FourFourTwo

Tottenham Hotspur have opened talks with a South American star to replace Micky van de Ven.

Van de Ven signed from Wolfsburg as one of Ange Postecoglou's first signings and has been well-received by fans. The Dutchman is the fastest player in the Premier League according to the stats, with his recovery pace a helping factor in Tottenham's ability to play a high line.

But with the Lilywhites struggling defensively this season, Postecoglou is now on the hunt for a player to replace Van de Ven, with his injury issues a big problem for the Australian.

Micky van de Ven's Tottenham Hotspur career has been blighted by injury – and now the club are to act

Tottenham were unbeaten in 11 fixtures before Van de Ven's untimely injury against Chelsea at home last November. The north Londoners sunk into a mire from that match onwards to finish outside the top four – having led the table at one point.

Van de Ven has struggled more than most, missing 15 games through hamstring injuries since the start of last season. Now, Postecoglou's patience may be wearing thin, as he's no longer able to rely on the defender.

According to Paraguayan outlet D10, Spurs have “entered negotiations” for South American defender Omar Alderete, who is able to function both centrally or as a left-back.

The 27-year-old has been an ever-present for Getafe this term and could offer the kind of muscle and experience missing in the centre of defence for Tottenham, with Cristian Romero's performances below par this term, too.

Radu Dragusin – signed last winter – is the only other natural centre-back on offer to Postecoglou, who has fielded Ben Davies at centre-back, too.

In FourFourTwo's opinion, a new defensive figure is of paramount importance to Postecoglou, whose team are languishing far below expectations right now – but as much as Alderete would provide valuable cover, the problem is far bigger replacing Van de Ven while he's on the sidelines.

Unlike some of their rivals, Tottenham's build-up can expose them with two central defenders ahead of the goalkeeper, Yves Bissouma not a natural No.6, and the full-backs far too attack-minded to often help out.

Tottenham need to reassess their entire defensive structure. Both Romero and Van de Ven feel like players who would be paired with a calmer influence if they were at Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester City – so perhaps Spurs should look to sign a leader at the back and address the structural problems that Postecoglou has implemented with a gung-ho style of play.

Tottenham Hotspur are looking to bring in a superstar striker from Europe – to potentially replace Dominic Solanke.

Solanke joined the Lilywhites over the summer from Bournemouth, after a standout season on the south coast under new manager Andoni Iraola. Speaking to FourFourTwo exclusively, the Basque boss noted, “There was always a strong possibility that he’d leave, not after just the goals that he scored but the performances he had last season.”

The England international has started the season in fine fettle, too, settling into his new club nicely – but may already be deemed a second-choice No.9, with the introduction of a new player.

Tottenham Hotspur have made “important financial offer” to land target in January

Tottenham have plenty of options in attack, with Solanke leading the line alongside captain Son Heung-min and Brennan Johnson as the first-choice front three. Timo Werner, Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski and Wilson Odobert can all play in the frontline, too.

Despite the wealth of options, however, there is uncertainty, too. Son has been linked with an exit, while Werner is only on loan – and Richarlison hasn't featured much this season.

Spanish publication Sport via Sport Witness claim that Spurs have made an “important financial offer” to Jonathan David and are seeking a January agreement to bring the Canadian to north London.

David is a free agent next summer and able to negotiate with other clubs from next month. Apparently, the Lille star is most interested by the prospect of joining Barcelona – but Tottenham have a long-standing interest and would like to position themselves for a move.

David's profile as a false nine-type striker suggests that the north Londoners would like another option to Solanke – as do rumours that Spurs are still interested in Ivan Toney.

In FourFourTwo's opinion, however, this is merely an opportunity for Tottenham and not necessarily something for Solanke to worry about – especially as the 27-year-old is good enough to consistently start ahead of David.

Regardless, FourFourTwo understands that Tottenham are willing to back Ange Postecoglou in the market for a January signing should the right one present itself. Given the defensive issues in the team, such a signing may be more likely to be a centre-back or defensive midfielder.

