TBR Football

Technically, Daniel Levy is only a minority investor in Tottenham. But make no mistake, the chairman’s fingerprints are on every strategic decision made in N17.

Through ENIC Sports, Levy and the family trust of former Spurs owner Joe Lewis own just under 87 per cent of Spurs. That equity is split roughly 70-30 between the Lewis trust and Levy.

With Tottenham currently looking for minority investment via the Rothschild bank, one or both of those parties could soon be in for a huge payday.

Notably, Amanda Staveley, former director and shareholder of Newcastle United, is interested in a deal.

However, the very fact that Levy and ENIC are not looking for a full takeover is evidence that they are confident there is more upside to be achieved – a lot more.

That is saying some thing. After all, Levy values Spurs at around £3.75bn, and if they were to fetch that price, it would represent a staggering 4000% markup on the £94m they initially paid for the club.

But, as football finance expert Kieran Maguire told TBR Football earlier this year, the feeling within the industry is that price would represent solid value for any would-be investor.

Spurs’ revenue is soaring year-on-year and, most importantly of all, their cost control – that’s the restraint they have shown in the wage and transfer outlay – is among the best in the Premier League.

Understandably, however, restraint in the recruitment and retention market does not exactly inspire fans who have grown frustrated at Spurs’ emphasis on commercial growth in recent years.

Therein lies the problem that has consumed Spurs in recent years and, judging by recent developments, will continue to do so under the current regime.

And a now-deleted Tweet from Spurs’ official X account is emblematic of the split between the fans and board at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham delete logo rebrand post

Spurs caused a storm on social media when they unveiled their new ‘brand identity’ two weeks ago.

Apart from the fact that very little about their badge appears to have changed besides the removal of text underneath the famous cockerel, the timing of the announcement was questioned by some fans.

It came after Spurs had just lost to Ipswich Town and Galatasaray in consecutive matches and slipping away in the race for Champions League football.

The backlash to the rebrand – which centred on what fans think is the club’s focus on commercial appeal over on-pitch results – was seemingly enough for them to delete the original post on X, formerly Twitter.

The subsequent thread that unveiled the rest of Spurs refreshed ‘brand identity’ such as the new club font and the revival of their monogram has remained live on their account.

The saga is the split between supporters and the board in microcosm.

The stripped back logo is thought to be the club’s attempt to position itself as a lifestyle brand – a vehicle to sell products and services, in layman’s terms.

Levy thinks this is where Spurs untapped value in terms of their appeal to investors lies, but it is also exactly the kind of corporate trajectory that fans are worried about.

Why are Spurs so focused on commercial income?

Spurs response to those questioning their commercial focus is generally to point out that they want to run a self-sufficient business.

AKA, more money from sponsorship, merchandise and events equates to more money for Ange Postecoglou and Johan Lange’s budget.

There is merit to that argument, and Spurs growth since the move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019 has been nothing short of extraordinary.

However, revenue is now rising faster than Tottenham’s spending on wages and amortisation.

Spurs have ample headroom in terms of PSR (Profit and Sustainability Rules) and the liquidity to push the envelope in the transfer market.

Tottenham Hotspur drew National League side Tamworth in the third round of the FA Cup on Monday night.

Ange Postecoglou has made it clear he wins trophies in his second year at the clubs he has managed in the past and Tottenham fans will be hoping this remains true.

The north London outfit have failed to lift the FA Cup since the days of Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne back in 1991.

Injuries have played a major part in Tottenham’s struggles this season with Guglielmo Vicario recently undergoing ankle surgery in what’s just the latest issue.

But Spurs have been handed a favourable tie in the FA Cup against a side in the fifth tier of English football.

With a huge game now in the calendar, Tamworth fans issued a joking dig towards their FA Cup opposition ahead of their clash in January.

What Tamworth fans sang about Tottenham after FA Cup draw

A number of Tamworth fans gathered at The Lamb Ground to watch the third round draw take place and they were left delighted.

