The New York Times

Since moving to Munich two years ago, the Kane family wardrobe has gained a few new items: lederhosen (the leather breeches worn by men in southern Germany) and a collection of dirndls (an outfit comprising a blouse, bodice, skirt and apron that originated in German-speaking areas of the Alps).

“They’re actually really comfortable,” says Kane of the lederhosen he first wore at Oktoberfest, an annual beer festival held in Munich, in 2023 and then when his new team Bayern Munich celebrated winning the 2024-25 Bundesliga in May.

“When I first saw them, I thought it was going to be horrible (to wear), but they’re more comfortable than they look. It’s a big tradition here. I’ve got one that I got through the club, but my wife has got her dirndls — a few different ones now — and is fully going for it.”

The 32-year-old is wearing a more conservative black tracksuit when he meets The Athletic at a football ground belonging to amateur side SV Heimstetten. He’s here as an ambassador for STATSports, which is launching the STATSports Academy, a training tool for youth players who are not part of a professional youth setup.

A few days earlier, Kane scored a hat-trick in Bayern’s 4-1 win aganist Hoffenheim — the ninth three-goal haul of his time in Germany’s top division and his second this season. The Bundesliga champions are unbeaten this season, with crucial contributions from Kane (11 goals and three assists in the league).

For England, Kane scored his 75th and 76th international goals against Latvia on Tuesday as Thomas Tuchel’s side became the first team in Europe to qualify for next summer’s World Cup.

Kane describes leaving Tottenham Hotspur and London — a club and city that had been his home for so long — as “a big step from a professional and personal point of view”, but it’s one he has no regrets over. Speaking on the same day that Spurs head coach Thomas Frank says the England captain would be “more than welcome” back in north London, Kane makes it very clear he is happy in Munich, and that the additions to his wardrobe are there to stay, for now.

On the day we meet, this year’s Oktoberfest has been running for two days, with Kane and his team-mates not due to make their annual visit until the final day. The festival takes him back to his early months in Germany, when every day brought new experiences.

“It’s a big event here, you can feel when it’s on in how busy the city is; so many people, and a lot of beers. I really enjoyed my first experience of it. But I didn’t drink, so maybe I’ll have to go one year when I can and experience it that way.”

Before he arrived in Munich, Kane didn’t know what to expect from living in Germany. “Until you experience something, it’s hard to really judge what it’s actually going to be like.

“I think there’s a perception that German people are maybe a bit grumpy and a bit cold. But they’ve got a great sense of humour and are really down-to-earth people who love hard work and humbleness.”

He did know how big a club Bayern were, though. “Everyone pretty much supports Bayern Munich here,” he says. “Everyone talks about football, loves football. So even when I’m out and about or picking the kids up from school, everyone’s giving compliments when I’m scoring goals. It’s like one big community.”

He laughs while describing his experience at the school gates: “There’s quite a lot of kids there who are excited to see me, as well as my kids. Mine find it quite funny with everyone else asking for pictures. I just try to zone in and get them in and out.”

Kane had spent his entire playing career in England before he swapped Spurs for Bayern in August 2023. It has become increasingly common in recent years for young English players to continue their development abroad, but the path is less established for senior players.

Kane says the move has been overwhelmingly positive: “From a professional point of view, it’s been great to experience and to showcase my talents to more of the world. It’s helped me to become an even better and bigger player. The Premier League is probably the biggest league in the world, so you don’t realise how big the other leagues are and how big their fanbases are. Every stadium we go to is full. The atmospheres are amazing.”

He’s trying to learn the language — “When I’m in the lessons, I’m OK. But when I am out of the lessons and I hear them talk properly and quickly, I’m nowhere near” — but is being humbled by his children, who are in an international school and picking it up quickly. “But I’m trying these things, trying to fit in and understand the different cultures — it’s great from a personal point of view.”

Some things, though, do not change, wherever he is in the world. Spending time with his wife Kate and four children in the local park or on dog walks through the forest remains a priority when he’s not playing or training. His eldest daughter has a passion for horse riding, while his eldest son is already football-obsessed. “He’s just smashing the ball everywhere,” says Kane. “As they get older, they take up more of your time and we don’t get a lot of free time. So I try to spend as much as I can with them.”

His passion for golf is well documented (he plays off a handicap of around three) and it remains a favourite pastime when the children are at school. But while the courses are good in Munich, the winter climate makes playing tricky for half the year. “The snow comes down pretty early,” says Kane. “From October to April, the courses are pretty much shut because the snow takes over. Whereas in England, you can play most of the year.”

Aside from friends and family, Kane says there is not much that he misses from home. If pushed, he’d say the golf courses — “Just the different types and the privacy in some of the clubhouses” — but he gets a round in whenever back in England. He also apologetically says he’s not a big fan of the coffee in Germany: “I do miss a good oat milk flat white.”

The locals are likely to forgive him, given he scored 44 and 41 goals in his first two seasons at Bayern, and he is hitting an average of 1.8 goals per game this season. After the disappointment of a third-place finish in his first season, Kane played an important role in regaining the title (their 12th in 13 seasons) last year — the first major trophy of his career.

“Obviously it was a long time coming,” he says. “There was a lot of hard work from when I started my career to that moment. A lot of ups and downs, a lot of close moments. As the years go on and you get closer, it just made me more motivated to get over the line, to make sure I win the first trophy.

“It was a special feeling. We had a restaurant that we took over and just got drunk and celebrated together. Then lifting the trophy at the Allianz in front of the fans and being on that side of it for once was really special. I had my family there, my kids on the pitch after.

“Those are the moments that make it all worth it. You work so hard throughout the year, you’re away a lot, you’re training a lot. To not have had a celebration like that in the 10 or 12 years I’ve been playing… it was nice to have that feeling.”

A moment like that can transform an athlete. After British tennis player Andy Murray won his first Grand Slam tournament — the U.S. Open in 2012 — it seemed to change his personality, lifting a burden that had weighed him down and spurring him on to more success.

“Winning is almost like a drug,” says Kane. “You want to do it, you want to achieve it. When you achieve something like that, you can maybe think, ‘OK, I’ve done what I wanted to do and relax a little bit’.

“But I’ve gone the other way in terms of: ‘OK, I want to do even more now. I want to experience that with bigger trophies, on bigger occasions. Can I improve and make that happen?’.”

With fewer than 250 days until the 2026 World Cup begins in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the England captain says he’s excited for the tournament.

Kane was part of the Bayern squad that played at the Club World Cup this summer, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. The competition provided insight for next summer.

“The heat is going to be a big factor,” he says. “I didn’t realise how hot it was going to be, especially with the midday and 3pm kick-offs. There’s a big difference in playing a lot of night games here in Europe. The travel is going to be difficult to handle, too.”