The Premier League’s great entertainers, Tottenham Hotspur, haven’t hit the high notes in their last couple of matches and a return of four points from the last twelve available has ramped up the scrutiny on their manager.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou favours a style of play that either delivers emphatically or falls short with a whimper. In Thursday’s loss at Bournemouth, a disappointing result was compounded by a toothlessness that gives the boss a puzzle to solve.

The Cherries have beaten better teams than Spurs at home this season but an expected goals (xG) value of 0.87 for Spurs versus Bournemouth’s 3.71 doesn’t exactly smack of the swashbuckling football Postecoglou’s side can muster at their best.

December breaks the Postecoglou pattern at Tottenham

Between their thrilling win at Old Trafford at the end of September and a 4-0 demolition of Manchester City in their last league game of November, Spurs were predictable in their own way – win one, lose one, win the next, lose after that.

The outcome was a Spurs team that were fun for the neutral and frustrating for fans, but also attracted a degree of faith from those who were entertained by Postecoglou’s aggressive and uncompromising football. There’s something to be said for winning every other game when it gets the pulse racing.

The drift in Tottenham’s underlying performance data will have been noticed by Postecoglou. They went into last weekend with the highest non-penalty expected goals (npxG) in the Premier League and had scored an average of 2.25 goals per game.

Two matches later, their npxG has dropped below Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool. Their average goals per game has dropped to exactly 2 thanks to a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham and defeat at Bournemouth on Thursday evening.

The upshot is that Spurs have dropped from an entertaining sixth in the Premier League to a more precarious eighth, and they’ve done so on the back of two of their least effective attacking performances of the season.

The only goal of the game at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday exposed Tottenham’s great Achilles heel at the other end. An unmarked and untracked Dean Huijsen sauntered round the back to head in from Marcus Tavernier’s corner, indicative of a problem Postecoglou has been reluctant to address throughout his time in North London.

The Spurs manager has been asked about his team’s weaknesses at defensive set pieces before and isn’t shy about stating his position.

At the end of 2023/24, Postecoglou told football.london that he didn’t think fixing Tottenham’s defending at set pieces was the focus that would improve their fortunes overall. With their own attacking potency dropping, he might now revisit that view.

Tottenham’s faltering form of the last fortnight isn’t terminal. Eighth can become sixth just as quickly as sixth became eighth, and Spurs have both the firepower and the philosophy to win matches other teams might draw.

If that means losing some too, so be it.

Watch Spurs vs Chelsea to see if Enzo Maresca’s in-form side can showcase their title credentials by taking advantage of an inconsistent Tottenham in N17. Read on to learn about live streams and how you can watch from anywhere with a VPN.

It’s hard to know what to make of Spurs this season. At times they’ve been scintillating, scoring four in the victories over West Ham, Aston Villa and Manchester City. Yet they’ve also fallen to six defeats and are 10th in the Premier League table. A 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Thursday proved particularly hard for the travelling fans who took aim at manager Ange Postecoglou.

While many expected Enzo Maresca to struggle with Chelsea’s giant squad, the Italian seems to have found a formula for success. Resting his first choice players in the cup competitions, the Blues have emerged as title contenders thanks to eight wins from 14 league games this season. Unbeaten in the last 10 in all competitions, they have an impressive record at Spurs having won five of their last seven matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Read on to find out how you can watch Spurs vs Chelsea live streams from anywhere.

Watch Spurs vs Chelsea in the UK on Sky Sports

Sky Sports is hosting the Spurs vs Chelsea live stream in the UK. It will go out on the Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League channels.

Sky Sports subscribers can also watch the football on mobile devices via the Sky Go app that's available for iOS, iPadOS and Android devices, along with Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

If you want to sign up, you can check out Sky TV deals and packages for today's best prices. Or, if you don't fancy being locked into a contract, you could opt for a Now Sports membership with plans starting from £14.99/day.

