TBR Football

It’s been a very frustrating season for Tottenham, and an even more frustrating season for Richarlison.

Indeed, Richarlison has had a tough time of it at Tottenham this season.

Richarlison has been perennially injured this term, and there are suggestions that Richarlison could leave Spurs this summer.

The Brazilian was, once again, frustrated this weekend as he was left on the bench against Crystal Palace.

Speaking on The Tottenham Way Podcast, Marcus Buckland has been discussing Richarlison’s situation, and he shared what he noticed about the Brazilian as he sat on the sidelines against Palace.

What Richarlison was doing on the bench vs Crystal Palace

Buckland shared what he noticed about Richarlison on the bench.

The reporter says the Brazilian was continuously looking over to Ange Postecoglou, trying to catch his eye in an attempt to be brought into the action.

However, Postecoglou continuously ignored Richarlison, refusing to bring the South American on.

“Richarlison, I was watching him closely. I really wanted Richarlison to come on, I thought 2-2 was a possibility. I thought Richarlison’s presence up front would’ve given Tottenham a chance to get something out of the game. I was watching Richi and he kept looking at the bench trying to catch the attention of Postecoglou, but nothing came of it, he didn’t play a minute,”

Richarlison stats this season

It’s been an incredibly frustrating season for Richarlison owing to the fact he’s barely played for Tottenham this season.

Indeed, the Brazilian has been hampered by injury and overlooked by Ange Postecoglou at times.

However, when the forward has played, he’s been solid for Spurs, as the stats show.

Four goals and one assist in 475 minutes of football is not to be sniffed at, that’s a fantastic return for a player operating in a team that has been truly terrible this term.

Unfortunately, Richarlison just hasn’t been able to showcase his abilities all that often this season.

Luckily, Spurs’ biggest game of the campaign is still to come, and, who knows? Perhaps Richarlison could end up being the difference-maker in the Europa League final vs Manchester United.

Unfortunately for Tottenham Hotspur supporters, Heung-min Son and Harry Kane were unable to lift major silverware in tandem.

Son and Kane were arguably the most feared duo in the Premier League during their time at Spurs and yet, the North Londoners just could not get over the line.

However, Harry Kane has been vindicated by leaving Tottenham to join Bayern Munich as he has finally won the first trophy of his career by lifting the Bundesliga title.

Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura congratulated Kane as he helped Vincent Kompany’s side dethrone Bayer Leverkusen this season.

Kane is arguably England’s greatest striker and a player of his ilk certainly deserved to win a trophy before hanging up his boots.

Heung-min Son says he called Harry Kane after Bundesliga win with Bayern Munich

Son wishes Kane was still at Tottenham and considering how close he is to the England captain, he would have been ecstatic for him as well.

The 32-year-old has a chance of making history himself this season by winning the Europa League.

But for the time being, all Heung-min Son could do is be happy for Kane’s success and spoke to him on FaceTime after he won the Bundesliga with Bayern, telling TNT Sports: “Yeah, obviously we’re still good friends and best mates. I called him and text him and he facetimed me and he was very happy.”

“I was happy to see him smiling and to see him lifting that trophy he deserves it more than anyone else. What a fantastic moment for him and I hope there’s many more to come. Not only because I’m his friend, but the way he sacrifices and the way he works. What a player, I want to congratulate him again here. I was very happy for him.”

Son added that he feels Kane still watches Tottenham despite being at Bayern, saying: “I’m sure Harry is still watching all the games and supporting us, he will be a Spurs supporter on the day, I have no doubt.”

Could Harry Kane return to Tottenham?

The Lilywhites supporters could not be happier seeing their two legends still having such a tight-knit bond.

Kane still wants to play with Son as he named the South Korean as the one player he would love to be reunited with at Bayern.

The former Spurs striker has been linked with a sensational return to the Premier League as his contract just has two years left before running out.

However, Kane is not planning to join Tottenham.

The 31-year-old is happy at Bayern and has no intention of leaving anytime soon.

The biggest game of Manchester United’s season is on the horizon as they gear up to face Tottenham in the Europa League final.