However, there were a number of fans who took the opportunity to take a swipe at Tottenham by singing a certain song.

‘Tottenham get battered, everywhere they go,’ sang a section of the Tamworth fans in what appeared to be the club lounge.

Tottenham are now seeing some of their star players return from injury, with Cristian Romero potentially available to play against Bournemouth on Thursday.

Although it will be a heavily rotated side from Spurs – with Arsenal to play just days later – Tamworth should be aware of how Tottenham dispatched of Marine just a few years ago.

How many tickets will Tottenham get for Tamworth away?

Postecoglou vented his anger at Brennan Johnson last week but it could soon be some Spurs fans left frustrated.

The National League side have a stadium capacity of just over 4000, so the away allocation is not going to be of their usual expectations.

Ticket details will be passed on by the club, but there will have to be an understanding that there will be very limited away tickets handed over to Spurs fans.

Tottenham’s relationship with the NFL is both lucrative of a match-by-match basis and transformative from a brand exposure perspective.

That business-orientated language is the kind that Spurs fans who are deeply concerned about what they see as the increasing commercial focus of their club justifiably can’t stand.

And in terms of the optics at the extraordinarily profitable Hotspur Stadium, it is hard to argue that those supporters don’t have a point.

The recent decision to effectively phase out – or, as the club puts, it ‘pause’ – concessionary ticket prices has been used as evidence that Daniel Levy and ENIC are leaving bedrock fans behind.

As football finance expert Kieran Maguire has repeatedly told TBR Football, the “so-called ‘legacy fan’ has outlived their usefulness” to owners in North London and beyond.

Some Tottenham supporters have also highlighted that their world-class stadium is now used more for non-football events than it is as the home of Ange Postecoglou’s side.

The club’s riposte has been to point out that hosting blockbuster acts like Beyonce and events like the NFL is a huge earner, allowing them to funnel that cash back into the recruitment and retention budget.

The data shows that, while expenditure on new signings and wages has increased with revenue, the gap between income and spending is widening.

In terms of their independent wealth, Levy and ENIC are mid-table in the context of Premier League owners.

They are certainly much further down than the financial backers of the rest of the so-called ‘Big Six’.

This appears to be at least partly why Levy is looking for a new minority investor at Spurs, with ex-Newcastle United director and shareholder Amanda Staveley exploring the club as an option.

In his own words, the extra cash would help Spurs “capitalise on our long-term potential, to continue to invest in the teams and undertake future capital projects.”

That statement, taken from the club’s accounts for the last recorded financial year, was accompanies about lots of rhetoric around diversifying away from football revenue.

That is one of the reasons that the NFL partnership, which sees the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium host matches annually as part of the London Games, is so valued by the owners.

The NFL paid several million pounds towards the construction of the stadium as part of the deal, and there has even been suggestion that Spurs could one day host the Super Bowl.

But could the NFL, the richest sports league on the planet by some margin, ever invest directly in Tottenham themselves?

Developments this week suggest that is not beyond the realms of possibility.

While many clubs are going down the multi-club route, Spurs appear more to be targeting a multi-sport setup wherein they become a hub for a number of different leagues, brands and competitions.

As well as the NFL, they have a commercial partnership with Formula One which has seen a one-of-a-kind karting ring installed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Rugby league and rugby union events have also been staged at Spurs’ home ground, while a failed bid would otherwise have seen the 2026 Hockey World Cup final played in North London too.

It seems the NFL themselves are also interested in a multi-sport model.

As reported by Sportico, Liga MX – the first division in Mexican football – will soon vote on an investment proposal engineered by the NFL and private equity firm Apollo.

The £1bn package, which would see commercial rights pooled in Liga MX, has the potential to reorganise the structure of Mexican football and could see closer ties with football north of the border in the US.

With Spurs seeking minority investment, could they be next in line for an NFL-orchestrated buy-in?

Significantly, Spurs investment suitor Amanda Staveley is said to have met with NFL officials independently of her interest in the club earlier this year.