If you're not in the U.K., you can still follow your usual Tottenham vs Chelsea live stream by using one of the best VPN services, such as NordVPN.

How to watch Spurs vs Chelsea from anywhere

You can watch Spurs vs Chelsea all over the world, with the Premier League product attracting a huge array of global broadcasters. We've outlined the UK and US options above but you can also watch in more than 100 countries. For more detail, check out our handy guide on how to watch Premier League live streams from anywhere in the world in 2024/25.

But what if you're away from home, and find access to your usual streaming service geo-blocked? The solution is a VPN, a piece of software that sets your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

Assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to unblock the streaming services you're subscribed to, with a host of privacy and protection benefits on top – that sounds like a result.

FourFourTwo’s colleagues TechRadar are experts in this field, and they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN provider on the market.

Watch Spurs vs Chelsea in the US

Viewers in the US can watch Tottenham vs Chelsea live streams on USA Network, which is available with most cable TV packages.

For cord-cutters, one option is Sling TV. The Sling Blue package is priced from $40/month ($20 for the first month) and it comes with more than 40 channels including USA.

Or you could go for Fubo. Its Pro Plan costs $79.99/month (reduced to $49.99 in the Black Friday sale), though gives you 150+ channels for that investment, including USA Network, plus lots more for sports fans to enjoy. USA is also on YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream.

If you're outside of the U.S. but have one of these subscriptions, you can watch a Spurs vs Chelsea live stream by using a VPN such as NordVPN.

Watch Spurs vs Chelsea in Canada

Canadians can watch the Spurs vs Chelsea live stream on Fubo, the home of Premier League soccer in Canada.

The Sports Monthly plan gets you all Premier League matches, as well as games in Ligue 1, Serie A and the Coppa Italia, plus 70 channels including BeINSports and MLB Network. It costs $29.99/month.

If you're willing to fork out a larger sum all at once, a Sports Quarterly plan costs CAN$79.97, which means you'll pay $26.66 per month. However, for the best value you'll want a Sports Annual plan which costs CAN$279.99 (that's CAN$23.33 per month). The Quarterly and Annual plans also allow you to watch the Premier League in 4K.

Canadians stuck abroad who still want their usual service can use a VPN such as NordVPN to make their streaming device believe it's back home in Canada.

Watch Spurs vs Chelsea in Australia

Aussies can watch the Spurs vs Chelsea game on Optus Sport, which has the rights to all 380 Premier League games this season. Optus can be accessed via a dedicated mobile or tablet app, and also on Chromecast and Apple TV, costing $24.99/month. An Annual Plan is also available for $229.

Watch Bournemouth vs Spurs to see if Ange Postecoglou's inconsistent Tottenham side can get back to winning ways in the Premier League in their visit to the south coast today. There are live streams, a potential free loophole, and you can watch from anywhere with a VPN.

It's hard to know which version of Spurs are going to turn up in Bournemouth on Thursday night – the one that thrashed the champions Manchester City 4-0 or the one that lost to relegation contenders Ipswich the previous game. Postecoglou's men, spearheaded by the likes of James Maddison and Son Heung-min, possess the quality to come out on top but don't always put it together over 90 minutes.

Bournemouth themselves are hardly the most consistent of sides. They've had some brilliant wins and performances this campaign but also some disappointing defeats. Still, they are well clear of the relegation zone and will be confident of getting a result – a win would actually take them above Spurs.

Bournemouth vs Spurs is part of a mid-week round of Premier League fixtures from December 3-5, all 10 of which are being shown on Amazon Prime.

Watch Bournemouth vs Spurs in the UK on Amazon Prime

You can watch Bournemouth vs Spurs on Amazon Prime in the UK, with a loophole that means you might be able to do so for free.

Amazon Prime Video is showing 20 Premier League games in December 2024, broadcasting all 10 fixtures from two separate gameweeks. Tonight marks the end of the first, but there'll be another 10 games coming up on Boxing Day and December 27, all live.