It all rides on this. Win and Manchester United can salvage their season, they’ll qualify for the Champions League and pick up some silverware.

However, if United lose, their season will have been an unmitigated disaster.

United’s transfer budget will be affected by this result, and, simply put, the Red Devils have to win.

United are fancied to beat Spurs, but speaking on The Overlap, Gary Neville has shared some concerns ahead of this game.

Indeed, Neville says he has an awful feeling about this match due to the fact he believes, on paper, Tottenham are much better than United.

Gary Neville’s Europa League final worry

Neville shared how he’s feeling ahead of this huge game.

Of course, Neville is desperate to see United win, but he does have some big concerns heading into this game.

“I’m genuinely, I said it last week, I’ve got a sickly feeling about this game next Wednesday, a sickly, sickly feeling. And the biggest reason I’ve got a sickly feeling is when I look at every single player in the Tottenham team and thank Madison, I like Madison, so I don’t want him not to be available, but when you look at Kulasevski, Son, Brendan Johnson, Solanke, if Madison was there, Basuma and Sarr, Romero and van de Ven, Porro and Udogie,” Neville said.

“No, no. When you look at those players, like for like with United, only Bruno, in my opinion, would get into the first 11 of Spurs. I would select every single Tottenham player.

I said this earlier in the season. The goalkeeper is a 50-50 split, because I don’t like Vicario and I’m not a fan of Onana. But honestly, Udogie, Porro, van de Ven, Romero, Bissouma, Sarr, Johnson, Madison, Solanke, Kulasevski, Son.

“I would choose every single player of Tottenham’s over Manchester United’s next Wednesday night. That’s my worry.”

Tottenham’s recent record vs Manchester United

Neville says he’s worried about Tottenham’s quality ahead of this game, and he has every right to be concerned.

Indeed, Spurs have had United’s number in recent times.

Tottenham have, famously, often struggled against United over the years, but, in recent times, the tables have turned.

At this point, United have failed to beat Spurs in any of their last six meetings, while they’ve won each of the last three games between these two sides.

United are fancied to beat Tottenham though due to the fact they have more experience of winning these big games, as they showed in last year’s FA Cup final.

Ultimately, this is a tough game to call between two sides who have been poor this season and it will come down to who turns up on the day.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur may both be in the Europa League final but they have flattered to deceive in the Premier League this season.

Manchester United currently sit a lowly 16th in the Premier League table, while Tottenham are a place below in 17th.

Rasmus Hojlund has only scored 10 goals for Man United this season, of which four have come in the Premier League and six in the Europa League.

Meanwhile, Son Heung-min hasn’t been at his best this season – he scored more goals in the Premier League last term than he has done in all competitions this year.

Sam Allardyce has now shared which player he has found the most disappointing this season between Hojlund and Son.

Sam Allardyce says Rasmus Hojlund has been the season’s biggest disappointment

The latest episode of the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast featured a section called Big Sam’s Big Awards, essentially his personal end-of-season award selection.

Not all were positive awards – one of them was about who Allardyce felt was the biggest let-down in the Premier League this term.

On the subject of the Tottenham captain, Allardyce said: “I have every admiration for Son but it looks like it’s getting a bit too tough for him now.”

However, Allardyce said Hojlund was his biggest disappointment of the season, and he explained why.

“I think he’s been, unfortunately for him, the most disappointing,” began Allardyce.

“Because he’s not contributed enough for the expectation of Man United and what Manchester United need.

“They need… not just that goal-scorer, but they need that front man who can hold it up and then get in the box and score, and unfortunately he’s failed to do that.

“And when you take the price with it – you know what I mean?”

Could Son Heung-min and Rasmus Hojlund be on the move this summer?

Son has been a fantastic servant for Tottenham and will definitely go down as a club legend.

However, it can be argued that it is time for Tottenham to plan for life without Son, barring a remarkable turnaround next season.

As things stand, Son is contracted to Spurs until next year, but it remains to be seen whether he will try his luck elsewhere and make a move over the summer.

As for Hojlund, TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that Hojlund’s agents are doing work on potential options to leave Man United.

The striker’s stock in Serie A remains very high and it was previously revealed that Napoli had a strong interest in Hojlund.

