.

Tellingly, Redknapp did not choose a single one of Postecoglou’s men – aside from Cristian Romero over Michael Dawson, before backtracking.

One of the 78-year-old’s most interesting choices, however, was Aaron Lennon over Brennan Johnson.

Redknapp – who slammed Romero – paused for a bit, before stating: “I would have to go with Aaron Lennon.”

That speaks volumes when you consider Spurs signed Lennon from Leeds for just £1m back in June 2005, whereas Johnson cost Tottenham £47m.

Even in today’s money taking inflation into account, that £1m deal would only cost Spurs £5.4m – making it a proper bargain whatever the time period.

How Aaron Lennon compares to Brennan Johnson statistically at Tottenham

While Lennon arguably excited Spurs fans more than Johnson does, the Wales international is only 11 goals away from the Englishman in almost 300 fewer appearances.

Johnson can boast 19 goals and 13 assists in 73 games for Tottenham.

In regards to Lennon, the man from Chapeltown scored 30 goals and provided 77 assists in 364 appearances.

Therefore, you could argue Johnson is more efficient than Lennon, although there are surely few who can argue the Spurs No.22 is more entertaining than the £1m signing from Leeds was across those 364 usually electric displays.

After such a miserable 2024/25 campaign, Tottenham need to make changes this summer.

Ange Postecoglou currently has Spurs sitting 14th in the Premier League – with Tottenham heading for their worst league finish since the 2007/08 campaign, when they ended in 11th.

Daniel Levy spent some cash in the winter transfer window to try and improve the situation, parting with £12m to sign Antonin Kinsky and a £6.5m loan fee for Mathys Tel.

Now, however, a £30m bid has been made to sign Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves, who Nuno Espirito Santo admires, as Tottenham look to make a signing as soon as the summer transfer window opens.

What Nuno Espirito Santo has previously said about Rayan Ait-Nouri

It was Africa Foot who claimed that Tottenham have bid for Ait-Nouri, an Algeria international.

The Wolves No.3 has shone so far this season despite his side sitting 17th in the Premier League, scoring three goals while also providing five assists in 28 appearances from left-back.

Interestingly, Tottenham also wanted Ait-Nouri in 2021 while Antonio Conte was at the helm, so he could be considered a long-term target for Spurs.

Nuno – who Spurs replaced with Conte – worked closely alongside the Algerian at Wolves, where he was left very impressed.

The man who now has Nottingham Forest sat third told the Birmingham Mail in 2020: “He has talent. I’m really happy for him, everyone is. He’s 19, comes to a new country and in his first game in the Premier League was able to score and help the team.

“He’s good on the ball and can find good lines. He has to get used to the Premier League, the physicality, the shape of the team defensively.”

Djed Spence could become a permanent right-back if Rayan Ait-Nouri deal materialises for Tottenham

Postecoglou has been using Djed Spence on the left more than the right of defence this season, despite the Londoner being a right-back by trade.

With Destiny Udogie already at Spurs, signing Ait-Nouri would mean the north Londoners have three options in that department, unless Spence is moved back to the right on a permanent basis.

That is what we believe will happen, should a move for the 23-year-old Wolves star materialise this summer, meaning Postecoglou can have competition for Pedro Porro and competition for Udogie on both sides.

Harry Redknapp knows Tottenham Hotspur as well as anybody.

The legendary English manager spent nearly four years as the Spurs boss back in the day. He had them competing for the top four at the time before he was shown the door in 2012.

Some would argue that Tottenham have a better team now than they did back then, but Redknapp was never 14th in the Premier League nor did he ever lose 15 top-flight games in a season at Spurs.

The 78-year-old has now shared his opinion on some of Tottenham’s current players compared to those he had at his disposal over a decade ago.

Something thing he said about one of Spurs’ key stars caught our eye.

Harry Redknapp says Cristian Romero is ‘crazy’ and ‘unreliable’

Cristian Romero has been at Tottenham since the summer of 2021.