Bournemouth vs Spurs is available for Amazon Prime subscribers, on a plan of £8.99 a month, or to non-Prime members on a 'Prime Video only' subscription, which drops the price to £5.99 a month for those who aren't bothered about free deliveries or the other Prime benefits.

You could, though, watch Bournemouth vs Spurs for free, given that Amazon is offering a 30-day free trial on both plans. You could even catch any of Thursday's games as well, and also the Amazon games later in the month, while still being able to cancel without incurring any charge.

If you're an Amazon Prime Video subscriber and you're not currently in the UK, you can still watch Bournemouth vs Spurs by using a VPN – more on that below.

• Who are the commentators and pundits on Amazon Prime this week?

Watch Bournemouth vs Spurs in the US

In the US, you can watch Bournemouth vs Spurs on USA Network, a television channel that comes on most cable packages.

There is no dedicated streaming platform for USA Network, so for those that want to stream the game online, you might be looking at a cord-cutting cable TV streaming service, such as Sling TV or Fubo.

USA Network is included on the Sling Blue package, which starts from $40 a month – half price for the first month – and there's no need for the Sports Extra add-on here.

Fubo, meanwhile, is a heftier investment, at $79.99 a month, discounted to $49.99 for the first month, but you do get more channels and more live sport.

USA Network can also be streamed via YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and DirectTV Stream.

If you're currently travelling outside of the US, you can still access your streaming services by using a VPN such as NordVPN.

How to watch Bournemouth vs Spurs from anywhere

You can watch Bournemouth vs Spurs all over the world, with the Premier League product attracting a huge array of global broadcasters. We've outlined the UK and US options above but you can also watch in more than 100 countries. For more detail, check out our handy guide on how to watch Premier League live streams from anywhere in the world in 2024/25.

But what if you're away from home, and find access to your usual streaming service geo-blocked? The solution is a VPN, a piece of software that sets your devices to appear to be in any country in the world.

Assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to unblock the streaming services you're subscribed to, with a host of privacy and protection benefits on top – that sounds like a result.

Tottenham are enduring yet another inconsistent season, with a 4-0 away win at Manchester City sandwiched in between a home defeat and draw to Ipswich and Fulham.

Defensive problems persist with injuries to Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, making it likely that Tottenham will enter the January transfer market for another defender.

One target has had a breakout season in Europe, too, with the potential signing set to create history if they move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2024/25.

Tottenham chasing top Ligue 1 centre-back

According to the Telegraph, Tottenham are chasing Lens centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov, with the 20-year-old having impressed in Ligue 1 this season.

The report suggests that Spurs will face a fight with Newcastle for Khusanov's signature, as well as PSG and five other English clubs. The highly-sought after 20-year-old has two-and-a-half years remaining on his current deal in France, with Transfermarkt valuing him at less than £5m.

Having nurtured the Uzbekistan international, Lens are wanting a fee closer to £25m, with suggestions that more strong performances in the coming weeks could see that figure continue to rise.

Despite his age, Khusanov has already made 18 appearances for the Uzbekistan national team. If he does complete a move to Tottenham - or any other Premier League side - in January, he will become the first player from Uzbekistan to play in the English top flight. Right now, Uzbekistan are one of the 94 FIFA-affiliated nations to have not been represented in the Premier League, but Khusanov could soon change that.

The centre-back has started nine of Lens' 13 Ligue 1 games this term, appearing as a substitute in two others and missing the other two after picking up a red card in a 1-0 defeat to PSG. He helped keep four clean sheets in the games he has started, with Lens currently sat seventh in the French top flight.

In FourFourTwo's view, the £25m figure touted seems extremely steep considering he moved for just £100k 18 months ago, though he is showing great promise. Spurs are in need of more defenders to help bolster their backline, so if he is available for half that price it would make a lot more sense to complete a deal.