Publicly, United are backing Hojlund and the striker himself is determined to fight for his place – the Dane would ideally like to stay and fulfil his potential at Old Trafford.

However, Hojlund is also aware of the interest in him, and a fresh start remains under consideration.

Tottenham Hotspur have had a couple of huge names leave them for Real Madrid over the years.

Luka Modric and Gareth Bale are two of the best players to ever play for Spurs, but both of them swapped White Hart Lane for the Santiago Bernabeu.

Even though the two players are viewed very differently by Real Madrid fans, it has to be said that they achieved immense success during their time in Spain.

Now, another Spurs player could end up at Real Madrid once the summer transfer window opens.

Xabi Alonso’s stance on signing Tottenham defender Cristian Romero for Real Madrid

Real Madrid are all set to bid farewell to Carlo Ancelotti at the end of this season.

The legendary Italian is one of the greatest managers in the history of the game, and he has done a remarkable job at the Bernabeu over the years.

However, after what has been a disappointing season, Ancelotti will leave Real Madrid and become the manager of the Brazil national team.

Xabi Alonso is expected to replace Ancelotti, and The Sun have now revealed that the Spaniard is a ‘huge fan’ of Tottenham defender Cristian Romero.

Romero is expected to leave Spurs this summer, and he has publicly expressed his desire to play in Spain in the next phase of his career.

Atletico Madrid have been pushing for Romero, but the report now claims that Alonso and Real Madrid’s chiefs believe that pairing the Spurs star next to someone like Antonio Rudiger ‘could create a strong base from which to go and win the biggest trophies’ next season and beyond.

However, it remains to be seen if Florentino Perez will be able to meet Daniel Levy’s demands for the ‘outstanding‘ Romero in the upcoming summer transfer window.

Tottenham’s Xabi Alonso dream is over

Tottenham are expected to sack Ange Postecoglou even if he wins the Europa League this month.

Spurs will need a new manager if that happens, and they have been linked with several names over the last few weeks.

One of the big names Tottenham were considering was Xabi Alonso, but all signs point towards the Spaniard becoming the next Real Madrid boss.

It was always unlikely that Spurs could attract Alonso or anyone of his stature – now, it is all but confirmed that they will not get him.

To add insult to injury, Alonso could steal Romero away from Tottenham too.

Tottenham Hotspur are set to lock horns with Manchester United in next week’s Europa League final in Bilbao.

However, Spurs have a number of personnel worries ahead of next Wednesday’s showpiece in the Basque Country.

Lucas Bergvall is out after damaging ligaments in his ankle during the final training session ahead of the Europa League semi-final first leg.

More recently, Ange Postecoglou admitted it’s “unlikely” that Bergvall will be fit for Tottenham in time for the match.

However, Marcus Buckland of The Tottenham Way podcast has now claimed that he’s heard a positive rumour about Bergvall’s fitness.

Rumour emerges suggesting Lucas Bergvall could play a part for Tottenham in Europa League final

Buckland, speaking on the latest episode of The Tottenham Way, revealed he “heard a rumour yesterday” involving Bergvall.

Said rumour was that Bergvall “may have a chance to be involved in the final”, though he stressed that it’s just hearsay at present.

“Lucas Bergvall, how I would love to wake up on the morning of the final and he’s okay,” said Buckland.

“I heard a rumour yesterday – and I don’t know if there’s any substance to it – suggesting that Bergvall may have a chance to be involved in the final, but that is hearsay.”

Bergvall recently signed a new contract with Tottenham.

Who else could be missing for Tottenham in Europa League final?

Tottenham are now sweating on the fitness of Dejan Kulusevski, who hobbled off early on in the weekend loss to Crystal Palace.

Kulusevski missed training on Monday morning, but Postecoglou seems optimistic about the prospect of the Swede being fit for the Europa League final.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Postecoglou said: “He was a bit sore this morning with his knee. It looks like a knock at this stage.

“We are going to let it settle for 24 hours and then assess it but the initial thing is it is more of a knock than anything more significant. Fingers crossed he is OK.”

However, James Maddison and Radu Dragusin are set to be out for the rest of the season due to respective knee injuries.