Yet these challenges are all the kinds of things that make a World Cup special, he adds. “Feeling like every game is an away game, getting the English support there. They just have a special feeling about them.

“It’s going to be a massive tournament — because in America, they make everything massive. They’re not going to let this one go by without making it one of the best tournaments in the world. I’m excited for it and I think we have a good chance.”

Before then, Kane wants to deliver more success to a city that has become home — and don those lederhosen at least one more time.

On Wednesday morning, Tottenham Hotspur announced that Fabio Paratici had been appointed as their co-sporting director alongside Johan Lange.

Paratici previously worked for the north London side between 2021 and 2023. He resigned from his role as managing director of football after being banned by FIFA for alleged financial mispractice during his time with Juventus, which he has always denied. After successfully appealing the scope of his ban, Paratici was allowed to act as a consultant for Spurs and remained a close confidante of former executive chairman Daniel Levy.

Lange joined Spurs from Aston Villa in November 2023, six months after Paratici’s resignation, and became their technical director. He has been promoted and will work closely with Paratici. Spurs plan to hire a director of football operations to help them.

In an interview on the club’s website, chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham explained the new model. “We are going to benefit from both of their expertise and experience in terms of how we drive the club on the pitch,” he said. In a separate statement, he described the pair as “exceptional leaders” with “outstanding football minds” and that they are “setting the foundations for success.”

Here, The Athletic examines how Spurs’ new-look structure will work and why Paratici has come back.

How will Lange and Paratici work together?

Lange and Paratici have different strengths and weaknesses. The new set-up has been structured in a way to capitalise on their areas of expertise.

“Johan will be focused on scouting, performance, football insights, performance analysis and the academy,” Venkatesham said. “Fabio will be more focused on players, the transfer window, the loans and pathways department. They have different focuses but the reality is they will work together on everything, in particular around squad planning and player recommendations.”

It makes sense that Lange will concentrate on identifying players because he has a close relationship with head of scouting Robert Mackenzie and head of football insights and strategy Frederik Leth. The trio worked together previously at Aston Villa and played a key role in reshaping Tottenham’s recruitment department to focus more heavily on data.

Paratici showed he has the skill and expertise to pull off difficult transfers in his previous roles with Spurs and Juventus.

“The sporting director role has changed a lot in the last 5-10 years,” Paratici said in a joint interview with Lange. “We have a lot of different models and structures in Europe. In every model, maybe the job titles are different but there are at least two to three people driving the football areas.

“We need more people and specialists. We have a lot of departments to manage. We have a transfer window, players, agents. We need people and I’m very happy to work with this group of people and to join Johan. We know each other very well. We are complementary and have different skills. I’m so Italian, I’m so passionate and maybe emotional and I’m sure I can be better close to him.”

It should be noted Lange joined Tottenham in October 2023 from Aston Villa where he was sporting director. He left four months after Monchi joined, a hire that meant Lange’s role changed to global director of football development and international academies. The Dane was billed as a replacement for Paratici.

Although Tottenham hired Lange as technical director, their chief football officer at the time, Scott Munn, praised his “excellent track record of scouting and signing many talented and successful youth and senior players.” It remains to be seen if Lange and Paratici do really complement each other or overlap.

Why did Paratici resign?

Paratici was one of 11 Juventus executives banned after the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) reopened an investigation into inflated transfer fees on the basis of new evidence that came to light in a separate criminal case into the club’s affairs. Wiretaps were splashed all over the sports pages in Italy without, the defence argued, proper context.

Upon issuing a two-and-a-half-year ban, the FIGC then applied to FIFA for it to apply worldwide and Paratici, then at Tottenham, was forced to resign. Initially banned from “any football-related activity”, Paratici successfully appealed to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee in order to work in a reduced capacity as a consultant. The suspension expired in July.

Separately, the criminal case reached a conclusion at the end of last month in Rome. Paratici entered a plea bargain and received a suspended 18-month sentence.

As Juventus’ former chairman Andrea Agnelli explained in a statement confirming the entry of his own plea bargain, in Italy “this is without civil effects or additional penalties, without the acknowledgement of responsibility and, therefore, consistent with (a) position of innocence.”

How involved has he been at Spurs since?

This announcement will not surprise the majority of Spurs fans. Paratici has never tried to hide the fact he was still closely associated with the club. He was frequently spotted at games and took photos with fans. He attended the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain in August and sat near Lange. He advised Levy on transfers and the process to hire a new head coach after Ange Postecoglou was sacked in June.

It felt inevitable that he would eventually return in an official capacity, even though Paratici held informal preliminary talks with Milan in April. Milan, in the end, withdrew on the basis of his lingering ban, which had yet to expire, and an already pressing need to prepare for a big transfer window as the team finished eighth in Serie A. They hired Igli Tare instead.

While flattered, Paratici’s preference was to resume work in the Premier League and there was, already then, a belief he’d return to Tottenham once his legal issues in Italy were resolved.

Why have they brought him back?

Signing players is extremely difficult. Signing elite players is even harder. Paratici has an excellent reputation for smart recruitment. He is credited with playing a major role in Spurs signing Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, who are all key players under Thomas Frank and played an important role in Spurs winning the Europa League.

Spurs were stung in the summer by their failed pursuits of Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze. Their hope must be that with Paratici back at the centre of their operations, they will avoid any future disappointment.

What does Levy’s exit mean for the sporting director roles?

Levy usually got involved towards the end of a transfer. The recruitment department would identify a potential signing, the head coach would try to convince them to join Spurs and then it was up to Levy to negotiate a price. For example, Levy held talks with Crystal Palace’s chairman Steve Parish for weeks over Eze, who eventually moved to north London rivals Arsenal. Levy’s departure means somebody else will be responsible for that element of a deal and it will probably be Paratici.

Levy had a lot of control at Spurs and this new model with Venkatesham, Lange and Paratici might be more beneficial long-term. They can challenge each other to ensure they reach the right outcome.

“I’m certainly not expecting them to agree on everything and I’m not worried about that,” Venkatesham said. “I welcome that. We are going to have lots of important decisions ahead to drive the football club and I’m a firm believer in having more voices and opinions to make the right decisions. I think having both Johan and Fabio in roles means we will make better decisions. That will mean we make less mistakes and more decisions that work for the football club.”

Are there other examples of co-sporting directors working?

This is a dynamic Frank is familiar with because he worked under two co-sporting directors at Brentford. Phil Giles and Rasmus Ankersen were appointed at the same time in May 2015 and they worked together for six years. During that time, Brentford reached two Championship play-off finals, earning promotion to the Premier League at the second attempt. Ankersen left to become the chief executive officer of Sport Republic, who bought Southampton in January 2022, and Giles became the sole sporting director.

