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No team in European football has had as awful luck with injuries as Tottenham Hotspur over the past couple of seasons, and now in 2025/26, Spurs can't even blame the continued injury woes on an Ange Postecoglou system that had players run into the ground.

Now, Spurs did come into the 2025/26 campaign with several key injuries lingering from the 2024/25 campaign. Dominic Solanke remains mostly out of commission after an injury aggravation and surgery. Dejan Kulusevski is nowhere close to returning either. And James Maddison may never return for the 2025/26 season after tearing his ACL.

Along the way, several more key players have been out of the lineup. Randal Kolo Muani took ages to get settled with a dead leg and then suffered a jaw injury, Destiny Udogie has been in and out of commission, and even Cristian Romero and Mohammed Kudus have been all important players who picked up knocks.

Destiny Udogie is out

Udogie is the latest significant injury, as the vital starting left back has gone down again. He was a late scratch against Brentford after picking up a slight injury against Newcastle last Tuesday night that was not talked about much. The injury was not even revealed by Thomas Frank until Spurs had already beaten the Bees, too.

Now, according to Frank ahead of Spurs Champions League matchup against Slavia Praha, via the official web site, Destiny Udogie is going to be out for another month with a hamstring injury. He will not be able to return for Spurs until the New Year.

Although Spurs won without Udogie against Brentford, Djed Spence has shown time after time that he is not a true left back, and Spurs are awful against any sort of decent opponent whenever Udogie is not available to stretch the defense and lend some attacking quality and support from the fullback position to the left wingers and striker.

So while Udogie is a defender, the blow is most massive to the Spurs attack. Udogie overlaps and helps orchestrate things with his solid ability on the ball, and he is just about as good as Spence defensively, even if Spence gets more credit for both the memes he makes and for the fact that his defending looks disproportionately great in the face of his horrendous attacking output. Spurs are 100 percent going to miss Udogie over this month of December, but an aggravation of a hamstring injury would be even worse for their chances this season.

Tottenham Hotspur youngster Mathys Tel has as much potential as any current Spurs first team player rising through the ranks, and although he has shown his potential with game changing goals in games against Leeds United and Manchester United this season, he has mostly been eschewed by manager Thomas Frank.

For the most part, Frank has been undervaluing his young players in his first season at the helm. Recently, he has shown signs of giving the young stars he has discarded a chance, with the likes of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall finally becoming important starters over the last few games.

Tel, though, remains mostly on the periphery, but, quietly, it appears Frank is realizing the error of his ways of undervaluing the Bayern Munich signing. Because right at the very beginning of the season, Frank already made it clear that he didn't value Tel as highly as the more important people above him in the club did. You know, the same people who signed him permanently from Bayern.

The Mathys Tel mistake

That's because Frank didn't even have Tel on the final squad for the Champions League season, meaning Tel cannot help them in European football's premier competition this campaign. It's a decision that Frank has now admitted he regrets.

The Danish coach said of Mathys Tel, prior to Tottenham's Champions League match against Slavia Praha on Tuesday night, via The Spurs Express, “If I knew then what I know now, I would have changed my decision, no doubt about it.”

Wow, he came right out and admitted it. Although Thomas Frank is a quiet man, he has a certain understated sense of pride about him and does not often admit he is in the wrong. He never did, for example, with Bergvall, Gray, or, most recently, attacking midfielder Xavi Simons.

But he is admitting that he was wrong to cut Tel out of the Champions League squad. The thing is, while that may be seen as a positive to the Spurs fans who want to see more reps for Tel on the left wing and at striker, the words feel a bit empty since Frank still has not been playing the French forward much, even after he proved his utility with those displays against Leeds and Manchester United. But the season is young yet - and Tel younger still. The former Ligue 1 prospect will get more opportunities to show his stuff in 2025/26, rest assured.

Tottenham Hotspur arguably played their most dominant game of the season against Brentford this weekend. In contrast to a lot of recent games, the attack looked dynamic. There was a lot more movement in the central areas with Mohmmad Kudus, who created the side’s first significant chance on the day, being a major threat all across the pitch.

Spurs, who had played the fewest through-balls in the entire league, went ahead in the 25th minute when Pedro Porro played an inch-perfect through ball to Xavi Simons on the run, who passed the ball for a straight-forward Richarlison tap-in. A goal created with Movement and Through-Balls, aspects that had often been lacking in Spurs’ attack this season.Â

In the 25 minutes where the game was tied, Spurs outshot Brentford 4 to 1 and had scored 1.03 expected goals compared to the opposition’s 0.06 (Opta). This was in stark contrast to the rest of the season, where Spurs had conceded 10 goals while scoring 8 when the game was tied and were outshot and outscored on expected goals.Â

Tottenham's defense won the duels

This game saw Spurs keep the lead for more than 65 minutes after breaking the stalemate, refreshing for a side that had trailed for more minutes than they had left throughout the season. Not only did Spurs keep their lead, but they were dominant throughout.

