TBR Football

Tottenham Hotspur are in Premier League action on Boxing Day as they take on high-flying Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Spurs’ form continues to blow hot and cold, having lost 6-3 to Liverpool last time out after thrashing Southampton 5-0 in the league last time out.

Tottenham are also through to the Carabao Cup semi-finals after beating Manchester United 4-3 in North London last Thursday.

TBR Football looks at who Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou could name in his starting XI for the game in the East Midlands.

Tottenham team news v Nottingham Forest

Postecoglou confirmed on Christmas Eve that there were no fresh injury or suspension worries for Spurs.

Destiny Udogie, who was on the bench against Liverpool, “should be right” against Forest, while Rodrigo Bentancur has served his domestic suspension.

Ben Davies could potentially be available as he nears the end of his recovery from a hamstring injury, but he’s unlikely to be risked due to a lack of match fitness.

Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert remain unavailable.

Rodrigo Bentancur backed to return to Tottenham starting XI as Djed Spence drops out at Forest

Fraser Forster is expected to line up in between the sticks once again, with Archie Gray, Radu Dragusin and Pedro Porro likely to be in front of the veteran goalkeeper.

Dragusin will hope for a much improved display after being criticised for his Liverpool efforts. Chris Sutton claimed that some of Dragusin’s decision-making was “terrible”.

Udogie is likely to replace former Forest loanee Djed Spence on the left after the £20million man was given a huge test against Mohamed Salah.

Pape Matar Sarr struggled last time out, so Bentancur could replace him in midfield in order to give the 22-year-old a bit of a break.

No further changes are predicted, with Dominic Solanke likely to lead the line, James Maddison behind him, and Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min on the flanks.

With the club at a low ebb on the pitch and dissatisfaction with the owners at an all-time high, many Tottenham fans have been hoping Amanda Staveley could grace them with a Christmas miracle.

Daniel Levy and ENIC have been in situ in N17 for over two decades, making them comfortably the longest standing owners in the Premier League.

In the world of football finance, the regime – which no longer includes Joe Lewis following his conviction for insider trading last year – are among the most respected in the game.

The move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is arguably the single most transformative event in the club’s history, especially in revenue and prestige terms.

That and Levy’s reputation as a fearsome negotiator and commercial visionary mean that, in business circles, Spurs’ owners’ standing in boardrooms in the UK and abroad has never been in doubt.

On the terraces, however, the perception of Levy and ENIC is far less charitable.

Ange Postecoglou’s side’s 6-3 defeat to Liverpool last Sunday was, for many, emblematic of many of the cultural issues that have best the North London club for years.

They will be 11th in the Premier League table at Christmas. And 2025 will be their seventeenth consecutive calendar year without a trophy.

So when it emerged that Amanda Staveley, a semi-messianic figure among Newcastle United fans, was interested in Tottenham, it inevitably captured Spurs supporters’ imaginations.

Staveley has raised £500m for a new football investment project and, as well as a full takeover deal for AS Monaco, has been linked with a minority buy-in to Tottenham.

New updates have been relatively thin on the ground since her interest first emerged in June.

However, Companies House, the UK’s business registrar, has provided the occasional glimpse into what the Middle East-focused financier is up to.

And there have been further updates on that front this week.

Paperwork confirms Amanda Staveley has paid off Newcastle United loan

When Staveley bought into Newcastle in 2021 alongside the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Reuben Brothers, she borrowed money from the Rueben brothers to finance the deal.

Paradoxically, it was reported that when she sold her stake to the Reuben Brothers for a profit earlier this year, she used those very same funds to pay off the loan she initially took from the group.

Now, as relayed by finance expert and author of the Vanity, Sanity and Reality newsletter Greg Cordell, that arrangement appears to have been all but confirmed.

Companies House filings show that the Rueben Brothers are owed debts of around £58m, which encompasses the cash they lent to Staveley and is up by £17m on the previous year.

As the paperwork is a snapshot from March, Staveley’s assumed repayment of the loan is not accounted for in the filing.

However, as Cordell points out, it looks as though Staveley’s borrowing is included in the Reuben Brothers’ accounts.

What does this mean for Staveley and her hopes of investing in Spurs?

Ultimately, the two business interests aren’t directly linked – but they do provide insight into Staveley’s financial situation.

