TBR Football

TBR Football understands that FC Barcelona are leading the race to sign Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah ahead of Manchester United and Tottenham.

Tah is expected to leave Leverkusen in the summer on a free transfer and many of Europe’s biggest clubs are hot on his trail.

The 28-year-old is seen as one of the top performers in the German top flight having helped lead Xabi Alonso’s team to the Bundesliga title last season.

Tah has also become a key player for the German national team under Julian Nagelsmann having started every game, except the Round of 16, at Euro 2024.

Several Premier League clubs are keeping tabs on the defender, however, they are all set to face strong competition from the Catalan giants.

Tottenham and Manchester United keen on Jonathan Tah

Now the January window has closed, things are expected to advance in the coming weeks with Jonathan Tah, sources have told TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey.

TBR Football previously revealed that United, Chelsea and Tottenham all had an interest in Tah and the Premier League trio are all being kept informed about his situation.

Sources have also confirmed to TBR Football that Newcastle, Aston Villa and West Ham have also made enquiries about Tah – who is seen as one of the Bundesliga’s top performers.

However, the current favourites to land Tah this summer are Barcelona with German manager Hansi Flick pushing to bring him to Catalunya.

The former Bayern Munich boss is keen for the Leverkusen defender to join him having failed to land him last summer despite lengthy talks.

Tah is set to bring a curtain down on an illustrious career with the German club having joined from Hamburg almost 10 years ago.

Jonathan Tah’s impressive Bundesliga stats this season

The German international has started every game bar one for Leverkusen this season with the German champions currently undefeated since matchday two.

When he is on the field Leverkusen have averaged a goal conceded every 72 minutes and have kept three clean sheets in total.

Tah also has two goals and one assist to his name in 20 Bundesliga appearances this campaign highlighting his threat in front of goal from centre-back.

Tottenham Hotspur are having the worst season they’ve had for a long time.

Indeed, Spurs are in a terrible situation right now. Tottenham sit 14th in the Premier League and over the past week, they’ve also been eliminated from both cup competitions.

Tottenham are still backing Ange Postecoglou, and many believe that Spurs’ problems are down to their lengthy injury list.

While Spurs’ injury list makes for grim reading, for some, it’s still not an excuse for poor performances.

Indeed, speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, Phil Thompson has been discussing Spurs’ issues, and he’s pointed towards Heung-Min Son as a potential problem player.

Heung-Min Son is a problem player at Tottenham

Thompson spoke about Spurs’ struggles.

The pundit suggested that some players are no longer listening to Ange Postecoglou, claiming that Son is the main culprit here.

Indeed, Thompson says that Son has really declined, stating that he looks short of energy, passion and commitment at the moment.

“So I think them with Ange has been a thing. I do think it’s always hard when you get so many injuries and when they keep on coming and it’s hard. But I look at some of his players who seem to have lost their way, are they not listening to Ange anymore?” Thompson said.

“The biggest one is Son. What has happened to him at that point? He was a match-winner.

“He was full of energy. And this season, it’s not just in these last couple of months. He has looked so short of it.

“He looks as though he’s not got the passion, the commitment, the ability anymore. Doesn’t look as though he’s got that pace. And he’s the one who just is what Tottenham have been all about this year.”

Heung-Min Son record under different managers

Thompson reckons Son may have stopped listening to Postecoglou, but that does seem like a harsh verdict on the £22m man.

Indeed, when you compare Son’s record under Postecoglou to his record under other managers, he seems to be doing just as well under the Australian.

Of course, Son’s stats from this season aren’t exactly up to his high standards, and, as Thompson says, this is an emerging problem rather than a long-term thing.

It’s hard to believe that a player like Son would down tools for a manager. After all, Son has always been a real professional in training.

The more likely issue here is simply age. Son turns 33 in a few months’ time, and, it’s natural for any footballer to begin to decline at that point.

Tottenham Hotspur’s season has taken a turn for the worse as they now find themselves out of both domestic cups as well as in the lower reaches of the Premier League table.

Spurs would have been hoping for the domestic cups to serve as a distraction from their current Premier League position of 14th in the table.

However, Tottenham ended up being eliminated from the League Cup last Thursday before then going out of the FA Cup at Aston Villa.

Spurs’ poor form has led to increasing criticism of the manager, with the likes of Jamie O’Hara saying Ange Postecoglou was now ‘out of his depth’.

Sam Allardyce has now delivered a brutal verdict on Postecoglou as he shared one way he could get back on track at Tottenham.