Ankersen and Giles collaborated on lots of key decisions, including hiring Frank as an assistant in December 2016 and then promoting him to the head coach role two years later.

Interestingly, there are a few similarities between Giles and Lange and Paratici and Ankersen. Giles played a crucial role in Brentford integrating data into their recruitment process. Lange revolutionised Spurs’ use of data following his appointment and hired lots of extra staff. They are both more reserved characters than Ankersen and Paratici and tend to stay out of the limelight.

In a piece for The Athletic earlier this year about Giles’ decade at Brentford, Frank spoke about how he was focused on “strategies, processes and alignment.”

“Rasmus was the more innovative and outgoing guy,” Frank said. “When Rasmus was going in one direction and I was going in the other, Phil kept everything together.”

It sounds very similar to the dynamic which Lange, Paratici and Venkatesham described in their interviews. Paratici and Venkatesham, in particular, are no strangers to sharing roles. Paratici worked with Beppe Marotta at Sampdoria and Juventus before earning a promotion in the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo’s signing. Tandems are not uncommon in Italy. Marotta, now at Inter, works with Piero Ausilio and Dario Baccin. Milan’s last title was credited in local media to Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara working together on recruitment.

The other example which springs to mind is when Venkatesham was Arsenal’s managing director and Raul Sanllehi became their head of football. They had different job titles but the split in responsibilities mirrors what will happen with Lange and Paratici. In that instance, Sanllehi left Arsenal after two years.

There is another current example in the Premier League. In February 2023, Chelsea announced Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart would be co-sporting directors.

How involved will Frank be in transfers now?

Spurs have a collaborative approach to transfers so Frank will still be heavily involved. Frank will discuss with the coaching staff where he thinks the squad needs to be strengthened and will relay that information to Lange and Paratici. They will then identify potential targets, reach out to them and hopefully secure their signing with minimal fuss.

During an interview with The Athletic during their pre-season tour in Hong Kong and South Korea, Frank spoke about the differences between the set-up at Brentford and Spurs.

“Obviously we are signing players here where the processes in Brentford, I’m not saying they were better, I think they’re very good. I think that Johan and his team is doing a top job, but just for them to understand what I’m looking for, so that needs to be aligned.

“At Brentford it was aligned… ‘I want that’, ‘OK, fine’, we look at it, boom. And now I need to use more time with Johan and Rob and these guys and then we make presentations. So all that is just extra hours every day.”

It will take a little bit of time for the new dynamic to settle but they will hope they have found the right partnership.

Former Tottenham Hotspur director Fabio Paratici has returned to the club following the end of a 30-month ban from football activity.

The 53-year-old will act as joint-sporting director with Johan Lange, who has been promoted from the position of technical director.

In a statement, Spurs said the pair “will lead our men’s football strategy and drive an ambitious new chapter for the club”, and revealed they would also be appointing a new director of football operations to support Paratici and Lange in their new roles.

Paratici was one of 11 former Juventus executives banned from Italian football after being accused of financial malpractice, and this suspension was extended worldwide by FIFA in March 2023. The ban related to the inflation of transfer fees for accounting purposes during his time at Juventus.

Paratici was formerly Tottenham’s managing director of football, appointed in June 2021 by former executive chairman Daniel Levy.

He stepped back from his role at Spurs and officially resigned in April 2023 following the rejection of his appeal against his worldwide ban. The ban was partially reduced in April 2023 to enable him to work in football in a reduced capacity, and formally ended in the summer of 2025.

During his ban, he worked on a consultancy basis for Spurs, advising Levy and the club on transfers.

In a statement on Wednesday, Spurs said: “Johan and Fabio’s combined expertise will ensure that every decision, from player pathways and performance development to scouting and recruitment, is aligned and supports one overarching goal — to build a winning, world-class men’s team that endures.

“This partnership reflects a progressive approach to modern football operations — uniting two proven leaders with complementary experience, and a commitment to collaboration and innovation.”

The club’s CEO Vinai Venkatesham said: “This is an important evolution in how we operate. The remit of a sporting director today is vast, and by uniting two exceptional leaders in Johan and Fabio, we’re setting the foundations for sustained success.

“They are both outstanding football minds, with complementary expertise and strong track records. This structure reflects our ambition and our determination to compete at the very highest level to deliver for our supporters.

“Together, Fabio and Johan will lead with purpose — building not only a competitive men’s squad, but a connected football ecosystem where every detail contributes to our shared ambition: to make our club a benchmark for excellence in world football.”

Paratici said the role of sporting director had “change a lot” in the past decade and believes he and Lange will work well together.

“We need more people and specialists,” Paratici said in an interview with club channels. “We have a lot of departments to manage. We have a transfer window, players, agents. We need people and I’m very happy to work with this group of people and to join Johan. We know each other very well. We are complementary and we have different skills. I’m so Italian, I’m so passionate and maybe emotional and I’m sure I can be better close to him.”

The return of Paratici is the latest development in a year of change at Tottenham, which began when former Arsenal chief executive Venkatesham was appointed in April. The 44-year-old began his role in the summer, and will take responsibility for all operational matters on and off the field.

In June, head coach Ange Postecoglou was sacked after Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League, despite leading the club to victory in May’s Europa League final, their first trophy in 17 years. He was replaced by Thomas Frank, who joined the north London side after seven years with Brentford.

The same month, Tottenham announced that long-serving executive director Donna-Maria Cullen had stepped down from her position on the board and will leave the club.

In September, Levy was removed as Tottenham chairman after 24 years in charge of the club. A club statement said Levy had “stepped down” but the decision was taken by the club’s majority shareholders, the Lewis family. Peter Charrington stepped into the role of non-executive chairman.

After Paratici’s initial appointment, the club finished fourth in the Premier League under head coach Antonio Conte during his first season in the role.

He joined Spurs following 11 years as sporting director at Juventus, where he oversaw one of the most successful periods in the Italian club’s history, winning nine Serie A titles and reaching the Champions League final twice.

‘Paratici back to take centre stage’

Analysis from Tottenham correspondent Jay Harris

This has been one of the worst kept secrets in football. It has felt inevitable for some time that Paratici would eventually return to Spurs in an official capacity.

Paratici resigned from his role as the club’s managing director of football in April 2023 but after successfully appealing the scope of his ban from FIFA was allowed to act as a consultant. The Italian remained a close confidante of former executive chairman Daniel Levy and was heavily involved in their transfer business.

Paratici never tried to hide the fact he was still working with Spurs. He was frequently spotted at games and took photos with fans. He was sat nearby Johan Lange, who was technical director at the time, for the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain in August. Thomas Frank, who replaced Ange Postecoglou as head coach in June, spoke about having a “good relationship” with Paratici.