In every 15-minute phase, Spurs outscored Brentford on expected goals, quite significant considering Spurs had been outscored on the same metric in every 15-minute phase between the 1st and 75th minute throughout the league season (Opta/Understat).

A defense that ranked in the worst six for both expected goals conceded and shot quality (expected goals/shot) before the game, conceded just 0.23 expected goals on 4 shots throughout the game (Opta). Spurs had a lot of success in their duels and presses, and when Brentford did break through the lines, they were met by Spurs’ defenders who cut out the danger.

The second goal was scored by Xavi Simons directly after winning a duel in midfield, a great example of complementary football on either side, and a far cry from Spurs’ league-leading dispossessions and miscontrols (Overlap) leading to the defense being opened up.

It could be a flash in the pan or the start of a turnaround, but for probably the first time in the season, Spurs remained absolutely dominant in a game from start to finish. For much of the season, Frank has struggled, but the Brentford win looks like a right turn.

It looks like Mohamed Salah has played his last game for Liverpool. He has been axed from the Reds' squad to face Inter Milan in the Champions League this week. This means that he may not be able to have a farewell at Anfield before he goes to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Following AFCON, Salah may already be a Saudi Pro League player. These unfortunate events are a result of the winger being dropped by Arne Slot. Salah's comments following the draw with Leeds have led to ruthless action being taken against the club's star player.

The whole situation seems very similar to the saga including Cristiano Ronaldo and Piers Morgan that led to the Portuguese star leaving Manchester United for Al-Nassr.

Salah appears entitled, and it appears best for the team that he departs. Liverpool is reportedly prepared for the Egyptian's exit. The Express has reported that "they have already been looking at the perfect candidate with Antoine Semenyo thought to have emerged as a January target."

Semenyo has scored six goals, with three assists, in 14 Premier League games for Bournemouth this season. He has been linked with other top sides, including Tottenham Hotspur. Other teams reportedly interested in the player are Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Napoli.

Mohamed Salah leaving Liverpool would affect Tottenham Hotspur

Semenyo's ability to play on the left and right wings would have made him a perfect fit for Thomas Frank's side. Spurs have options on the right flank as they have Mohammed Kudus and Brennan Johnson. However, Wilson Odebert is the club's only recognized left winger.

As Liverpool is the Premier League champions, they appear to be the more attractive option for Semenyo. However, they are just one point and one place above Spurs in the division. Slot did a very good job last season with Jurgen Klopp's side, but it now appears that they are in their transition period.

Spurs are also in a transition period as we are now in a post-Daniel Levy era at the club. Thomas Frank has come in to replace Ange Postecoglou, who ended the 17-year trophy drought last season. The jury is still out on Frank, but the win over his former club, Brentford, last season has eased pressure on the Dane.

Frank now has winnable ties against Sparta Praha in the Champions League before they take on relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. Following those fixtures, they face Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Mauricio Pochettino currently has one of the biggest jobs in soccer, taking charge of the United States at a World Cup they are co-hosting with Canada and Mexico. The pressure is on the Argentine to have a real run in the competition, as this would help the sport grow in the country massively.

It was still a surprise that Pochettino took the job with the USMNT, especially as his CV listed clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain. The manager has, in the past, expressed that he would one day want to return to Tottenham.

Pochettino was quoted by Last Word On Spurs saying, "I am so happy in the USA, but I am always thinking about returning to the Premier League one day. It is the most competitive league, and of course I would love to come back again. If I could achieve only one more thing in my career? To win the Premier League and the Champions League. We were so close in Tottenham. I want to achieve this."

Pochettino took Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019. They beat Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, and Ajax en route, but fell to a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool at the final hurdle. During the 2015/16 and 2016/17 Premier League seasons, Spurs challenged for the title, but eventually finished third and second, respectively.

Could Mauricio Pochettino return to Tottenham Hotspur?

Pochettino's contract with U.S. Soccer will run out after the World Cup next summer. It appears that he has too much interest in club soccer to stay on with the USMNT after the tournament. Depending on how Thomas Frank fares in the second half of the season, Spurs may be looking for a new manager.

Tottenham are currently 10th in the Premier League, and 11 points off the leaders, their North London rivals, Arsenal. Spurs were on a five-game winless run, but Frank managed a victory over his former club, Brentford, at the weekend to ease pressure on his position.

Pochettino has often been linked with the Manchester United job too. However, the Red Devils appear to be sticking with Ruben Amorim for now. He lasted just one season at Chelsea and often seemed to be too synonymous with Tottenham to be in the role. Tottenham is the club that he managed for 293 games, and where he is still highly regarded.