Manchester City are working on a shock move for Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur.

The champions are at their lowest ebb since Pep Guardiola took over in 2016. With no win in the last seven in all competitions – and a potentially season-defining loss to Liverpool at the weekend – Manchester City could be out of the title race already, with reinforcements expected in January.

And with director Txiki Begiristain replaced by Sporting man Hugo Viana, City could be about to make bold moves off the pitch in order to arrest this slump

Cristian Romero is wanted by Manchester City

City and Tottenham, generally speaking, don't do very much business with one another.

A move for Harry Kane in 2021 stalled over a fee that couldn't be agreed between the two clubs, meaning that Kyle Walker is the only player to have moved between the Etihad and north London since Guardiola arrived in the Premier League.

Spanish outlet Fichajes are reporting, however, that the Argentine defender is a shock target for the Sky Blues, with the defender stallng over a new contract.

“Tottenham plan to start negotiations in January to make him the highest-paid player at the club, aiming to secure his stay,” the report states. “However, the chance to regularly compete in the Champions League could sway the decision towards a team like City.”

Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are also said to be interested in the star, who could replace any number of players in Guardiola's defence.

Walker is now 34 and looked a shadow of himself this season, while John Stones' injury record has been poor of late. There is the possibility, too, that Romero could play in midfield as a No.6 – or a No.5, as it is in Argentina – as he embodies the Javier Mascherano-type qualities needed to succeed there.

In FourFourTwo's opinion, this might seem like an outlandish idea but with Romero stalling on new terms with the Lilywhites, this move might well be more possible than many realise. Spurs may have no chance but to offload the defender at a reduced price over the next year or so, with City one of the most attractive propositions in world football for any star.

Dominic Solanke continues to make quite the impact for Tottenham Hotspur following his summer move from Bournemouth.

The 27-year-old has netted six goals in all competitions so far, with Solanke bidding to help prove why Tottenham parted with £65m in the summer for his services. He has managed to keep fellow forward Richarlison out of the team, starting the lion's share of Spurs' Premier League games.

But having not been involved in the 1-1 draw against Fulham at the weekend, fans and FPL nerds are all asking the same question. Will he feature against his former side on Thursday?

Is Dominic Solanke fit to play for Spurs against Bournemouth?

Manager Ange Postecoglou is expected to be asked about Solanke in his pre-match media duties but did also speak about the England international following the draw against Fulham this weekend.

It remains to be seen whether he will feature but Postecoglou did give a positive update on the matter in both his interview with Tottenham's club media and in his post-match press conference.

“Dom trained yesterday, but the illness hit him overnight, so we’ll have to see how he recovers," began Ange.

"He came to the ground and wanted to try (to make himself available), but we could tell as soon as we saw him that he wasn’t in a fit state to play, so we sent him home. I haven’t seen Archie, but he picked up a bit of a knock, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Asked about his inclusion against the Cherries, Postecoglou added: “I hope so. He trained yesterday but he came in today and didn’t look well at all, so we sent him home.

"It’s obviously an illness, not an injury, so we need to see how it settles down in the next couple of days but hopefully it’s nothing too significant.”

In FourFourTwo's view, we can safely presume Solanke should be fit to feature against Bournemouth given he was rested at the weekend against the Cottagers.

The 27-year-old will be bidding to score against his former side but whether or not he chooses to celebrate at the Vitality Stadium remains another question.

Tottenham Hotspur are looking to bring a high-profile No.9 to north London – just months after signing Dominic Solanke.

The England man joined Tottenham in a £60 million deal over the summer, as the long-awaited replacement for club-record scorer Harry Kane, who left the summer prior. But stepping into the shoes of the England captain – ranked at No.7 in FourFourTwo's list of the best Premier League strikers of all time – has been a tall task for the former Chelsea and Liverpool man.

Through little fault of Solanke's, Spurs are currently seventh in the table with their form fluctuating wildly by the week. Now, it looks as if chairman Daniel Levy could be about to bring in another striker to rectify matters.