She was also spotted in the stands as a guest of Levy’s when the Chicago Bears faced the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October.

The identities of the members of her consortium she has assembled to potentially invest in Spurs are not yet known, but it is understood that the group includes backers from the United States.

Tottenham Hotspur have gotten off to a turbulent start in the Premier League with the Lilywhites failing to nail down any kind of consistency.

Ange Postecoglou has gone from seeing his side lose to Ipswich Town, then beating Manchester City on the road before then drawing at home to Fulham.

Dropped points against some of the lesser sides in the league has Tottenham slumped down in seventh spot but only five points off second.

Spurs have suffered from injury issues, with the likes of Micky van de Ven missing through injury to name just one.

However, there are now some questions hanging over the future of some of their bigger-name players as Champions League football continues to evade the Lilywhites.

Pedro Porro wants to join a bigger club than Tottenham

According to Sport, Pedro Porro now believes it is time to make the step up and play for a bigger club than Tottenham.

Porro has been a significant feature in the Spurs side since arriving but he has only played 37 minutes of Champions League football with the Lilywhites.

It has been suggested Manchester United are keen on Porro ahead of the summer, but they are not the only club with the Spaniard on their radar.

Real Madrid hold serious interest in Porro but the Spurs right-back is seen as an option if they fail to land Trent Alexander-Arnold.

But Porro is not the only Spurs defender potentially on the move with Cristian Romero weighing up his Tottenham future ahead of the summer.

Ruben Amorim could push Porro reunion at Man United

In recent weeks, former Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim joined Manchester United to replace Erik ten Hag.

And this is the same manager which the Spaniard played under in Portugal before Porro made the £39m move to Tottenham in January 2023.

Archie Gray has praised Porro since he joined over the summer and Amorim also had only positive things to say about the right-back after his move to Spurs.

“Our relationship is very close, he will be missed. In football, we get used to change from a very young age. One day they are our children, our best friends, and now he is Conte’s son.”

Tottenham Hotspur have certainly missed the presence of Cristian Romero in recent weeks, a defender who has improved considerably over the past year or so.

Romero’s performances for Tottenham have garnered a lot of attention playing alongside Micky van de Ven, a centre-back who’s also thriving for Argentina as well.

Fortunately, Romero might be fit to face Bournemouth for Tottenham in mid-week, a player the club are hoping to soon tie down to a new long-term deal.

That being said, TBR Football understands that Spurs have now approached Romero’s camp as they look to open contract talks.

Tottenham step up Cristian Romero contract efforts amid interest from Man City

Tottenham were planning Romero contract talks last month given that his current deal expires in 2027, and the club are now stepping up their efforts.

The 26-year-old has emerged as one of the Premier League’s top defenders after arriving from Atalanta back in 2021.

As a result, Spurs are ready to make Romero the club’s new top earner, a sign of just how far he’s come.

Tottenham hope that talks will begin early in the New Year, but TBR understands that Romero’s camp are currently assessing the situation.

Romero sees Champions League football as key to his future, and he has only featured in the tournament once since arriving in north London.

The defender has only made seven appearances in Europe’s top competition for Spurs, the same amount he’s played for Atalanta, despite leaving the club much earlier in his career.

Real Madrid are confirmed admirers of Romero, but they are not alone.

Along with Real, Manchester City are now keeping tabs on his situation along with Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.

Postecoglou has been very complimentary about Romero, a player both him and the club would be loath to lose.

But given their current position in the Premier League table, there’s certainly no guarantee that Tottenham will be playing Champions League football next season either.

Tottenham Hotspur’s squad has been plagued by injuries yet again during the lead up to this year’s festive schedule.

Ange Postecoglou will be feeling a dose of deja vu following Tottenham’s struggles last season through various injuries.

Tottenham fans are worried about Mikey Moore’s absence, with the youngster having now missed weeks of action.