Lange oversaw huge changes to the scouting and data departments after he arrived from Aston Villa in November 2023 but Paratici’s contacts book is unrivalled. Sources at Spurs, who wished to remain anonymous to protect relationships, have previously spoken about how the pair’s skills neatly complement each other. Lange’s promotion to joint sporting director is recognition of some of the impressive deals he has led in the transfer market including the signing of Lucas Bergvall.

Paratici’s return addresses an issue which had been raised following Levy’s dramatic departure — who would be responsible for negotiating transfers? It looks like Paratici will now take centre stage with assistance from Lange and chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham.

If you have been following the fortunes of Tottenham Hotspur players over this international break, you may have seen Micky van de Ven line up in an unusual role for the Netherlands.

With a wealth of options at centre-back — including Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt, Nathan Ake, Stefan de Vrij and Jurrien Timber — Ronald Koeman opted to play Van de Ven at left-back in their 4-0 win against Finland. Given the intense competition at the heart of defence, perhaps Van de Ven playing at left-back is his most straightforward way into his nation’s starting XI for the World Cup next year.

In north London, his position is set in stone. He is a part of one of the Premier League’s most formidable centre-back partnerships, serving as the sweeping insurance option to Cristian Romero’s proactive defending. In temperament, physical attributes and technical style, Romero and Van de Ven are yin and yang. Their contrasting demeanours and skill sets provide a balance that elevates their team.

Over his first 10 matches in charge of Tottenham, Thomas Frank attempted to find a similar balance across his entire side. During Ange Postecoglou’s tenure, an overemphasis on offensive attitude delivered memorable results but also Spurs’ worst league finish of the Premier League era. The scales were unbalanced, so Frank’s focus is now on establishing a sense of tactical equilibrium.

He is addressing the defence’s structural weaknesses, but Tottenham’s attacking unit has not consistently gelled under Frank. Before Tottenham travelled to Elland Road to face Leeds United, their final pre-break fixture, 45.8 per cent of their chances created came from the right wing, with 29.2 per cent from central positions and just 25 per cent from the left.

It’s a statistical confirmation of what the eye test had shown in the early weeks: Mohammed Kudus and Pedro Porro are building a budding relationship, while the left side is lagging for creativity.

But in that 2-1 win against Leeds, Tottenham appeared to make strides in addressing that discrepancy. It was the first time Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Destiny Udogie had started together, and they had natural chemistry from the outset.

Djed Spence is an elite wide defender at the top of his game — Spurs have conceded just one goal across games he has started this season — but passing lanes and angles on the left are obscured when he is in possession as a right-footed player.

Spence has undeniable technical and physical qualities, but Udogie’s directness and ability to drive down the wing as a left-footed dribbler gave the team a fresh attacking verve from the left at Elland Road. Combining with Simons, who naturally drifts towards the left from central areas, and Odobert, who drifts into central areas, giving the Italian space on the overlap, Tottenham created three decent chances inside the first half from the left wing.

Most encouragingly, that improved attacking dynamism came without diminishing the threat from the right. Kudus assisted Mathys Tel’s opener, playing a through ball down the right channel to the Frenchman, before scoring from a similar position in the second half, with the initial ball in his direction delivered by Porro.

Odobert is a talent who could become as effective as Kudus. In his best performance of the season, he put together slick combinations with Udogie, Simons and Tel, and could have notched an assist if Tel had managed to divert a first-half header on target.

Odobert and Tel are flourishing together on the international stage for France Under-21s, with Odobert registering a combined four goals and two assists in 6-0 and 6-1 wins against the Faroe Islands and Estonia. Tel, who scored his first of the season for Spurs against Leeds, also netted in both games for France Under-21s.

Before Spurs’ win at Leeds, Frank pointed out that attacking imbalance is not always an issue. If one side is creating chances, perhaps you need the other side to finish them. That said, against Leeds, where creativity was more spread across the horizontal thirds, Kudus became a finisher, as well as a provider.

After testing the waters with moves for Manchester City’s Savinho and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo in the summer, Tottenham may re-enter the market to sign a left-winger in January or next summer.

However, with Odobert finding rhythm and confidence for club and country, he offers Frank creative balance, which Spurs may need against opponents content to sit back and test Tottenham’s ability to break them down.

In his short tenure, Frank has demonstrated his ability to construct his team in various structures and formations, finding success, and there seems to be room for every senior player to make an impact in at least one of them.

Against Leeds, where Tottenham found greater creative balance on their left, he seems to be on his way to building another.

When Mason Melia touches the ball, heads turn.

The 18-year-old St Patrick’s Athletic striker — who will join Tottenham Hotspur in January — shows a technical quality rarely seen in the League of Ireland, let alone from someone his age. That is because, until recently, talented young players just did not play in the competition, instead joining Premier League academies in their teens.

That changed after the UK’s exit from the European Union in 2020. New rules meant players from the Republic of Ireland without a British passport could not move to English clubs until they turned 18. Tottenham agreed a £2million ($2.7m) deal for Melia in February, when he was still 17, and were content to wait until January for him to arrive. Back then Melia was promising but not yet the league’s standout player. Since then, he has developed into exactly that.

With his transfer to Tottenham already agreed, Melia might have coasted through his final St Patrick’s season, which is approaching its end having started in February. Instead, he immersed fully himself in it. “It’s too early to think about Tottenham,” Melia told the Irish Independent last month. Melia keeps tabs on his future club, but often misses their games because of his St Patrick’s duties.

This focus has reaped rewards. Melia has scored 12 league goals this season — the second-most in the division and the highest from open play. In March, he became the Republic of Ireland Under-21s’ youngest ever goalscorer in a 3-1 win over Hungary, beating a record set by former Spurs striker Troy Parrott.

He then backed it up with a double against Moldova last month in a European qualifier. Melia did score an own goal in the Under-21s’ 2-2 draw with Slovakia on Friday but nonetheless, that he started the season nursing a back injury casts his recent international achievements in an even more impressive light.

“If he’d been fully fit across the season, he’d have done a lot more damage. He’s been terrific,” said St Patrick’s manager Stephen Kenny, the former Republic of Ireland head coach, speaking to Irish outlet OTB Sports. In the same interview, Kenny identified Melia’s “ability to take it in possession, turn and accelerate away from defenders” as his standout trait.

Watching footage of Melia, it is easy to see what he means. Against Bohemians in April, Melia’s spatial awareness and footwork allow him to spin away from the onrushing Leigh Kavanagh and surge into the final third.