The Argentina international initially joined the club on loan and became a big hit among the fans. His move was made permanent in the following year, and he has been a key player since.

Romero, on his day, is a very good defender, but he has a lot of flaws.

The 26-year-old can be reckless at times and often concedes needless fouls. He has been sent off on four occasions as well at Spurs and has been lucky to stay on the pitch in a few games.

Redknapp was asked to pick between Romero and Michael Dawson in a video released by We Are Tottenham TV, and the 78-year-old initially went with the Argentine.

“Michael Dawson was a fantastic professional, great guy, great goal. Romero is a World Cup winner. He’s a bit crazy, isn’t he? Unreliable, gets sent off, kicks people.

“Difficult one, I can’t keep picking all my players, I love Michael Dawson, I’d have him in any team, but I’ll go Romero.”

But, after picking the rest of the team including Rafael van der Vaart over James Maddison, Redknapp went back to Dawson and said: “Sorry Michael Dawson, I’m putting Michael Dawson back in.

“Sorry Michael, Michael’s back in, I can’t leave him out. I love Michael Dawson. I’m having all my eleven, I don’t want that other team.”

Tottenham could make a brutal Cristian Romero decision soon

Romero has had a season to forget at Tottenham.

The 26-year-old has missed over 100 days of football due to injuries this term, and even when he has played, he hasn’t looked at his best.

The defender will enter the final two years of his contract this summer, and Spurs have been interested in extending his deal.

But, with no agreement close, reports have claimed that Tottenham and Daniel Levy are ready to sell Romero at the end of this season if he doesn’t pen a new deal.

It remains to be seen what Romero will do in the next few months.

The seemingly never-ending debate surrounding Tottenham Hotspur is whether they should keep Ange Postecoglou or sack him and will likely continue until he well and truly turns things around in N17.

For Daniel Levy, both decisions at hand are difficult to take. On one hand, Spurs play a distinct style of play under Ange Postecoglou and during the Australian’s leadership, they finished fifth in the Premier League during his debut campaign and reached the semi-final of the Carabao Cup this season.

But on the other hand, Tottenham perhaps cannot keep giving chances to Postecoglou as his Lilywhites side are 14th in the league.

Ange Postecoglou’s job is safe at Tottenham for now as Daniel Levy has not lost his patience with the former Celtic boss as his side are still in contention to win the Europa League.

But if Postecoglou and Tottenham are knocked out of the Europa League quarter-finals by Eintracht Frankfurt, Levy might have a big decision to make about his future.

One stat might make Ange Postecoglou sack a no-brainer for Tottenham

Tottenham’s players are still on Ange Postecoglou’s side and the environment within the dressing room has not turned as toxic as it did under previous managers such as Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho.

But football is a results business and the North Londoners must be mindful that they are heading in the right decision.

What will worry not just Ange Postecoglou but the chiefs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is that they have the third-lowest points (44) out of any team in their last 38 Premier League games — only behind Wolves (31) and West Ham (43).

Postecoglou cannot deny that despite the barrage of injuries they have suffered this season, the fact of the matter is that a points tally of 44 over 38 league matches is sufficient evidence that his side have been far from good enough.

The former Celtic boss has tried to alter his style of play, with Pep Guardiola noting Tottenham are more conservative nowadays but the numbers don’t lie and make for grim reading for the 59-year-old’s future. Unless Ange Postecoglou manages to win the Europa League, the decision-makers at Tottenham might have no choice but to sack him as Spurs’ form over the past 38 league outings is that of a relegation-battling side.

After all, regardless of how he fares, the North Londoners are set to undertake a season review about the veteran’s future at the end of the current campaign, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

The manager Tottenham want to appoint if they sack Postecoglou

The managerial market in the Premier League and across European football makes for an exciting one for any club on the prowl for a new head coach.

Much like Ange Postecoglou’s reputation at Celtic, there are several up-and-coming managers whose stocks are an all-time high and are doing tremendous jobs elsewhere.