Tottenham are chasing proven Premier League goal-getter to supplement Solanke

The Lilywhites have a wealth of attacking options with versatility across the frontline. Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner, Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevki are all options out wide.

Son Heung-min, meanwhile, has functioned both as a centre-forward and a left-winger – but is out of contract in the summer.

Despite Solanke only able to function centrally and Ange Postecoglou using a lone striker, Fichajes in Spain have reported that Tottenham are interested in bringing Ivan Toney back to London.

The former Brentford striker was on the radar for several top Premier League clubs, with Tottenham mooted as an option – before his leftfield move to the Saudi Pro League.

Signing Toney would not only almost certainly spell the end of seeing Son up front, however, it would likely see Solanke's minutes heavily reduced.

In speaking to FourFourTwo exclusively last month, however, Solanke's former manager, Andoni Iraola said that he expected the target man to leave the Vitality Stadium after strong form and that he deserved the chance to play at a higher level.

“I think it was always a strong possibility that he’d leave, not after just the goals that he scored but the performances he had last season,” the Bournemouth boss said. “He was very consistent. He wasn’t called up for the Euros – and that didn’t help us much: it made it hard to convince Dom to stay.”

In FourFourTwo's opinion, it's highly unlikely that Tottenham's interest in Toney is serious. The North Londoners had the opportunity to sign him in the summer on wages much smaller than those he's currently earning, and with Solanke a similar profile – who hasn't done anything wrong so far in a white shirt – we would be shocked if Toney replaced him up front.

Rodri doesn’t like the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Nothing to do with the aesthetic (we don’t think), it’s his record there that bothers him.

In the Premier League, played four, lost three, won one. Ballon d’Or winners don’t tend to lose many games, so to post three straight defeats versus the same team in the same stadium is unusual.

“Some teams are the worst for you," Rodri explained to FourFourTwo, before Tottenham's 4-0 drubbing of City, in an exclusive one-on-one interview in Madrid where he's been rehabbing his injured knee. "Tottenham for us. When they had Harry Kane, Son and Lucas Moura, they had the perfect way to play against us.

Why can't I beat Spurs?

“I never won there – last season was the first time. I thought, ‘Why is it so tricky?’, but sometimes it’s like this.” After parading his cherished Ballon d’Or to the Manchester City crowd before their game at the weekend, the sense of deja vu must have been palpable.

“Last season was such a tough season,” Rodri says, remembering how Arsenal pushed City all the way. “If you want to win the Premier League, normally it goes to the last day, and we really played to our limit and gave everything. Maybe that’s why we didn’t perform well in the FA Cup final, because in the last two games, we left everything on the pitch.

“That showed the mentality of the team, though – we won for all these years, but we had the desire to go again until the last day. Of course, people expect us to win again this year, then again. It’s not easy, but we’ll be there, we’ll fight and the team will show character.”

They are missing their best player though, that much is true. But specifically, what is it that the team are currently missing while their midfielder recovers from an ACL injury? It makes sense to ask the man himself.

“You’re the guy who ensures everything works," he says, when asked to explain how he sees his own role on the pitch for club and country. "You don’t have a specific thing to do, you just have a lot of things to do. It’s about leadership and understanding the game.”

Rodri has played centre-back as well of course, at the 2022 World Cup, and defenders have joined him in midfield at City. So which is more difficult?

“It’s more difficult to do what John Stones has done, Joao Cancelo in the past or Manuel Akanji when he’s played that role," he says. "In midfield, we’re used to looking 360, being surrounded by players.

“Defend, attack, it’s the most complete part of the field. At centre-back, you just have players in front of you – it’s more chilled with the ball. I tell the centre-backs, ‘Your job with the ball is so easy!’ It’s demanding without the ball though – the positioning is very tricky.

“When I played there at the World Cup, I’d watch clips of centre-backs, how they behaved, everything. You have to look at the people who really know that role.”