And then there has been the recent sucker punch between the sticks where Guglielmo Vicario has undergone ankle surgery.

But there is finally some positive news coming out from Hotspur Way with players working on their return to action.

Since joining Tottenham last summer, Micky van de Ven has certainly suffered his fair share of injury issues.

And the Dutchman sustained yet another hamstring problem during the Carabao Cup game against Manchester City.

Now over a month on from that game, Van de Ven is looking set to make his return to action ahead of the festive fixtures.

Taking to Instagram on Monday, the centre-back shared a number of photos of him training with the caption: ‘On the way.’

Van de Ven returned to Tottenham training last week but was unable to make the squad for the draw against Fulham on the weekend.

Postecoglou has hailed Van de Ven since joining Spurs but his injury issues have certainly been a big down side to the Dutchman’s electric pace.

Micky Van de Ven injury history

Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo has been wowed by Van de Ven’s pace but that speed has certainly come at a cost.

Spurs have already seen the downside to the Dutchman’s pace with the 23-year-old having missed significant game time in just over one year at the club.

Here is a roundup of Van de Ven’s injury issues since joining Tottenham last summer.

The other positive news for the Lilywhites is that Cristian Romero could return from injury against Bournemouth later this week.

Having dropped more points over the weekend, the Lilywhites will be looking to see some consistency return alongside some of their injured stars.

Although Brennan Johnson is Tottenham Hotspur’s top goalscorer in all competitions this season, all isn’t entirely well with the former Nottingham Forest forward in N17.

Johnson scored Tottenham’s solitary goal in their frustrating 1-1 draw with Fulham on Sunday, another result that added to the inconsistency under Ange Postecoglou.

Postecoglou defended his Tottenham team, pointing to the amount of crucial players who were missing, but a lot of fans still didn’t seem amused.

And in a move that might surprise those looking in from the outside, Johnson has been criticised in the aftermath, even though he’s scoring important goals.

The feeling around Johnson seems to be that he’s not contributing enough in other areas of the game, a criticism the Welshman also faced at The City Ground.

Brennan Johnson problems at Forest are now resurfacing at Tottenham

Back in 2022, former Forest player Lewis McGugan recognised the criticism that Johnson had been receiving, even if he chose to defend the young forward at the time.

McGugan was speaking on the ‘Garibaldi Red’ podcast, and his comments are now very interesting from a Tottenham perspective, given the same issue has now resurfaced.

He said: “I think he’s Nottingham Forest’s brightest spark. He’s who people are looking at.

“I’ve seen the stick he gets. Even last year at times, in a lot of the games I watched, he didn’t contribute a lot but he comes up with moments.

“Last year you could watch a game and you don’t see him but he pops up with a goal or he’s scored two and you think he’s had an unbelievable game.

“In reality, he hasn’t done so much but he’s popped up with important goals. The problem is that in the Premier League, if you’re a player who is in and out of games, you might get five chances in the Championship.

“That’s one or two in the Premier League. Everyone is missing the point that he’s the same as last year but he’s not getting as many chances as last season. I don’t think his performances have dropped so much.

“It’s a harder league and the difference is he’s just not getting as many chances in games.”

Johnson is scoring goals at Tottenham, but there’s still a problem

Of course, McGugan seems to be referring to the idea that Johnson may not get the same level of goals in the Premier League given how he drifts out of games.

But even with his scoring, Johnson still isn’t pleasing a lot of Tottenham fans, who didn’t respond well to the club posting his goal on social media in the aftermath of the Fulham draw.

It’s an odd time for both Johnson and the club as a whole, there seems to be a real mix of feelings towards this project under Postecoglou.

Johnson complimented Postecoglou recently, saying he always offered great advice to his players through the good times and bad.

But only time will tell if their partnership will ultimately be a successful one.

Tottenham have squandered the chance to recruit some of the best names in football over the years.

For example, Spurs came close to hiring Arne Slot in 2023 as a replacement for Antonio Conte – with the Dutchman now sitting top of the Premier League and UEFA Champions League after leaving Feyenoord for Liverpool.