Melia has missed out on the elite coaching offered by Premier League academies, so his time at St Patrick’s has exposed him to the physical demands of senior football, where he has made close to 100 appearances. He has learned to handle the rougher side of the game; his speed and skill make him a lightning rod for heavy challenges and persistent fouling. Kenny highlighted that “in some games, players are taking turns having a go at him”.

Melia is well equipped for the rough and tumble. “The standout with Mason is that he’s physically a beast and has been like that for quite a few years,” said former Chelsea winger and Shelbourne manager Damien Duff, talking to RTE.

Melia actively seeks contact with defenders. By engaging defenders closely, he makes it easier to roll past them, accelerating away before they can react. This direct running and tidy footwork were evident when Tottenham signed him, but he now combines them with greater end product in the final third. Melia is enjoying the best form of his career, scoring six goals in his last seven league games.

Before St Patrick’s Conference League qualifier against Besiktas — which they lost 7-3 on aggregate — the Turkish side’s then manager, former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, praised Melia as a “mature finisher” in his press conference following the first leg of that tie.

Like Solskjaer in his playing days, Melia is a penalty-box striker, with only five of his 70 shots this season taken from outside the area.

His most recent goalscoring outing came on his 18th birthday, when he scored twice in a 4-0 win against bottom-of-the table Cork City.

Melia usually buzzes around the pitch, sniffing out any hint of an opportunity, and from the outset he looked his lively best. In the example below, he pinches a loose ball on the edge of the box, drops a shoulder to create space, and sees his shot blocked at the last moment.

His first goal showcased his poacher’s instincts, finding space with a quick jink to head home at the back post. A year ago, heading was the weakest part of Melia’s game but he has worked to improve it, scoring three times with his head this season.

His second was a composed finish from close range after running on to a long ball. An earlier miss had illustrated another aspect of Solskjaer’s praise: his industry off the ball.

“One of the things I like most about him is his attitude to pressing,” Solskjaer said. Melia harried and dispossessed Cork City centre-back Rory Feely as he dawdled on the ball, before skying the chance over.

His finishing still needs refining, particularly with his left foot, which he has used to take shots on only eight occasions all season.

But it’s his ability to conjure up these chances that is exceptional. Here against Shamrock Rovers, he generates space inside a packed box with dazzling footwork before cannoning an effort off the bar.

Melia’s instinct when receiving the ball is front-footed. This has, at times, been a hindrance for St Patrick’s as he can run into dead ends while isolated up top instead of taking the safer, backwards option. But this only points to a young striker, brimming with confidence and conviction, unafraid to try new things.

His campaign has not been universally positive. Collectively, St Patrick’s have endured a disappointing season: fifth in the league when a title challenge was expected. It was the injury of his strike partner, Aidan Keena, that precipitated Melia’s purple patch; he looked less assured sharing the No 9 duties or playing in a top two with Keena, where he typically dropped deeper.

But his talent is abundantly clear, especially in a lower-calibre competition like the League of Ireland. Melia cites Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall as a player to aspire to. Bergvall’s journey shares similarities with Melia’s: he too was scouted after shining in a lesser fancied league — in his case, the Swedish Allsvenskan.

The plan at Tottenham, after a short break following the end of St Patrick’s season, is for Melia to train with the first team immediately. With the competition for places so intense, a loan move or time with the under-21s is more likely.

Although Ange Postecoglou was in charge when he signed, Thomas Frank’s record of working with forwards should excite the teenager. Frank developed Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa, Ollie Watkins and Bryan Mbeumo during his time at Brentford.

Melia’s nascent career has been building towards this moment and he possesses the raw materials to thrive at Tottenham. In January, his chance will arrive.

Additional reporting: Elias Burke

Ever since Daniel Levy’s dismissal as Tottenham Hotspur chairman on September 4, public attention has turned to the question of the majority-shareholding Lewis family, and what exactly they want to do with the football club.

Over the course of the last month, most of the questions have concerned whether or not the Lewis family want to sell the club. They have been very consistent in saying that Tottenham is not for sale, amid high-profile expressions of interest from PCP International Finance Limited, a consortium known as ‘Firehawk Holdings’ and most recently American former DJ Brooklyn Earick. The enquiry from Earick was dismissed as “unsolicited and unnecessary interest” by a source close to the Lewis family who, like all those cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships.

But there have been other questions from fans through this period. Namely, what exactly do the Lewis family intend to do with the club now that they have removed the man who ran it for them for 24 years? After plenty of positive and ambitious talk over the course of the last month, fans wanted to see a concrete sign of their ambition.

There had been talk for some time that investment was coming. When CEO Vinai Venkatesham sat down at the training ground to record an interview four days after Levy’s departure, he flagged the likelihood of money coming in. “I think it is very fair to say that we have firm backing from the Lewis family against our ambitions to be successful on the pitch, both on the men’s side and women’s side,” Venkatesham said. “They know that’s going to require investment, and we have their firm backing.”

And on Thursday morning, the club announced a £100m equity injection.

The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke and Chris Weatherspoon explain what it all means…

What has actually happened?

ENIC, the Bahamas-based investment group which, before this transaction, owned 86.91 per cent of Spurs, has provided £100million in new funding to the club. The sum has been provided to ENIC via the Lewis family trust which, again, before this transaction, owned 70.12 per cent of ENIC (and thus, beneficially, 60.94 per cent of Spurs).

That funding is in the form of capital (or shares), meaning Tottenham will not be adding to their existing debts. In essence, ENIC has provided new cash in exchange for shares, increasing its ownership stake in the club. Spurs don’t owe that money back; ENIC would only be able to recoup it via dividends, which Spurs don’t pay, or via an eventual sale of the club.

ENIC have paid £100million in exchange for 13.5m new shares in Tottenham Hotspur Limited. As a result, ENIC’s stake in Spurs has increased by 0.71 per cent to 87.62 per cent.

Chris Weatherspoon

What does this mean for Tottenham’s PSR position?

Spurs have had little to worry about from a profit and sustainability rules (PSR) position, as despite being loss-making, that loss is driven by roughly £70million annual cost of depreciating Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

That, among other things, can be added back in the club’s PSR calculation. The Athletic previously estimated Spurs could have lost as much as £277million in 2024-25 and still not have breached Premier League rules. Similarly, they are expected to have little trouble with UEFA rules this season.

This injection still strengthens their position. Cash from share issues comprises ‘secure funding’, which clubs need in order to exploit the maximum loss limit available to them (£105million in the Premier League).

Clubs can utilise up to £90m to increase that loss limit from the minimum £15m, and in the current three-year cycle to the end of this season, Spurs had only received that £35m last December. This injection, therefore, imbues them with the maximum loss limit, even if it’s one they won’t come close to hitting.