Sam Allardyce tells Ange Postecoglou to let go of attacking approach for now

Sam Allardyce has noted how there have been managers who have been sacked a lot more quickly than Ange Postecoglou, and in wake of results not being as bad.

The veteran coach has also claimed that, while Tottenham’s injuries have been bad, “you can only hide” behind that for so long.

Allardyce believes managers need to “do the right thing for the team” and put aside a style of play they are “hell-bent” on achieving in pursuit of pragmatism.

“Managers have gone a lot quicker than Ange, and not done as bad as his results,” Allardyce said on No Tippy Tappy Football.

“And sadly you can only hide behind injuries for so long, irrespective of how much it’s affecting the team and how difficult it is to get through that period.

“You’ve got to find a way to get results, and I think that as the game is today, his inability to change – and to provide a way of playing to win – is much more important than the style of play, and he doesn’t seem to accept that.

“Many coaches seem to be hellbent on one style only. There comes a time when that has to be put to one side to do the right thing for the team, to win a game of football, until you can get back to what you really want to do if that’s how you want to you want to go.

“So, in being more pragmatic in terms of how he approaches a game – his responsibility in saying ‘we’re going to be different in how we play’ and tell the players ‘this is how we’re going to set up because this team, we’re playing their strengths, need to be nullified, and we need to try and expose the weaknesses’.

“It needs some work and needs some understanding from him onto the players. And that way you win a game of football and then the pressure comes off.”

What has been said about Postecoglou future at Tottenham

Tottenham have been keeping the faith in Postecoglou throughout the season despite their campaign going from bad to worse.

For instance, Daniel Levy wasn’t planning to sack Postecoglou even after his side lost 2-1 to Leicester City.

Likewise, Postecoglou was not set to be sacked despite Spurs’ humiliating 4-0 defeat against Liverpool.

Now, Fabrizio Romano has reported that, should Tottenham lose to Manchester United, it still isn’t likely to prompt Postecoglou’s immediate dismissal.

“At the moment, there are still no indications of changes at Spurs,” wrote Romano.

“Of course, no one is happy with the current situation, but no indication of imminent changes. Let’s see in the next few days and after the next games.”

Fans of neither Manchester United nor Tottenham Hotspur are happy with their owners right now.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought 27.7 per cent of the Red Devils in February 2024 and he increased his stake at the club to 28.94 per cent in December.

Tottenham, on the other hand, have been under the same ownership for over two decades, with Daniel Levy, the chairman, owning a 29.4 per cent stake in ENIC International Limited, who own around 86.58 per cent of Spurs.

That makes Levy a minority stake-holder of Tottenham, but he is often at the end of serious criticism from Spurs supporters for the way he runs the club.

However, Paul Scholes feels he hasn’t done a lot wrong.

Paul Scholes says he would take Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy at Manchester United

Both Tottenham and Manchester United have had terrible seasons so far.

Spurs are currently 14th in the Premier League table, while the Red Devils are a place and two points ahead of the North Londoners.

Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim have both come under criticism in recent months, but most of the anger has been directed at the owners.

Spurs fans, in particular, are furious with Levy for the way he has run the club on the pitch. No trophies in almost 17 years is absolutely unacceptable for a club of that size.

However, Scholes can’t see any problem with Levy and has suggested that he would happily take him at Manchester United.

While listening to all the complaints about Levy, Scholes said on The Overlap: “What is Daniel Levy doing so badly? You’ve come a long way.

“Stadium, training ground, the business side of it… I know that needs to catch up on the pitch, but I don’t think it’s for the want of not trying.”

The Manchester United legend then added: “You know what? I wouldn’t mind Daniel Levy at our club now.”

What would Daniel Levy bring to Manchester United?

Firstly, let us make it clear that Levy is not going to sell his stake at Tottenham and go to Manchester United – it’s just not going to happen.

Spurs fans have been trying to get him to leave for years, but they have been unsuccessful. That isn’t expected to change anytime soon either.

However, if by some miracle Levy ends up calling the shots at Manchester United, the Red Devils’ dreams of a new stadium will be in good hands as the Spurs chairman has already overseen that transition from White Hart Lane to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The business side of things at United will be in a very healthy position too.

But, Levy has led Tottenham to just one trophy in nearly 25 years, and although there have been occasional improvements on the pitch, nothing has led to greatness.

There’s every chance that will happen at United as well if Levy is at the helm there.

Tottenham Hotspur’s season continues to go from bad to worse as they’re now out of both domestic cups as well as struggling in the Premier League table.