It’s been very difficult to judge the talent to come out of Tottenham Hotspur’s academy in recent years.

Indeed, Spurs have had a number of young players come through who were meant to be stars only to never reach their potential.

Alex Pritchard was meant to be brilliant, Oliver Skipp was tipped for massive things, while Marcus Edwards was seen as a top talent.

None of those players quite made the grade at Spurs. However, Spurs have had one huge academy success story in recent years – Harry Kane.

Kane is a world-class player these days, and after winning his first career trophy, he’s earning all sorts of praise.

However, Kane wasn’t always on this path to greatness.

Indeed, according to Steven Caulker, writing on LinkedIn, Kane wasn’t one of the best players in Spurs’ academy.

Tottenham had better academy players than Harry Kane

Caulker shared a post congratulating Harry Kane for his Bundesliga win with Bayern Munich.

Caulker was the year above Kane as he came through at Spurs, and, interestingly, the centre-back says the striker was not one of the best players in the system.

Indeed, according to Caulker, Kane wasn’t even one of the top five players to come through the Tottenham academy around that time.

Caulker would reel off a list of players who also came through at the time, suggesting that Kane was not best in class.

What happened to Tottenham’s other young stars?

Caulker listed a number of Spurs academy stars who he came through with at that time.

Of course, none of those players have gone on to hit the heights of Harry Kane, but it is interesting to explore what’s happened to those players in recent years.

Kyle Walker has become a star, Kyle Naughton and Danny Rose’s playing careers are over, while Ryan Mason’s playing career was sadly cut short by injury.

Jake Livermore isn’t officially retired, but he’s been without a club for nearly a year now, while Tom Carroll is at Reading.

Alex Pritchard is over in Turkey, as is Steven Caulker, while Nabil Bentaleb is still playing top-level football in France.

To say that a handful of these players were supposed to be better than Harry Kane at youth level is interesting, but, as Caulker says, mentality can often get you further than pure talent in football.

One of Tottenham Hotspur’s top performers from this season needs to be careful with his recent displays dipping below the standards he has set throughout the course of this campaign.

Ange Postecoglou was somewhat critical of the Tottenham Hotspur players who featured against Crystal Palace in their 2-0 defeat at home to the South London club.

The Australian manager was disappointed that the players who he fielded did not stake their claim for more consistent minutes ahead of the Europa League final.

The Spurs boss made eight changes to the team that defeated Bodo/Glimt, however, the players on the fringes were rather underwhelming during Sunday’s London derby defeat.

One player in particular, though, had a rather torrid afternoon in North London and needs to be careful of not falling out of favour again.

Djed Spence at risk of falling out of favour at Tottenham

Djed Spence was certainly one of the players against Crystal Palace who really disappointed and his displays as of late have been rather underwhelming.

Since making his first Premier League start for Tottenham back in December, the 24-year-old has really impressed at Tottenham, but has recently fallen back into the periphery of Postecoglou’s squad.

Spence has started in all of Spurs’ last nine league matches, however, the team have won just once during that period. In the Europa League, he has been benched for the last two rounds.

At the start of the season, Tottenham were open to selling Spence as he was not in the plans of Postecoglou.

However, Spence worked hard to prove Postecoglou wrong and his displays for the Lilywhites proved exactly that. But now he needs to ensure that hard work is not undone by dropping the standards which he has set for most of this year.

Djed Spence was very poor in Tottenham’s defeat vs Crystal Palace

Speaking after the defeat to Palace, Postecoglou told the media: “Guys had the opportunity today to put their name forward and put some pressure on the guys who played the other night. Fair to say there wasn’t any compelling evidence of that.”

The former Nottingham Forest full-back’s performance against the Eagles certainly feels included in that statement, as he should have been a player who stepped up.

Tottenham’s defensive set-up against Palace was slammed and Spence’s poor positioning was capitalised upon by Palace’s attackers.

For now, Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie won’t be losing any sleep over losing their starting spot in the team to Spence.

Ange Postecoglou’s sights will be set on masterminding Tottenham Hotspur to a win against Manchester United in the Europa League final, regardless of whether that ends saving his job.