Any money coming into the club now was unlikely to form a kitty for Thomas Frank to delve into – and it is understood this £100m injection is not a new transfer war chest.

As detailed by The Athletic during an in-depth look at Spurs’ finances in April, the club entered the summer with a looming cash crunch, principally because of significant transfer debt. Spurs owed a net £279.3million on transfers at the end of last June, the highest figure in English (and probably world) football at the time.

This money is expected to help meet ongoing liabilities from them, as well as the £150m or so net spend of the summer just ended.

Chris Weatherspoon

Is this usual for Spurs and ENIC? Why are they doing it now?

Over the span of ENIC’s quarter-century involvement at Spurs, owner funding has been limited. This £100million injection comprises 39 per cent of the club’s total owner funding since 2001. In all, since ENIC took over, Spurs have received £257.1m from shareholders.

It is, however, more usual than it once would have been. ENIC injected £97.5million in May 2022, a significant departure from the past. Now, a further £135m has been provided in the past 10 months. ENIC’s funding of Spurs in the last three and a half years, at £232.5m, is almost 10 times the amount provided in their previous 21 years at the helm.

Spurs’ need for cash was clear before this summer. Significant transfer spending, combined with the costs of servicing a billion-pound-plus stadium (which would be even higher had the club not locked in impressively low interest rates) and the loss of Champions League revenue, had left Spurs’ bank balance squeezed. The club needed cash from somewhere, particularly as they continued to spend this summer. Champions League money will help but comes in across the season, and is determined by how far Spurs progress.

That cash requirement was underlined further in late August when Spurs ‘factored’ their Premier League prize money for this season. The club received a chunk of cash upfront from lender Macquarie, with the latter then getting the money in return once Spurs receive it from the league. Spurs will pass on to Macquarie more than they initially loaned; the difference is effectively an interest payment.

The specifics of that arrangement are unknown, though Bloomberg reported the total brought forward was £90million. If correct, it means Spurs have received a shade under £200m in new cash into the coffers in the past six weeks.

The £100million provided this week was not needed to meet immediate liabilities, but it will help Spurs fund future commitments without adding to a debt stack which, after the Macquarie arrangement, was already nearing £1billion.

Chris Weatherspoon

Does this impact Daniel Levy? And could it impact any club sale?

The announcement of the £100million capital injection stated upfront that the money had come via the Lewis family trust. In doing so, it made clear that none of this new money has been provided by trusts associated with Levy. Those own, or owned, 29.88 per cent of ENIC and, beneficially, 25.97 per cent of Spurs.

Spurs have updated the section of their website which details the club’s ownership structure, reflecting how ENIC’s stake now sits at 87.62 per cent, as we outlined earlier. However the section detailing the split of ENIC ownership — 70.12 per cent to the Lewis family trust, 29.88 per cent to Levy’s — is unchanged.

ENIC being incorporated in the Bahamas means the business is surrounded in opacity, so the above is the only sight we get of who owns what. Those share splits remaining the same as before would suggest this injection was provided to ENIC in a non-dilutive fashion, and that the Lewis family injecting £100million has not come in exchange for a greater shareholding.

Accordingly, that would mean the beneficial holding of the Levy family trusts has actually gone up, even as all of this new funding has come from elsewhere. Their beneficial ownership of Spurs now sits at 26.18 per cent. That probably obscures the substance of the matter though; hypothetically, if the Lewis family trust has loaned £100million to ENIC, they’ll likely get that back before any other future distributions to shareholders are made, be those from the proceeds of a sale or otherwise.

The Lewis family has insisted the club is not for sale, and their injecting a nine-figure sum into Spurs — again, largely out of keeping with past activity — would seem to underscore that position. Pouring £100million into a club you’re about to sell doesn’t feel too logical.

Yet there are wider factors to consider. One is Spurs’ debt, which, while manageable, still makes them one of the most heavily indebted clubs in world football. Adding new cash via more lending would have imposed further strain on costs, potentially weakening shareholders’ hands in any future sale negotiations.

Those are, the Lewis family insists, not active discussions right now. But this share issue, amid recent speculation and Levy’s departure as chairman last month, represents another notable moment at the top of the club.

Chris Weatherspoon

Will this just be a one-off or could there be more to come…?

Many fans will be wondering whether this is just a one-off occurrence or whether Tottenham will be truly entering a new era in terms of their ambitions and how they are funded.

A source close to the Lewis family told The Athletic on Thursday morning that this was just the start, describing this £100m injection as “initial additional funding”. The source added that as Tottenham’s management “decides what’s needed to deliver success, more money will be available”.

This raises the prospect of more such injections in the future, or potentially even a new model for how the club is funded. It is no secret that over the last 20 years, Tottenham have taken on hundreds of millions of pounds of debt. At the end of June 2024, the club was carrying £851.5m in assorted loans, with a gross debt of £872.1m. Over the 2023-24 season, they paid almost £30m in interest payments to service the debt. Then came the factoring agreement with Macquarie in August, itself another form of lending.

Now there is a desire at the club to move towards a model that is less reliant on debt funding. Which could be one of the most important parts of a ‘new era’ at Spurs.

Jack Pitt-Brooke

Tottenham Hotspur’s owners have pledged to keep pumping money into the club to “deliver success” after announcing a £100million cash injection on Thursday.

In a statement, the club said the £100m capital, which was provided by the Lewis family through ENIC, would “further strengthen the club’s financial position and equip the club’s leadership team with additional resources”.

The funding is the biggest known cash injection from ENIC since its takeover of Spurs in 2001, although it released £150m worth of capital in May 2022 — with the club only taking up £97.5m.

A source close to the Lewis family insisted future funding would be provided following talks with the club’s leadership, telling The Athletic: “This is initial additional funding. As the club’s management decides what’s needed to deliver success, more money will be available. The Lewis family is committed to backing the club to be successful.”

The £100m cash injection in return for just shy of 13.5 million shares increases ENIC’s stake in Spurs to 87.62 per cent, up from 86.91 per cent.

The Lewis family have insisted they want to prioritise sporting success following the removal of Daniel Levy as executive chairman after 24 years in charge on September 4.

Since Levy’s surprise exit, the family has rejected three approaches from potential takeover candidates — the latest from American tech entrepreneur Brooklyn Earick, who ruled out a formal bid for Spurs on Tuesday.

The Lewis family have repeatedly said the club is not for sale.

Commenting on Thursday’s £100m injection, non-executive chairman Peter Charrington said: “As I stated a few weeks ago, our focus is on stability and empowering the management team to deliver on the club’s ambitions.

“I know the Lewis family are also ambitious for the future. Today’s capital commitment reflects that ambition and I would like to thank them for their ongoing support. We will continue to do all we can to ensure that Vinai and his team are supported in the best way possible to take this club forward.”