Spurs were knocked out of the League Cup in midweek after losing 4-1 to Liverpool on aggregate before also exiting the FA Cup at the weekend.

Tottenham lost 2-1 to Aston Villa, with Jacob Ramsey opening the scoring for the hosts before Morgan Rogers made it 2-0 just after the hour.

Spurs newcomer Mathys Tel netted what turned out to be a consolation for the visitors as Villa reached the fifth round at their expense.

Another new Tottenham signing, Antonin Kinsky, had a mixed day at Villa Park.

The Czech goalkeeper made a big mistake for Villa’s opener but then helped keep Spurs in the game with a string of saves.

Mark Schwarzer, one of the Premier League’s most iconic goalkeepers, has now given his verdict on Kinsky.

Mark Schwarzer likes what he’s seen from Tottenham’s Antonin Kinsky so far

Schwarzer, speaking on the Seaman Says podcast, acknowledges that Kinsky’s mistake was “terrible”.

However, the Premier League icon stressed that Kinsky is a young player who’s just moved to a big club where there’s a lot of pressure amid poor results.

And despite the error, Schwarzer insists he likes what he’s seen from the Spurs gem so far, echoing what Michel Vorm recently said about Kinsky.

“Terrible,” Schwarzer said of Kinsky’s error. “Obviously it’s a mistake.

“I think it’s one of those ones where obviously, he’s very young, he’s just come in, it’s a big step up for him, it’s a big environment.

“There’s so much pressure on Tottenham, there’s so much pressure on the manager ,I think there’s so much negativity about, it eventually takes effect on players.

“It’s like you feel the pressure eventually and then one mistake and it becomes almost like…

“For 15 minutes afterwards he looked like a bag of nerves, he almost let one go underneath his feet and then the team looked all over the place. It took him 15 minutes to get back in the game.

“But I think Kinsky, I like what I’ve seen of him so far. Yes, he’s made a couple of mistakes and that one certainly yes, that was the biggest one, but I still like what I’ve seen from him so far.”

What Ange Postecoglou has said about Antonin Kinsky

In mid-January, Ange Postecoglou acknowledged that Tottenham have given Kinsky a baptism of fire.

However, the Spurs boss believes throwing him in at the deep end is helping him gain experience quickly.

Postecoglou also said Kinsky is a “very assured young man” with “all the attributes” Tottenham want from a goalkeeper.

“It’s fair to say we have thrown him in at the deep end,” said Postecoglou. “He has had three pretty big challenges in different ways.

“He is certainly gaining experience very quickly when you look at the games he has played and the challenges within that.

“I think he has handled it really well. I said from day one, he is a very assured young man.

“From a goalkeeping aspect he has all the attributes we are looking for and feel would be a good fit for us.

“Like I said, we have thrown him in at the deep end but we will get enormous benefit from that.”

There have been a number of players over the years who have become superstars after leaving Tottenham Hotspur.

Luka Modric won a Ballon d’Or after leaving Spurs, Gareth Bale won five Champions League trophies after leaving Tottenham, while Harry Kane is on course to win the Bundesliga this season too.

However, there are other players who ultimately regret their decisions to leave Spurs.

Indeed, Kieran Trippier regretted how he left Tottenham, Sandro regretted leaving Tottenham in 2014, while Jamie O’Hara wishes he never left Spurs.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Essential Football Podcast, Michael Dawson has now been discussing his departure from Spurs, and he says that he had some real regrets about leaving Tottenham, claiming that he actually cried when he left Spurs.

Michael Dawson regretted leaving Tottenham

Dawson spoke about his departure from Spurs.

The defender joined Hull City for £4m back in 2014, and he was relegated in his very first season at the club.

Dawson says that he cried about making this move, and upon relegation he really questioned his decision.

“And when I made the move, we got relegated in my first season, one of the lowest points in my career,” Dawson said.

“Because I could quite easily have stayed at Spurs, but I love playing football, only thinking ‘why have I made this decision we’ve got relegated?’ and 12 months later you think, are you ever going to get back to the Premier League?

“But we did and it was an incredible day, an incredible night and just walking up those steps and lifting and thinking, thankfully, we’re going to be going back to play Spurs, play Man United, play Arsenal, play Manchester City, play all these big teams”

“Was that something that seriously went through your head?” Dawson was asked.

“Yeah, I cried. No shame in that. I actually shed a tear,” Dawson said.

“You’re thinking, wow, what have I done? You make decisions in your life. Like I’ve said earlier, we haven’t got a crystal ball.