Like the situation at Newcastle, Staveley was never likely to use her own money to invest in Spurs.

With Levy valuing Spurs at around £3.75bn, even a tiny minority stake is well beyond her personal wealth.

Her consortium is believed to include investors from the Middle East and the United States but, other than this scant detail, very little is known about the makeup of the group.

If she was to buy into Spurs, it would likely be via her PCP Capital Partners investment vehicle, which she runs alongside husband and business partner Mehrdad Ghodoussi.

Tottenham often sign English players or those at domestic rivals rather than look abroad for new recruits.

The likes of Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Djed Spence, Archie Gray and Yves Bissouma were all signed from clubs in England – giving Spurs a mostly British core mixed with some elite foreign talents in Dejan Kulusevski and Cristian Romero.

This policy looks set to continue as Tottenham show interest in Tyrick Mitchell – the Crystal Palace No.3 who is out of contract at the end of the season.

TBR Football understand the England international has been offered to Spurs on a free transfer at the end of the season when he becomes a free agent – as contract talks with Crystal Palace fail to progress.

However, reports now emerging from elsewhere suggest the south Londoners may even be preparing to sell Tyrick Mitchell to Tottenham in the January transfer window.

Crystal Palace strongly linked to two players in Tyrick Mitchell’s position

Oliver Glasner deploys a 3-4-3 formation at Selhurst Park, in which marauding wing-backs are key.

Daniel Munoz has exemplified this, with the Colombia international scoring two goals in his last three Premier League appearances, including a strike in the recent 2-2 draw against Manchester City.

However, Mitchell is nowhere near as forward-thinking as the South American, meaning a lot of Crystal Palace’s attacking play goes down the right.

Glasner is seemingly looking to amend this.

Sky Sports state that Crystal Palace are in talks with Benfica over a deal to sign Jan-Niklas Beste, the German left wing-back who remarkably scored eight goals and provided 13 assists in 31 Bundesliga appearances for Heidenheim last season.

A story from the reliable South London Press then added that Dougie Freedman – Director of Football at Crystal Palace – is tracking El Hadji Malick Diouf, a Senegal international with six goals and three assists in 28 games for Slavia Prague this term.

The fact both of these players operate as left wing-backs, and are being linked to Crystal Palace by strong sources, could well suggest that Crystal Palace are ready to sell Mitchell to Tottenham for a cut-price fee in January, rather than lose him for nothing this summer.

What Harry Kane has said about Tyrick Mitchell

Mitchell would be a smart addition at Spurs, seeing as Ange Postecoglou has been forced to use Djed Spence out of position on the left recently.

If a deal does materialise, Tottenham legend Harry Kane will presumably be pleased, having spoken in glowing fashion about the 25-year-old when he was included in the England squad.

The Bayern Munich No.9 said: “It is great to have new faces in the squad, young faces, I feel like I am getting older and older by the day. It is great to see them. With Marc (Guehi) and Tyrick (Mitchell) they have come in and settled in well and it is really good for the squad. It is good to have young players coming through and we are excited to see them over the next week or so.”

Soon, Mitchell could be moving from south London to north London where Kane built his legacy – if our prediction turns out to be correct.

Tottenham Hotspur suffered one of their most embarrassing defeats at their new stadium on Sunday.

Indeed, Tottenham conceded six goals at home as Liverpool ran riot in north London on Sunday.

Of course, in the aftermath of such a performance, the finger has been pointed at Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou has been criticised after his team’s performance against Liverpool, and now, even some of his biggest supporters are questioning his methods.

Chris Sutton is a huge Postecoglou fan. The pundit has loved the Australian since his time at Celtic, and he’s often championed the Spurs gaffer.

However, speaking on It’s All Kicking Off, even Sutton has questioned Postecoglou’s methods, claiming that he’s surprised by the fact Postecoglou wanted to go toe-to-toe with Liverpool in the way he did at the weekend.

Chris Sutton shocked by Ange Postecoglou’s tactics vs Liverpool

Sutton shared his verdict on Postecoglou’s tactics against Liverpool.

The Australian played his usual high-octane, high-risk style of play against Liverpool, and, ultimately, his team were exposed.