ENIC was founded by British businessman Joe Lewis but the Bahamas-based billionaire handed over the control of the company to his family trust in 2022.

The younger Lewises — Joe’s children Vivienne and Charles, and his son-in-law Nick Beucher — are now in control at ENIC, while the day-to-day running of Spurs has passed to Charrington and chief executive Vinai Venkatesham.

The remaining 12.38 per cent of Spurs which is not controlled by ENIC is owned by a group of minority investors. Meanwhile, Levy and certain members of his family still own 29.88 per cent of ENIC.

International breaks are always an ideal opportunity for head coaches to pause for thought.

Thomas Frank has notched up 10 competitive games in the Tottenham Hotspur dugout — 11 if you include the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain — and it has been a steady start for the head coach.

Spurs sit third in the Premier League with 14 points from the opening seven games. Four points in their opening two Champions League fixtures is also not to be underestimated, even if their 2-2 draw with Bodo/Glimt fell below expectations.

For Spurs fans, there is still a sense that more potential can be unlocked from this side in the coming months, particularly in terms of their potency in open play going forward. It is worth having a frank discussion — or rather, a Frank discussion — on how Spurs can improve in attack.

The contrast from the dogmatic style of Ange Postecoglou is well-established by now. Frank is a known pragmatist, intelligently adapting and tweaking his setup depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition, while still trying to impose his own ideas on the game.

That was abundantly clear when comparing Spurs’ first two competitive games against Champions League holders PSG and recently promoted Burnley. In the former, a careful, risk-averse approach saw Spurs set up with a 3-5-2 system to thwart the creative threat from Luis Enrique’s side and congest central areas, with Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha and Pape Matar Sarr forming an excellent, combative midfield trio.

Against Burnley, Frank’s side were far more considered in their possession, using goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario as an auxiliary centre-back at times when building up, as Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Sarr formed Spurs’ progressive midfield three.

Frank’s midfield has been a great source of debate in the early weeks of this season. Bentancur and Palhinha have been selected most often so far, but there is often a lack of variety or creativity when moving the ball through the thirds.

In certain games, there is a desire for a solid defensive foundation in the middle, which requires Bentancur and Palhinha’s skill set, with Spurs’ victory over Manchester City being a good example. However, in games where the onus is on Frank’s team to take the game to the opposition, there is a feeling that both are not required at the same time. There have been instances where ball progression has been notably lacking from midfield in the opening weeks.

Sarr and Bergvall’s energy and late runs into the box are more preferable against weaker opposition to disrupt the back line. Meanwhile, Xavi Simons is still settling into Premier League life, but has largely operated as a left-winger in his opening appearances.

Playing Simons as a No 10 against Leeds did seem to add more balance to Frank’s side in possession; it was a midfield that had a solid defensive foundation while having enough creativity in the other direction.

In mitigation, Spurs have built a squad that does possess the players to link the midfield and attack, but with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski injured for the coming months, there is a need for more midfield players to be braver when progressing the ball.

Direct, long balls that bypass the midfield have been lucrative, but when looking across the opening 10 games in all competitions, there has been evidence of Spurs horse-shoeing possession from side-to-side too often, hoping that one of their wide players — namely Mohammed Kudus — might come up with some magic.

Frank’s side are not turning possession into chances at a rate they would like to. It is early on in the season, but 34 per cent of Spurs’ possessions have ended in a shot so far this campaign — which represents their lowest rate since 2018-19.

Attacking options have also been limited by injuries to Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani. Richarlison is a willing worker at the top end of the field, but lacks the requisite dead-eye finishing to shoulder Spurs’ goalscoring burden. Mathys Tel will take confidence from his goal against Leeds last weekend, but he too has plenty of room for improvement in his game before he can be considered an undroppable attacker.

There has been a reliance on Kudus to be the main creative threat in the opening weeks, with the Ghana international holding width on the right flank, willing to run in behind or receive the ball to feet before cutting inside onto his stronger left foot.

He is so often a release valve for opposition pressure with his unpredictability and fleet-footedness on the ball — shown by his 60 take-ons being more than any other Premier League player this season.

Kudus’s first goal against Leeds was just reward for his efforts in recent weeks, but Spurs need more balance on their left-sided attack. As well as the searching crosses from Pedro Porro, there is a notable skew in the direction that their chances are coming from.

Frank has plenty of options on the left side of attack, including Simons, Kolo Muani, Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert, but none offer the same quality that Kudus offers from the right.

Simons’ early games on the left saw the Netherlands international often drift inside to receive the ball to feet, which is hardly surprising given that his best qualities are operating between the lines and finding pockets to create for players ahead of him.

The return of left-back Destiny Udogie has been crucial in providing more balance going forward, with his overlapping and underlapping runs offering more natural width than the deputising Djed Spence.

The early connection between Udogie and Simons has been promising, and it looks like there will be more understanding of each other’s games as the season progresses. Against Wolves, Udogie makes an excellent overlapping run on the outside of Simons, but the 22-year-old decides to ignore the run and drive into a congested area before being dispossessed.

There was a very similar scenario against Leeds. But this time, Udogie’s run is found as Simons attracts bodies towards him before releasing the ball to his left-back in space.

Spurs do not have a left-sided player of the profile of Kudus, but the network of Simons, Udogie, and Odobert proved to be a creative outlet on Saturday, as they consistently overloaded that side of the pitch.

It is the age-old difficulty for a club such as Spurs, whose size suggests that they should be imposing themselves on the opposition in every game. An ability to adapt between games is positive, but there should be more occasions where the opposition is more worried about the threat of Frank’s side than the other way around.

Frank has instilled a greater solidity and resilience in the side that looks to be an excellent foundation for long-term success, but those attacking tools will need sharpening in the short term.

In the absence of some key players until the new year, greater creativity might be required in more ways than one.

“Er ist ein monster, auf jeden fall,” was how Hamburg full-back Miro Muheim described Luka Vuskovic, following his performance against Union Berlin a week ago.

“He is a monster, for sure.”

That weekend, Muheim, Vuskovic and newly-promoted Hamburg travelled to the Alte Forsterei, Union Berlin’s bearpit home, with a plan to sit deep and counter. It worked; they left with a 0-0 draw that could even have been a win. That they did so owed much to a penalty save by Daniel Heuer Fernandes in the first half, but also Vuskovic’s aerial dominance, which repelled the hosts’ direct attacking time and again.

Union sent 23 crosses into the HSV box that night. Vuskovic cleared 12 of them. In total, from the middle of a back three, he won 18 aerial duels across the course of the match, becoming the first player in five seasons to do that in a game played in Europe’s top-five leagues.