Tottenham were also told to sign Mohamed Salah by Mido back in 2011 while the Egypt international was starring at FC Basel – only to ignore the advice and, once again, allow Liverpool to benefit.

Now, Spurs will be kicking themselves, as another player Mido – who scored 19 goals in 61 appearances for Tottenham – recommended to Daniel Levy has risen to become one of the best in Europe this term.

Omar Marmoush shining for Eintracht Frankfurt after Tottenham recommendation

Back in April, Mido paid reference to his post from 2011 telling Tottenham to sign Salah.

The Egyptian then provided a new recommendation for Spurs in Omar Marmoush – who had just scored 17 goals and provided six assists in 41 appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2023/24 campaign.

Mido urged Spurs to sign his fellow countryman, claiming that he would “fit in perfectly” under Ange Postecoglou and “can score goals” – a glowing review.

The 41-year-old clearly knows a talent when he sees it, as Marmoush is currently one of the best performing players on the planet this season.

In just 19 appearances, the man from Cairo has already matched his tally of 17 goals from last term, but has impressively registered 11 assists as well.

It is no wonder Liverpool now want to sign Marmoush as a result of his stunning performances.

Mohamed Salah wants Omar Marmoush at Liverpool

Salah could leave Liverpool in 2025 – as he is yet to sign a new contract – although the Egyptian is already selecting potential targets for the Reds, according to Christian Falk.

The reliable journalist claims that Salah has “made a case” for Liverpool to sign Marmoush following his remarkable displays in Germany.

So, years on from Mido recommending Salah to Tottenham, the Liverpool No.11 himself has now allegedly recommended Marmoush to the Reds – football is a funny old game, as they say.

When it comes to sports investment projects, it doesn’t get much more big-time than Chelsea and Tottenham – two clubs who are potentially in line for ownership shake-ups in the near term.

Both clubs feature in Forbes top 10 most valuable football clubs in the world, with their London locations and global reach major factors for their multi-billion dollar appraisals.

At Spurs, Daniel Levy has been courting fresh investment for some time, although the chairman and co-owner only formally announced his intentions in April.

The former Newcastle United supremo Amanda Staveley is exploring Tottenham with a view to a potential investment on behalf of a consortium of backers from the United States and Middle East.

Levy and ENIC are believed to be seeking fresh capital from a minority partner in order to fund infrastructure projects and, the current ownership says, investment in Ange Postecoglou’s playing squad.

Chelsea’s situation is slightly more complex, with Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali at loggerheads in the boardroom and having reportedly held talks about buying each other out.

There is no clear path to a major change of their corporate structure, however.

As a minority investor, Boehly has no lever to force a full takeover, while any bid for the equity owned by Clearlake Capital would need to represent a healthy return on the £1.5bn they paid for their stake.

From Eghbali’s point of view, there is little reason to buy Boehly out as they already have operational control at Stamford Bridge as as the club’s majority owners.

And in any case, the owners may be reluctant to do anything to upset the momentum that Chelsea have built up on the pitch under Enzo Maresca.

When equity in either club eventually changes hands, it will guarantee the selling party a huge profit on their initial investment.

Why? Because the enterprise values of Premier League clubs have skyrocketed in recent years.

The reasons are multi-faceted.

The extraordinary growth of the league’s broadcast revenue is the single biggest factor, but growing interest in clubs’ IP and global appeal is arguably next in line.

In layman’s terms, investors know that clubs like Chelsea and Tottenham have phenomenal potential as vehicles to sell products and services to a mass market.

It is the kind of language that bedrock supporters justifiably detest.

But the era of the vanity owner who would buy a club purely to deliver on-field glory is all but over, and investors are now looking at ROI as the number-one metric for success.

As it happens, the next big commercial moment in English football is on the horizon – but will it unfold in N17 or SW6?

Both Chelsea and Spurs’ biggest individual deals are with Nike.