Tottenham could sack Postecoglou even if he emerges triumphant in the Europa League and ends their 17-year trophy-drought anyway.

Fabio Paratici has recommended Roberto de Zerbi to Tottenham as Spurs seem to be laying the groundwork to replace the former Celtic boss.

While Thomas Frank and Andoni Iraola are on Tottenham’s radar as well.

However, a new man seems to have emerged as a managerial target to take Ange Postecoglou’s job.

Richard Keys has “heard” Tottenham have been in talks with Xavi

Tottenham are languishing in 17th place in the Premier League and unless they do their due diligence in their attempts to replace Postecoglou, they could be on course to have yet another abysmal season.

While a player like Lucas Bergvall believes in Spurs’ project, his faith might not last for too long amongst his other teammates if the North Londoners show no signs of major progress in the following campaign.

However, Richard Keys has revealed on his official website that Tottenham have spoken to Xavi Hernandez to come in and replace Ange Postecoglou: “Even if he wins the Europa League Ange can’t survive now. I heard from a really good source last week Spurs have spoken with Xavi. That makes a lot of sense.”

In a recent interview with The Athletic as well, the World Cup winner admitted that he would love to manage in the Premier League.

“Of course? Where, I don’t know.”

Xavi added: “There’s no hurry for me, but I’d like a good project. Like, ‘You have four years to work and make a project’. I’d love to work in the Premier League because I love the passion there. In Spain, it’s too much about the result.

“Look what has happened to [Carlo] Ancelotti and people criticising him. It’s not fair. He won 30 trophies in 10 years and he’s criticised like he’s not won anything. Valverde said it perfectly when he said: ‘If Ancelotti is criticised, what hope is there for the rest of us?’ But the pressure in Spain is difficult, especially at Barca and Madrid.”

Xavi has already decided whether he will manage Tottenham

Considering the Spanish legend has already won La Liga and managed one of the biggest clubs in the world in Barcelona, Spurs’ interest in him makes complete sense.

However, Richard Keys went on to reveal that currently, Xavi has no intention of returning to management, which would be a blow for Tottenham.

“Sadly for Spurs I’m also told he’s not ready to return to coaching yet. Or perhaps he’s even smarter than we thought?”

Vedran Corluka is still one of the first names that comes to mind in terms of players who have left Manchester City for Tottenham Hotspur.

Corluka made the switch in 2008 and went on to make 109 appearances for Tottenham in total, more than doubling the amount of games he played for Man City.

Of course, City’s project has now superseded Tottenham’s and Spurs no longer have the pleasure of hand-picking players from Manchester.

However, Daniel Levy and Tottenham’s transfer team seem to have spotted an opportunity this summer.

City are welcoming a new sporting director in Hugo Viana, and Spurs might be able to take advantage of some of the expected upheaval at the Etihad.

Tottenham leading race for James McAtee

According to GiveMeSport, Tottenham are now receiving encouragement in their pursuit of James McAtee.

The 22-year-old has seriously impressed for City at times this season, particularly in their run to the FA Cup final.

However, City have not agreed a new contract with McAtee and he is about to enter the last 12 months of his deal.

As a result, Tottenham have been keeping close tabs on McAtee’s situation and they’ve now learnt that City would be willing to cash-in.

Pep Guardiola hasn’t been fully convinced by McAtee’s contributions according to the report, further explaining why a new challenge might suit all parties this summer.

City rejected £30m bids for McAtee from Germany in January — the club were keen to avoid another Cole Palmer type mistake.

However, it’s now believed that Guardiola’s side have decided to cut ties, and they’d probably now demand a similar fee.

Man City and Tottenham could execute a swap deal

Of course, it’s worth pointing out that City are interested in Destiny Udogie right now according to reports.

Guardiola is looking for his Kyle Walker replacement and although Udogie plays on the opposite flank, he could be a boost for City’s defence.

Therefore, were Spurs willing, perhaps some kind of swap deal including Udogie and McAtee could take place, even if Tottenham might require some added funds too.

It will certainly be an interesting summer, and Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham future will of course be key to any decisions that Spurs make in the transfer market.