“Had Liverpool been really clinical, then I mean, blimey, that the score could have been anything. But, you know, and I’ve defended Ange Postocoglou a lot, but I’ve got to say it, it surprised me the fact that he wanted to go toe to toe with Liverpool with a depleted team, which it was,” Sutton said.

Tottenham’s stats vs Liverpool

It’s all well and good to play this style of football, but Spurs really aren’t making it count in any sort of meaningful way.

Indeed, Tottenham may have tried to play an attacking style of play, but Liverpool still managed to outdo Liverpool in almost every attacking metric.

Spurs only had five shots on target in the entire game, while they allowed Liverpool to get 12 shots on target off. That, quite simply, isn’t good enough.

These tactics are naivety at its finest.

Of course, Postecoglou was hamstrung by injury problems, and he couldn’t field his best XI, but coming off the back of conceding four against Chelsea in his last home game, the Spurs boss surely could’ve set his team up to play a tad more sensibly against the league leaders.

Spurs’ style of play is entertaining, but Tottenham’s results as of late have been unacceptable to say the least.

Rodrigo Bentancur returns from his seven-match ban and is available for Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to Nottingham Forest although he will need to be careful.

Bentancur was banned by the FA following his inappropriate comments towards his Tottenham teammate Heung-min Son. The 27-year-old has left a big hole in Spurs’ midfield whilst he has been away with Yves Bissouma disappointing against Liverpool.

But now he is back and could return straight into Ange Postecoglou’s team for the trip to Forest. The Australian manager will need to warn him about his discipline though as he could face yet another ban.

Rodrigo Bentancur one booking away from suspension

Rodrigo Bentancur will be walking the suspension tightrope for the next two Tottenham matches as he is just one booking away from a one-match ban. The Uruguayan has accumulated four bookings in ten Premier League games this term and this has put him at risk of being banned again.

Bissouma and Lucas Bergvall are the two players who have been playing in the number six role following the midfielder’s ban. Bergvall impressed against Southampton and could be set to start at the City Ground after being rested against Liverpool.

Ange Postecoglou reveals his plans for Bentancur’s return

Postecoglou is unsure whether Bentancur will be ready to start on Boxing Day against Nottingham Forest, however, he is pleased to just have another player available. The Lilwyhites have been left short of options due to so many injuries and suspensions so to have the midfielder back is a welcomed return.

Postecoglou told the media: “It’s good to have him back. He’s been working hard at training. In terms of Boxing Day, we’ll see. But certainly just to have an extra body. I think what the players have had to deal with, the core group of players over the last sort of three weeks or so, has been very, very demanding on them.

“Most of them have got through it pretty well, in terms of not getting any more injuries, thankfully for us. But it’ll be nice to have just some ability to rotate some players and even make substitutions in games that hopefully will help us.”

Tottenham were embarrassed by Liverpool at the weekend as they lost 6-3 at home to the Premier League table-toppers.

Spurs’ defensive woes continued at the weekend, and they have now shipped 10 goals in their last two home matches.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Tottenham at the weekend.

Indeed, Spurs did manage to score three goals against the stingiest defence in the Premier League, and there were some solid performances from Spurs’ players on the day.

Once again, Dejan Kulusevski was brilliant.

Kulusevski has been Spurs’ best player this season, and he was at it again against Liverpool.

Speaking on the Kelly and Wrighty Show, Tim Sherwood has been discussing Kulusevski, and he reckons the £25m Tottenham man is actually good enough to play for Liverpool.

Dejan Kulusevski is good enough for Liverpool

Sherwood shared his verdict on the Tottenham star.

The pundit says that the Tottenham star is a magnificent player and that he thinks he could play for a number of the top clubs including Liverpool and Arsenal.

“Kulusevski was magnificent. Magnificent. This boy could play for Liverpool, he could play for Arsenal, he could certainly play for Man United. He could play for the top teams. The worry is, is he rehearsing for those teams? Tottenham need to keep hold of their best players,” Sherwood said.

Dejan Kulusevski compared to Liverpool midfielders

Sherwood says that Kulusevski is good enough to play for Liverpool, and he’s not wrong.

Kulusevski has earned huge plaudits for his performances this season, and the numbers show that he’s just as effective as some of Liverpool’s midfield options.

Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones have been Liverpool’s two main advanced midfield options this season, and Kulusevski has outperformed both players.

Kulusevski has been thriving in midfield this season, but, naturally, he is a winger, and that could make him very useful for a team like Liverpool given Mohamed Salah’s contract status.

As Sherwood says, Kulusevski is a top player, and if Spurs don’t improve in the coming weeks, he could well be on the move in one of the upcoming transfer windows.

Kulusevski is certainly good enough to play for a top club, but whether or not a move to one of these teams is forthcoming remains to be seen.

Ange Postecoglou allowed one of Tottenham Hotspur’s midfielders to leave in the summer for just £8 million and now he’s proving the Australian made a mistake.

The former Spurs man is flying with his new team following his exit from the North London club and has scored more goals in the league than the likes of Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal.

Ange Postecoglou’s squad has been significantly hit by injuries this season and the Lilywhites’ boss will regret having let this player leave for so cheap.

Giovani Lo Celso flying after Tottenham exit

Giovani Lo Celso is absolutely flying at Real Betis following his summer exit from Tottenham. Spurs allowed him to leave for just £8 million back in August and Betis have got themselves a real steal.

During his time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Argentine struggled to stay consistently fit and at Betis, he has already had a short period out having missed six games with a hamstring issue. But when he has been fit, the 28-year-old has been superb.

Betis are currently sitting in ninth place in La Liga but are just five points off a potential Europa League qualification spot. Lo Celso will be key for helping them get back into Europe this season, especially given his recent form.

Lo Celso has scored more La Liga goals this season than the likes of Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, Rodrygo, Julien Alvarez and Dani Olmo. The midfielder is also on the same number as Antoine Griezmann and just one behind Vinicius Junior. Meanwhile, he ranks fourth for goals per 90 minutes for players with seven goals or more.

How Tottenham could still benefit from Giovani Lo Celso’s sale

But despite letting such a talented player leave for so cheap, the Lilywhites could still benefit from the sale of Lo Celso. That is because Spurs have the option to sign Johnny Cardoso for £21 million next summer.

Djed Spence’s Tottenham Hotspur career has been very interesting.

The Englishman joined Spurs from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2022. Everyone felt at the time that the North Londoners had signed a fantastic talent.

However, Antonio Conte made it clear that Spence was not his signing and showed no interest in giving him regular opportunities.

After a loan at Genoa in the second half of the 2023/24 season, everyone expected him to leave, but Postecoglou kept hold of Spence last summer.

After several injury problems, the Australian decided to hand an opportunity to Spence. He has now changed his mind about the 24-year-old’s future at the club.

Ange Postecoglou makes U-turn on Djed Spence’s Tottenham future

Just two weeks ago, in the second week of December, it was reported that Postecoglou is not ready to give chances to Spence at Tottenham.

It was claimed that Spurs did not want to jeopardize their chances of qualifying for the Champions League by playing fringe players.

However, injury issues forced Postecoglou to give the 24-year-old an opportunity, and Spence has been brilliant for Tottenham since.

Yes, the Englishman made a mistake against Liverpool, but you can’t blame him for that – he was asked to play in an unnatural position in a very open system.

GiveMeSport now claim that after Spence’s recent performances, Postecoglou has made a U-turn regarding the full-back’s future.

Offers for the defender will not be entertained in the January transfer window. He will stay at the club and Postecoglou has decided to give him more opportunities in the coming games.

The report adds that ‘influential figures at Tottenham have been impressed with how Spence has performed’ recently.

Tottenham should not fear losing one player now thanks to Spence

Spence has done a really good job in each of his last three appearances for Tottenham.

The 24-year-old, hailed as ‘unbelievable’ by Ian Wright, is showing that he deserves more game time, and his emergence should now reduce Spurs fans’ fears of losing Pedro Porro.

Porro has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, and there have been concerns about seeing him leave the club in one of the next two windows.

Keeping the Spaniard would be ideal, but if a big enough offer arrives, it won’t be a bad idea at all to let Porro go.

Spence is more than good enough to take his place, and Tottenham can use any money they receive for Porro to buy another right-back and strengthen other areas of their pitch.

Tottenham Hotspur are expected to be active in the January transfer window.

Spurs have consistently been inconsistent this season. They have won just seven of their first 17 games in the Premier League and are currently 11th in the table.