That aerial presence has made him tremendously valuable. HSV are not a particularly tall side and Fernandes, their goalkeeper, is not huge for his position at 6ft 2in (188cm). Since making his debut against Bayern Munich in the middle of September, Vuskovic has been ever-present, playing every minute, and it is not hyperbole to say the protection he offers is now essential. It is also obvious: Vuskovic was voted the Bundesliga’s rookie of the month on Monday.

Within the context of his new team, there is actually a nightclub bouncer-like quality to Vuskovic, who is on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. He is rough and rugged, in a way that an 18-year-old who looks like he has never seen a razor has no right to be. Being tall and having a strong leap gives him an advantage when competing for crosses and corners, but he uses his frame — his shoulders, his elbows — in a way that accentuates those physical strengths.

He has an intimidating streak, too. In his first home game against Heidenheim, he missed a good chance from just under the crossbar. In his frustration, he shoved a visiting defender into the back of the goal. The defender untangled himself, spun around incredulously, but then thought better of it when he saw Vuskovic looming over him.

Vuskovic’s loan did not actually start very well. He made his debut for HSV against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, where they conceded four times in the first 29 minutes and eventually lost 5-0. Against Harry Kane, Michael Olise, Luis Diaz and Serge Gnabry, he suffered. Bayern’s movement was too quick and precise, and it was too much for an 18-year-old to cope with; Vuskovic’s defending was frantic and reactionary. He looked lost.

That HSV head coach Merlin Polzin saw fit to immediately start him against Kane, the Bundesliga’s apex centre-forward, says plenty about his faith in Vuskovic’s resilience; there are plenty of senior players who lose their ego to the England captain. But Tottenham sent him to Germany to learn those lessons.

The other reason Spurs sent him to Hamburg is because, in a strange way, it is home.

His older brother, Mario, is also a HSV player, albeit one serving a four-year suspension for a doping violation. Mario will be 24 by the time that ban ends next year and the club and fans have remained unflinchingly in his corner; they believe he was failed by an imperfect testing procedure.

For Luka, that created the perfect move. Several members of his family still live locally and his brother is a local cause celebre; it is hard to think of another loan player, who has no realistic chance of staying permanently, ever being welcomed in quite the same way.

In essence, Luka has been an emotional proxy for Mario. When he signed, he was given his brother’s shirt number — 44 — and the emotional response in the weeks that followed was quite something to witness.

Minutes after that missed chance on his home debut against Heidenheim, he scored. It was HSV’s first goal in the Bundesliga since 2018 (previous scorer: Lewis Holtby) and he celebrated by pointing up to his brother in the stands, as the stadium announcer led a call and response that could have parted the clouds in the sky above.

HSV spent seven years in the 2.Bundesliga, struggling to return. Mario Vuskovic’s suspension in 2022 was part of that struggle, another painful situation to overcome. And so at the end of that long climb back, for his brother to score that goal? Truly, an incredible moment.

But as seductive as this surrounding narrative is, Luka Vuskovic’s task in Hamburg is to develop — and that process is under way. His positioning has been steady and dependable, and he chooses his moments to jump out of the line well. He is not really a carrying centre-back who takes on the press, but his passing is reliable without being exuberant. In Tottenham terms, he is more Micky van de Ven than Cristian Romero, placing the emphasis more on what he does without possession.

He has not been perfect. He was against Union and again this weekend in a 4-0 win over Mainz. Two consecutive clean sheets with him at the heart. But either side of his goal, Heidenheim rattled him and so, obviously, did Kane. In both matches, the Bundesliga looked too quick for him and there were reminders — in hesitations and little mistakes — that he is still a teenager, taking his first steps in a major European league.

But in the weeks before the international break, the game has slowed down around him. There has been more control. More proactive actions, fewer reactive ones. He makes errors, but only once and so, perhaps, adversity is part of the journey for a player of his potential. There is more coming. In the second half of the game against Union, Warmed Omari — HSV’s first-choice centre-back on the right side — was injured and will miss the rest of the year. Vuskovic, at 18, now has even more responsibility within a defence that will face RB Leipzig immediately after the international break and Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of November.

The supporters adore him. They were always going to, under the circumstances, but he has quickly become more than just Mario’s brother. According to the club, 1,000 replica shirts with L. Vuskovic printed on the back have already been sold, and he is already seen as a determining factor in the club’s Bundesliga survival. That is a ridiculous expectation to lumber on such a young player, but then this is one of the few times that one of football’s child stars — a name everyone has known for years — seems not only worth the hype, but at ease with it.

Harry Kane says he is less keen on returning to the Premier League than he was when he signed for Bayern Munich.

Kane left Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern in August 2023 and admitted on Monday that he had initially been fully committed to the idea of returning to English football after a spell in Germany. But having flourished at Bayern in the last two years, scoring 103 goals in 106 games, Kane said that his desire to return home has diminished.

The 2025-25 season is the third of a four-year deal that Kane signed at Bayern, and while he denied having any contract discussions with his club so far, he said that he would be open to an “honest conversation” about an extension beyond 2027.

“In terms of staying there longer I could definitely see that,” Kane said at St. George’s Park, England’s midlands training base, on Monday afternoon.

“I spoke openly a couple of weeks ago that I have not had those conversations with Bayern yet, but if they were to arise, I would be willing to talk and have an honest conversation. Obviously, it depends on how the next year goes and what we achieve together. Right now, I would say we are in a fantastic moment. And I am not thinking about anything else.”

It has always been widely assumed that Kane would want to come back to England after his time in Germany and try to break the Premier League goalscoring record. He is in second place with 213 Premier League goals, 47 behind Alan Shearer’s 260.

“In terms of the Premier League, I don’t know,” Kane said. “If you had asked me when I first left to go to Bayern, I would have said for sure I would come back. Now I have been there a couple of years I would probably say that (desire to return) has gone down a little bit. But I wouldn’t say I would never go back.”

Kane said that he is in no rush to decide anything about his future, given he still has almost two years left on his Bayern contract.

“I am calm, I love the manager at Bayern, I think he is fantastic,” the 32-year-old said of Vincent Kompany. “And as always in my career, as long we are improving and I am improving then I am happy to see what we can achieve. I don’t think there is any need to rush anything.

“The way I feel on the pitch, the way I’m moving, the way I’m seeing the game is at the highest level I’ve ever had.”

Kane added that having won his first major trophy with the Bundesliga last season, he is now determined to work even harder. “I pushed myself the other way, in terms of being even better, eating even cleaner, doing more gym,” he said. “Just trying to get the most out of what I’ve got right now. As you get later on in your career, you know you’re not 21, 22 any more. So you have to drain as much as you can from your career.”

(Photo: Adam Pretty/Getty Images)