Pochettino may not have won a trophy with Spurs, losing in the Champions League and League Cup finals. However, he still has ambitions of winning big domestic competitions. The man who sacked Pochettino, Daniel Levy, is no longer at Spurs, which could open the door for the Argentine to return

It had looked like Marcus Rashford would be a one-club man at Manchester United. However, his time at Old Trafford turned very sour. He was sent on loan to Aston Villa last season, but has now been loaned out to Barcelona.

He has impressed at Barca, scoring 6 goals and providing 10 assists in 20 games under Hansi Flick. The La Liga side has the option to sign him permanently, but it remains to be seen if they will. CaughtOffside has reported that "Tottenham are also interested in him, and they are hoping to convince him to return to the Premier League."

Rashford will feel that he has unfinished business in the Premier League, as he did not win it at United. He told the club's official website last year, "So I still have, you know, dreams of winning the big trophies, the Premier League and Champions League with Man United. So, you know, hopefully we can get that done."

The player won the Europa League, two FA Cups, and two League Cups with United, but the biggest prizes in domestic soccer eluded him. There is no way back for him at United, so the door could be open to him at Tottenham.

Would Tottenham Hotspur be a good fit for Marcus Rashford?

Tottenham are a long way off from competing for the Premier League title; they are currently 10th in the division. They are only four points off the top four, but pressure is mounting on Thomas Frank.

Spurs finished 17th in the league last season, which cost Ange Postecoglou his job. However, the Australian did manage to win the Europa League. This ended Tottenham's 17-year trophy drought and qualified them for the Champions League.

Another big change at the club happened with the departure of Daniel Levy as chairman. Levy deserves credit for his work at the club, especially for delivering the new stadium. However, he was often criticized for not backing his managers when it came to recruitment.

We could see some statement signings in the post-Levy era at Tottenham. Signing Rashford would certainly reflect the club's ambition of competing for the biggest prizes in the game. Rashford favors playing on the left wing, and Spurs could do with a left-sided forward.

Wilson Odobert is the club's only recognized senior left-winger, but the 21-year-old has been underwhelming this season. Other players have filled in on the left wing this season, including Randal Kolo Muani, but he is more of a center-forward.

Tottenham Hotspur have so many talented young players in their squad who just have not been getting sufficient opportunities to shine under Thomas Frank, and that's been a big reason why Spurs supporters have been so harsh on the new manager. They have been dropping points week after week, in large part because Frank is not playing his best players, including players who are future pillars of the club.

One of those individuals is young center midfielder Archie Gray. Just 19 years of age, the highly gifted deep lying playmaker joined in summer 2024 from Leeds with a high price tag and lofty long term expectations. He was, unfortunately, played as a center back frequently by Ange Postecoglou, and in his second season with a new manager, Gray was mostly cast aside by Frank to start the campaign.

But lately, Frank has been giving Gray starting opportunities, largely left with no choice. And Tottenham have looked so much better in position and in getting the ball forward with Gray starting in midfield. He has lapped Rodrigo Bentancur and the Spurs attack is much more fluid if Gray plays over the much more defensive Joao Palhinha as well.

Archie Gray makes the others shine

After delivering a crisp, solid all around performance to help Xavi Simons shine and Tottenham roll over Frank's old employers Brentford 2-0 on Saturday in the Premier League, the new Spurs manager had to give Gray some well earned praise.

Frank said after the win, via The Spurs Express, “I think he did well while I think a few others shined a little. So for example when Djed Spence bombed on, he would always cover. He did well on the ball and got out of some tricky situation. A very solid performance.”

There is so much about what Gray does that is not captured in the stat sheet. He is tireless at covering gaps defensively for other players when they go forward, and even at the age of 19, he has this almost innate sense of where to go and where to be off the ball.

He is also far more brave than the experienced Bentancur in possession, and you can not teach that. What Gray does when he is on the pitch for Tottenham is invaluable, because this is a guy who gets open to receive the ball and, as Frank notes, can dribble out of tight spaces with the verve to push the ball forward to the playmakers like Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus. It's clear that Frank knows what Spurs fans have been screaming for months; Gray needs to play.

Every single member of the Tottenham Hotspur fan base was screaming at manager Thomas Frank to just swallow his pride and play Xavi Simons. For four straight games, Frank inexplicably left Simons riding the pine, with the Spurs attack unsurprisingly playing poorly without the Dutchman in their starting lineup.

Spurs were first embarrassed by Arsenal 4-1. They seemed to improve on paper against PSG with a 5-3 loss, but take away Randal Kolo Muani's individual brilliance and three goal contributions against his parent club and there wasn't a whole lot positive elsewhere. Meanwhile, Spurs then got embarrassed again in league play 2-1 to Fulham. They were able to draw Newcastle 2-2 on Tuesday night, but that was, again, solely thanks to the heroics of one player as center back Cristian Romero bagged a brace including a last second bicycle kick to sink the Magpies.