One of them is AFC Bournemouth boss Andona Iraola, who is Tottenham’s dream target if they decide to part ways with Postecoglou.

Mauricio Pochettino has been speaking about making a potential return to Tottenham Hotspur and the North London club have already been told how much it would cost to buy him out of his contract with the United States.

Ange Postecoglou is under pressure to turn Tottenham’s form around with the team having suffered 15 Premier League defeats this term, their most since the 2008/09 season.

Amid the pressure on the Postecoglou, Pochettino has admitted he would love to return to Tottenham almost six years on from his dismissal after the 2019 Champions League final disappointment.

But in order to do so, Spurs would need to fork out a hefty fee to buy him out of his contract with the United States national team.

How much would Tottenham need to pay for Mauricio Pochettino

Tottenham Hotspur would have to pay around £15 million to buy Mauricio Pochettino out of his contract with the United States national team, ESPN journalist Jeff Carlisle revealed back in September 2024.

TBR Football understands Tottenham are reluctant to pay Marco Silva’s £8 million release clause at Fulham, therefore, it seems unlikely they would pay double to get Pochettino.

Speaking after the 53-year-old’s appointment last September, Carlisle told ESPN FC: “I was able to confirm that it does exist, a federation source told me that it’s in the, quote, ‘tens of millions’, unquote, so I interpret that to be 20 million at least.

“I can think of some entities out there that in the soccer with whom 20 million would not be an impediment at all trying to wrestle away Mauricio Pochettino, but it could be more than that.”

Tottenham’s squad could be perfect for Mauricio Pochettino

One thing Pochettino has proved throughout his managerial career is that he is great at developing young players.

The Argentine managed to nurture the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose and Son Heung-min into top talents at Tottenham.

The Lilywhites now have a very talented young squad that needs a manager who will be able to get the best out of them.

Tottenham have a strong list of young talents coming through at Hotspur Way and Pochettino could be the perfect man to help them reach their full potential.

In total, Carlos Tevez faced Tottenham Hotspur 15 times whilst he was playing in England, scoring against Spurs only three times.

Tevez had an excellent record in England with West Ham United and Manchester United and Manchester City, but he evidently never enjoyed too much success against Tottenham.

In fact, after losing to Spurs 3-0 with Manchester City in 2009 at White Hart Lane, Tevez came away from the game seriously impressed with one member of Spurs’ back line, Michael Dawson.

Later on in the season in 2010, Tevez reflected on playing against Dawson in that defeat and labelled the defender as ‘very strong’.

Dawson was playing in a back four that also contained Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Sebastien Bassong and Vedran Corluka – but it was the Englishman who stood out.

Carlos Tevez couldn’t believe that Michael Dawson didn’t play more often for England

Speaking about his match up with Dawson in 2010, Tevez actually seemed perplexed that the defender didn’t play more often for England.

Tevez said: “We lost 3-0 and he didn’t let me into the game.

“I know he doesn’t play for England, but he is the best English defender I have played against – very strong.”

In total, before retiring in 2021, Dawson only earned a total of four caps for his country, which did actually come at around that time.

The Tottenham defender, who eventually joined Hull City for £3.5m in 2014, earned his caps under Fabio Capello and predominantly played alongside Chelsea’s John Terry in England’s defence.

Michael Dawson named the best strikers he ever faced

Speaking to the Guardian a few years after Tevez’s comments, Dawson was asked about those words and was in turn told to name the best strikers he’d ever had to deal with.

Dawson named the best defender in Premier League history recently, but in terms of the best striker he had faced, the former Spurs captain found it a little harder.

He said: “That’s very high praise from a top player like Carlos; when you play against him you never get a minute’s rest because he’s in around you all the time.

“I think it would be unfair of me to name any one player in the Premier League as a particularly difficult opponent, because there’s so many quality strikers.

“Ade [Emmanuel Adebayor] used to cause us all sorts of problems when he played for Arsenal, the likes of Wayne Rooney … Didier Drogba … I’ve played against JD [Jermain Defoe] before and he’s top-class … I played against Louis Saha last night and he’s another top player.