“I had two years left on my Spurs contract. You know, they wanted to bring a player in. And I love playing football.

“And this is what I speak about players. Your career is short. And you look, I went on to play that season, 30 odd games in the Premier League.

“We got relegated. And if I could have turned back time, of course I would have gone back. Why would I want to get relegated?

“So it was a hard time. It was disappointing as a group. We’d failed.”

Michael Dawson record vs Tottenham

Dawson was very upset to leave Spurs, and to make matters even worse, whenever he came up against his former club, he had a bad time too.

Indeed, maybe Dawson would’ve felt better about his decision if he’d been able to pick up any sort of point against Tottenham for Hull.

Sadly, Dawson was always on the wrong end of the scoreline whenever he faced Spurs, and he did receive a thrashing at one point too.

Dawson conceded 14 goals in four games he played against Tottenham in his career, and one of those games against Spurs was a 7-1 defeat on the final day of the 2016/17 season.

Dawson would eventually leave Hull to join his boyhood team, Nottingham Forest, but it’s clear that his career never quite hit the same heights once he left Tottenham.

Mathys Tel has been discussing his thoughts on his start to life in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt in what has been ultimately a disappointing first week.

Tel has already made two appearances for Spurs but in both games Ange Postecoglou’s team suffered defeat and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.

Now, the North London club’s only real remaining chance of success this term is the Europa League and if their current form continues, they stand little chance of making it to Bilbao.

But following his tricky start to life in North London, Tel has given his honest verdict on the team and what he believes they can do moving forward.

Mathys Tel confident in his Tottenham teammates

Mathys Tel believes in the ability of his Tottenham teammates, despite suffering back-to-back defeats in his first two matches.

Postecoglou had to persuade Tel to join Tottenham and following a tough first few days at the club, many may assume he is already regretting his decision.

However, the 19-year-old has urged Spurs to bounce back against Manchester United next weekend and is confident his teammates are good enough to turn things around.

Tel told tottenhamhotspur.com: “Honestly, we are sad about the results, but I know the quality of my teammates and the staff. I believe in them.

“I’m not scared about the future. We play next week against Manchester (United) and we are going to do our jobs.

“We have to be better, to do much more on the pitch and we will see what happens. Our mentality doesn’t move. We have to keep this energy and keep going until the end.”

Ange Postecoglou must play Mathys Tel as a striker

Postecoglou made the odd tactical tweak of playing Son Heung-min as the striker against Aston Villa with Tel on the left-hand side.

Tottenham were told Tel wanted to play up front and his first goal for the club against Villa proved that he has the correct instincts to be a number nine.

Tottenham Hotspur’s current injury crisis has been an absolute nightmare.

Indeed, as Ange Postecoglou keeps saying, Spurs are missing a number of their key players right now.

Tottenham have been using what is basically a skeleton squad in recent weeks, and their results have suffered for it.

Ange Postecoglou is under pressure, and something needs to improve.

Spurs currently sit 14th in the Premier League, and they need this injury crisis to ease as soon as possible.

Speaking on his podcast, Ben Foster has been discussing Spurs’ current injury crisis, and he’s shared another theory about why so many Tottenham players are unavailable right now.

Ben Foster shares Tottenham injury theory

Foster shared another theory about why Tottenham have so many players unavailable right now.

According to the pundit, some of Spurs’ players may prefer to be in the treatment room right now because they’re out of the firing line and not playing through this terrible run of form.

“We spoke about it on the show a few weeks ago. A lot of injuries are in people’s heads as well, you know,” Foster said.

“So a few hiding, potentially.” Foster was asked.

“Without a doubt. Players want to be injured. Players prefer to be injured, because then they’re out the firing line, and then it’s nothing to do with them,” Foster said.

“It’s not their fault that we’re losing. It’s not my fault. And then how desperate are they to try and get back as well?

“Like, I’ve seen so many players that when we’re losing games week in, week out, I’m like, mate, are you going to be back soon or what? And he’s like, still feel it. I still feel it.

“And I was talking to the physio, and I’ll go, what’s the scan saying? The scan says it’s like fine, really. And I’ll go, is it in his head?

“And he’ll go, yeah, it’s in his head. Of course it’s in his head.”

Tottenham’s injury list

Foster’s theory is certainly interesting, and, as he says, this is something he’s seen first-hand in his career.

Of course, it’s not fair to point fingers directly at players who could be shirking their responsibilities, but when you look at Tottenham’s injury list, it’s fair to say that these players should be doing all they can to get back as quickly as possible.