The headline figures suggest that the American sportswear giants pay £60m and £30m respectively for the rights to manufacture the London clubs’ kits.

In reality, the mechanics and intricacies of the two deals mean the discrepancy between those two figures will be more modest.

The fact that spin-off brand Air Jordan, the brainchild of NBA legend Michael Jordan, is considering both clubs for its next collaboration is further evidence that Nike value both Spurs and Chelsea equally.

As reported by football finance expert Łukasz Bączek, Champions League qualification could be key in determining which London club will be the next to get the Air Jordan treatment.

At present, Chelsea – who beat Aston Villa 3-0 on Sunday – are well ahead in those stakes.

They are five points clear of 7th-place Spurs and have identical records with 2nd-place Arsenal.

The Paris Saint-Germain revolution: Air Jordan deal could super-size Spurs or Chelsea’s enterprise values

If Nike, alongside Jordan and his advisors, do pick Spurs or Chelsea as their next brand-building project, it could be transformative in the commercial department.

That in turn could have a real, material impact on the enterprise values of either clubs and, as a result, the current part-takeover talks taking place in both boardrooms.

At Paris Saint-Germain, who have been partnered with Air Jordan since 2018, the club’s commercial chiefs have credited the partnership with turning them into a lifestyle brand.

In essence, that means that their appeal as a merchandiser has extended well beyond fans of the club, which ultimately is a relatively limited pool, and into the wider streetwear market.

The effect would likely be more modest at Spurs or Chelsea given that they are starting from a higher base than the 12-time Ligue 1 champions, but it would amplify their brands all the same.

It may even explain why Spurs have created a new ‘brand identity’, introducing a new logo-style crest that they will use on certain products. It would be more marketable for a streetwear brand.

Similarly, it has been mooted that Chelsea’s kits next season could feature their old, pre-2005 badge.

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to rediscover the form they showed last weekend against Manchester City on Sunday when they face Fulham.

The past week has shown the frailties of Tottenham’s season with an emphatic victory over the league champions followed up by an underwhelming draw in the Europa League.

Ange Postecoglou vented his anger at Brennan Johnson on Thursday night and that frustration was shared among the fans.

Spurs did a lot right against Man City and there were some seriously impressive individual performances with James Maddison praised by Gary Neville after the game.

But there was another player who shone on the night at the Etihad in Dejan Kulusevski who has enjoyed a stunning start to the season.

Ange Postecoglou likens Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski to Cristiano Ronaldo

Tim Sherwood says Kulusevski would be a nightmare to play against and that has certainly been seen over the opening months of the season.

The Swede provided Johnson with the assist for his goal on Thursday evening and his manager has now spoken incredibly highly of him in Friday’s press conference.

When asked whether Kulusevski has a similar ambition to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane, Postecoglou replied: “Yeah absolutely, spot on.”

“He’s very ambitious about how good he can be and that’s a great thing. He’s still relatively young and for his position, there’s a lot of improvement in him.

“I’ve just got a feeling with Deki that he’s not going to settle for any level apart from being the absolute best and it’s great for us.”

After the game against City last weekend, Neville said Barcelona and Real Madrid would be eyeing Kulusevski given the level of performance he put on.

Kulusevski says Tottenham must beat Fulham on Sunday

A lot can be made of Tottenham’s mentality over the years with the Lilywhites falling short when it comes to lifting silverware.

And there have been issues this season with Spurs failing to show much consistency.

However, Tottenham have some high quality players with Pep Guardiola lauding Kulusevski which shows they have enough quality in their squad.

And the £25m Kulusevski is now showing true leadership which he may have brought over from captaining his nation.

“Yeah, it is even more important [than the City game],” Kulusevski told the media on Thursday night.

“Sunday is a must-win and that’s why forget about this one. A good performance, we did some bad stuff yeah, but just rest and try to get as much energy as possible for Sunday.

“Sunday is huge against a tough opponent at home but we’ve got to win.”