“When you’re playing against these guys week in and week out, you’ve got to be on top of your game all the time.”

A formidable list of players, but one that Tevez didn’t quite make it on himself.

For a while now there’s been unrest among a certain proportion of Tottenham Hotspur supporters towards the club’s ownership.

Tottenham fans have protested against Levy and ENIC and voiced their displeasure about the perceived lack of on-the-pitch ambition at the club.

Levy and his team have undoubtedly put Spurs in a strong position financially with their decisions over the last decade or so, but numerous top quality managers have come and gone from the dugout, with most leaving rather unsatisfied.

Therefore, when Amanda Staveley was linked with buying into Tottenham last summer, it caused a lot of excitement around N17.

Staveley was said to have raised around £500m through her PCP Capital Partners investment firm and was being heavily linked with Spurs.

Amanda Staveley wanted to bring Dougie Freedman to Tottenham

As it stands, it seems as if all options are still on the table for Tottenham when it comes to Staveley’s potential investment, but it could take years for something to shake out.

That being said, new information from The Times would suggest that Staveley has just faced one blow to her potential plans for Spurs moving forward, should any investment happen.

According to the report, Staveley was keen on hiring Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman should she succeed in raising funds for a takeover at Spurs.

The former Newcastle co-owner and executive had clearly been impressed by Freedman’s work in south London, however, the Englishman would now be off-limits to Spurs.

Sadly for Palace, and potentially even Tottenham, Freedman is now set to join Saudi Arabia second division side Al-Diriyah as sporting director.

Of course, it’s worth noting that Freedman was also heavily linked with a role at Newcastle last season.

Dougie Freedman’s best signings at Crystal Palace

On their part, Palace are already looking at Freedman replacements, with one name already prevailing.

Freedman has had a ton of success at Palace and since he returned to the club in 2017 it was his decision to change strategy in an attempt to bring younger players to the club.

Freedman is credited with securing deals for the likes of Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise, Marc Guehi and Adam Wharton – a supremely talented quartet.

Of course, Tottenham made a bid for Guehi towards the end of the January transfer window, one that was quickly rebuffed.

Cristian Romero was withdrawn after 68 minutes in Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat to Fulham as the Argentine continues his comeback from injury.

Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 2-0 away at Craven Cottage with both goals coming after Romero was taken off the pitch just after the hour mark.

Romero looked uncomfortable following a blocked attempt he made after just 34 minutes and there was some concern he may have to come off.

The 26-year-old ended up staying on the field for another half hour but was eventually withdrawn, which left Tottenham fans concerned about another injury.

Cristian Romero’s substitution after 68 minutes vs Fulham was planned

Argentinian journalist Gaston Edul has revealed that Cristian Romero has not suffered a new injury and his withdrawal after 68 minutes was a planned substitution.

As mentioned, the Spurs defender did not look comfortable after making a block just past the half hour mark and again when he came off.

However, the Argentine international is fine and he is expected to join up with his international colleagues very soon for World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Uruguay.

Edul revealed on X: “Cuti Romero is not injured. It was rumoured he would play 60 minutes, as he played three games in ten days after months of inactivity. He will soon travel to Argentina to join the national team.”

Tottenham fans were unhappy Ange Postecoglou took off Romero and kept Micky van de Ven on the bench as it left Archie Gray and Ben Davies as the two central defenders.

The Lilywhites looked considerably weaker in defence after Romero was withdrawn and both of Fulham’s goals came after he went off.

What Cristian Romero said after Tottenham’s defeat to Fulham

Speaking on social media after the match, Romero revealed that Tottenham players are not happy with the situation and are working hard to fix it.

The defeat leaves them in 14th place in the Premier League table and European qualification looking increasingly unlikely to happen through the league.

The Tottenham vice captain has urged everyone at the football club to ‘stick together’ after suffering a 15th Premier League defeat of the season.