Spurs are without basically three-quarters of their squad right now, and they can’t afford to have any of these players giving it an extra week or two to make sure they’re 100%.

If any of these players can return to action before their expected return date, they should be pushing.

Tottenham Hotspur are in the middle of a terrible run of form and a nightmare injury crisis right now.

Indeed, things couldn’t be going much worse for Spurs right now, but, for the first time in a while, they now have a few days off before facing Manchester United.

Tottenham need to be well-prepared to beat United at the weekend, and that means they need to get their training schedule absolutely spot on.

Tottenham’s players haven’t enjoyed training recently according to some reports, despite the fact Ange Postecoglou’s training hasn’t been intense recently.

Postecoglou’s training apparently hasn’t been all that intense lately, and, this week, it will be even less so as according to Tom Allnutt, speaking on The Tottenham Way Podcast, Spurs will be having three full days off training this week.

Tottenham will have three days off training

Allnutt shared what he knows about Spurs’ plans heading into the United game.

The journalist says that Ange Postecoglou will be in charge for this match, and that Spurs have changed their training schedule to have three full days off this week.

“I will defer judgment for United. When they’ve had a week off, I think it’s only fair, given that Postecoglou is going to be in charge of that one, we’re told, to kind of see how they respond after three days off this week. They’re not going to be in training Monday, Tuesday or Thursday,” Allnutt said.

“They got a few players back. I think Vicario and Udogie are definitely going to be available. I think Maddison and Johnson are pushing as well.”

How Tottenham’s board feel about recent results

Allnutt also shared an update on Postecoglou’s job security.

The journalist says that the board are empathetic towards Postecoglou’s situation at the moment, believing that many of Spurs’ problems are down to injuries.

“From what I’m told, the board see it Postecoglou’s way, that they believe the injuries are the reason for the poor results,’ Allnutt said.

“So he will get a chance to be judged when he’s got players backs. But I think if, as you say, by the Ipswich game, the majority of these players are back, and it might just be the two centre halves, the slow burners, as we call them, which is, I’m sure we could do a whole podcast on their situations alone.”

“If it’s just them and everyone else is kind of back, then I think that’s more than enough to kind of fully judge Postecoglou on. And we know that United are kind of the other crisis club in the Premier League. It’s not quite another El Sackico yet, but it’s a big game for both managers, I think.”

Tottenham’s injury crisis is set to ease in the coming weeks, but if results don’t improve once key players return, questions will again be asked of Postecoglou.

Matt Wells could get the interim role if Postecoglou is sacked, so this is certainly a situation to keep an eye on as Spurs continue to struggle.

A number of players have emerged from the shadows to help Ange Postecoglou this season amid a severe injury crisis at Tottenham.

Mikey Moore has taken on real responsibility at the age of just 17 to become one of the bright spots in an otherwise dismal 2024/25 campaign for Spurs, while Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have too at the ages of 18 and 19 respectively.

Djed Spence is another who has worked hard to prove himself to Ange Postecoglou – emerging as one of the better players at Tottenham this season when it seemed as if he had no future in N17 last summer.

In fact – had a clause been met – the Tottenham No.24 would have departed for just £8m before his resurgence this season.

Genoa could have signed Djed Spence for £8m

Tottenham actually loaned the 24-year-old to Genoa for six months back in January 2024.

It was not – however – just a loan to help develop Spence and make him a better option for Postecoglou, as the Serie A outfit were allowed to have a €10m (£8m) purchase option included in the deal.

It strongly suggested that Tottenham had basically given up on the Londoner, and were willing to take a small loss on the initial £12.5m it took to sign him from Middlesbrough in July 2022.

Fortunately for Postecoglou – based on how well Spence has performed this season – Genoa opted against triggering that clause, a decision which enabled the defender to fight for his place at Spurs.

Spence – who sometimes wears a star on his face during games – has done exactly that, scoring one goal and providing two assists in 17 appearances so far this term.

Ange Postecoglou now has a valuable asset on his hands at Tottenham

There are not many young, English full-backs around at the moment who can play well on both the left and right of defence, so Spurs were very lucky Genoa decided to send the defender back.

Spence – who backs himself against Mohamed Salah – could easily become a £30m player by the end of this season if he maintains his impressive form, while that figure could soar if Thomas Tuchel hands him an England debut as well.

Whether it was Daniel Levy or Johan Lange who negotiated that £8m option to buy, Spurs must be delighted Genoa never triggered it.