Ange Postecoglou has come under a fair bit of criticism for his style of play, but the bigger problem Tottenham have had over the last few months is injuries.

The North Londoners need reinforcements in the winter window, but as things stand, Postecoglou is not too keen to sign one player.

Ange Postecoglou is not giving the ‘green light’ for Tottenham to sign Nicolo Fagioli

Tottenham could do with reinforcements in several areas of their pitch.

The defence will likely be Postecoglou’s priority in the January transfer window, while a new attacker will be high on his wish list too.

However, Tottenham cannot ignore their midfield.

The likes of Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur are brilliant on their day, but they have struggled to be consistent when they have played over the last few months.

TBR Football recently revealed that Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli has been offered to Tottenham for £29 million. Manchester City, Aston Villa, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest have been made aware of his availability too.

Now, GiveMeSport claim that Fagioli would like to move to London in the winter window, which would give Tottenham an edge, but Spurs aren’t overly keen to sign him.

The report reveals that ‘Postecoglou and other influential figures at Tottenham have not given the green light to wrap up a deal for Fagioli’ in the winter window.

Tottenham, however, are in the market to sign a new midfielder in January, according to the outlet.

Tottenham could have a big advantage to sign Fagioli if they want him

Tottenham and Postecoglou don’t seem too keen on the prospect of signing Fagioli at the moment.

The Italian is a hugely talented player who can play anywhere across the midfield. He’s still only 24 as well and has all the qualities required to be a top player.

Postecoglou, for some reason, doesn’t fancy a move to sign him, but if that stance changes, Tottenham will likely have an advantage in the race to sign Fagioli.

That’s because Spurs have an excellent relationship with Juventus having signed players like Dejan Kulusevski and Bentancur in recent years.

Dejan Kulusevski was Tottenham Hotspur’s best player as they lost 6-3 to Liverpool on Sunday.

Kulusevski scored Spurs’ second goal, latching on to a chipped pass from Dominic Solanke and proceeded not to celebrate as the score was 5-2 at the time.

Throughout the game, the Tottenham midfielder looked like he was trying his level best to get the hosts back into the game.

The Swedish international was taking on players, contesting duels and trying to score and create goals but at the end of the day, Liverpool were simply a class apart.

Jermain Defoe hailed Kulusevski as the Lilywhites’ only player this season who has been up to par. Glenn Hoddle praised Kulusevski as well for being Tottenham’s standout player “by a mile” this campaign.

The former Juventus technician reviewed his side’s latest defeat in the aftermath of the contest.

Dejan Kulusevski admits Tottenham “lacked legs” against Liverpool

Kulusevski admitted that due to Tottenham’s persistent injury problems and the fact that they named the same XI against Manchester United and Liverpool in the space of a few days, they lacked the legs to match the league leaders.

The 24-year-old told NBC Sports: “I don’t think that [Liverpool were too good for Tottenham], I think we wanted to match them in their energy, we want to play at a high intensity and high on energy but with the same players that played two days ago, it’s not that easy.”

“Today, you could see the difference that they were much more fresher and we didn’t have the legs to play our football.”

“That’s facts [that Tottenham’s injuries have hurt them]. We played the same team on Thursday and Sunday and then of course, we should think maybe to play a little bit differently but we want to always play in the same way so you have to live with the result. We went out there, we played our football and we lost.”

James Maddison reviewed Tottenham’s loss to Liverpool and his assessment about his side’s injuries curtailing them against Liverpool was similar to that of Kulusevski’s.

Yet, Peter Schmeichel slammed Ange Postecoglou as he felt the Australian manager’s fearless tactics did not suit his personnel and cost them against Arne Slot’s side.

Kulusevski stats for Tottenham in 6-3 defeat against Liverpool

Despite the result, Kulusevski can be proud of his own performance.

The versatile attacker gave it his all at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and that is all any player can do.

Kulusevski’s statistics indicate that he was a nuisance for Liverpool, both in and out of possession.

Completing four dribbles, playing a key pass and scoring a goal made him Tottenham’s biggest threat.

While winning nine duels and putting in two tackles also indicates that Kulusevski was not prepared to give up despite Liverpool running riot, displaying that he has the mentality of a top player.