Well, Frank finally saw the light and after paradoxically praising Simons for his fine work in training, the Danish manager decided to give Simons an obvious start against Brentford. And with an all around masterclass in midfield that included a goal and an assist, Simons was now clearly the one to spearhead a Spurs victory.

Xavi Simons is here to stay

After the game, Frank could not help but praise his new signing, telling the BBC after the win, via The Spurs Web, "No doubt about it [it was his best performance]. He has been working so hard, he is so determined. It just takes a little bit of a combination with him growing into it and also the team getting more into sync. Everything was a little bit on the same page today."

Well, duh. Any Spurs fan could have seen this coming, and they were clamoring since the benching against Arsenal for Frank to just play Simons. There is no way Simons can integrate into the league or improve by simply sitting on the sidelines, and Spurs are visibly a better team with him, even including the fact that he wasn't playing to his real level prior to Saturday's 2-0 win over Brentford.

After several poor performances in a row, Tottenham Hotspur supporters were wholly fed up with manager Thomas Frank and were loudly sharpening their pitchforks in preparation for Frank's return match against Brentford. If Frank could not beat his old club with a more talented Spurs side, fans surmised that he would be one large step closer towards wearing out his welcome at the club.

Well, Tottenham finally responded, turning in their best performance in ages, winning 2-0 against Brentford in what can only be described as a comprehensive display. Yet even in victory and with positivity abound, there was still a negative to take from the game on the injury front.

Spurs have been dealt the worst hand of any team in the Premier League injury wise, which was already the case last season. James Maddison is out with a torn ACL, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke are still nowhere near injury returns, and several other key players have missed time this season.

Tottenham have to worry about Randal Kolo Muani again

And once again, as Thomas Frank told reporters, via The Spurs Express, key starting left back Destiny Udogie is out injured. Frank explained that he could not play against Brentford due to an injury he picked up against Newcastle on Tuesday night in the 2-2 draw. Frank said of Udogie, “He got a soft tissue injury, unfortunately, against Newcastle.”

On the bright side, Frank stated that Udogie will not be out for "too long". Then again, given how the season has gone, "not too long" from Frank could mean anything, given he said that Solanke was supposed to come back soon and the striker remains out of action.

Speaking of injured strikers, Randal Kolo Muani may have picked up a knock against Brentford. The Daily Mirror's Ryan Taylor reported that the French star was observed in the mixed zone with a visible limp. Per Taylor, he was also "moving gingerly" prior to being substituted from the game.

Although Kolo Muani did not get on the score sheet, the new No. 9 has been a huge boost for Xavi SImons, Richarlison, and the rest of the Tottenham attack. His first touch, passing ability, and, most importantly, work ethic have been a real positive for Spurs, and Kolo Muani's three goal contributions against PSG were a sign of the quality he can bring to the table to win games on his own.

Spurs can't afford to lose either of these players for an extended period of time. Kolo Muani is the best striker on the team, while Udogie is the only true left back Spurs have. Updates on these two will be imperative going forward.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters cannot comprehend what manager Thomas Frank is doing to star attacking midfielder Xavi Simons. For the fourth straight game, Frank made Simons ride the pine, and while Spurs actually got a point against Newcastle this time around, that was due to a brace of goals from Cristian Romero, including a literal last gasp bicycle kick that rolled into the back of the net.

Spurs lost the first three of those games without Simons in the starting lineup, including two especially atrocious offensive showings in a 4-1 North London Derby drubbing at the hands of Arsenal and a putrid 2-1 loss to another local rival, Fulham, one week later.

There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why Frank is snubbing Simons from the starting lineup, and what makes the situation even worse is that Simons is, by Frank's own admission, doing all the right things to play.

Thomas Frank is being totally bizarre

Ahead of another important local rivalry game against Frank's former club Brentford this Saturday, Thomas Frank basically admitted that Xavi Simons has been doing great at training, and, once again, the coach affirmed that he is a fan of the player's, “Xavi has trained fantastic the last five, six times. very good attitude on the training pitch, I like that a lot.”

At this point, it's becoming bizarre, bordering on comical. Frank continues to leave Simons out of the Tottenham starting lineup to no literal benefit of his team in the results column, and he does not even have a compelling reason for why he is chopping off the biggest signing of the summer transfer window from the lineup.

It's totally unclear what Frank has against Simons, as he is benching the Dutchman without even trying to facilitate tactics that get the most out of the talented and athletic attacking midfielder. Even now that Frank is finally starting his best options like Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, and Randal Kolo Muani with visible growth, he is sabotaging completing the lineup by not letting Simons start with a trio of talented players whom he would greatly benefit from being alongside.