Sport Witness

Tottenham Hotspur’s Alfie Devine is set to join KVC Westerlo on a loan deal.

That’s according to Gazet van Antwerpen, who state Spurs have ‘reached an agreement’ with the Belgian club for the 20-year-old’s transfer.

Westerlo can sign the Tottenham player as the transfer window in Belgium closes on Friday.

In September 2023, Spurs agreed a deal with Hajduk Split for Luka Vušković to arrive in north London in summer 2025.

The Jupiler Pro League side took 17-year-old on loan from Hajduk Split in July. They had also held talks with Tottenham for the Croatian. It’s claimed the two clubs are in contact every week and a Spurs scout has been following Vušković’s development at Westerlo.

Since then, Westerlo have maintained a ‘good relationship’ with the Premier League side, which has helped them find an agreement for Devine. The attacking midfielder will have to undergo medical tests and sign the contract for the transfer to be made official.

The Spurs official who has been following the Croatian, will soon have another player to keep an eye on at Westerlo.

The England U20 international was on loan at Port Vale and Plymouth Argyle last season. His deal at Spurs lasts until 2027.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Bergvall has told Göteborgs-Posten that Dejan Kulusevski has helped him settle in quickly in north London.

Back in February, Spurs agreed a deal with Djurgårdens IF for the 18-year-old midfielder’s transfer. Kulusevski had earlier revealed that he played a role in convincing his compatriot to join Tottenham.

Bergvall and the forward are currently with the Sweden national team, preparing for the UEFA Nations League fixtures.

The youngster has adapted well at Tottenham and revealed that the former Juventus man has played a role in this.

“He has helped me a lot on and off the pitch. A good person and an incredibly good footballer,” he said.

Tottenham’s summer arrival has also had a chat with Fotbollskanalen, where he has talked about the support he has received from the 23-year-old.

“I have received an incredible amount of help. He’s a fantastic person and player, who has helped me get into the group and everything around it,” Bergvall explained.

When Fotbollskanalen asked Bergvall about the most important advice he received from his compatriot, he said: “Haha, I don’t know, more generally an extra support if you have a tougher training. It could be a gym session or exercises. He helps, it can be anything.”

There were suggestions that a move from Djurgårdens to Tottenham would be too big a step for the youngster, and he would be sent out on loan this season. That didn’t happen and he made his way into Ange Postecoglou’s plans.

“You don’t know that beforehand. There was a lot of speculation, and it didn’t turn out that way. I feel like I’ve settled in well in the group and have gained the confidence of the coach,” the Swede said.

Tottenham will receive €5m plus another €1m each year for the next four years for Giovani Lo Celso, if Real Betis qualify for the Champions League.

That’s according to journalist Alonso Rivero, who provides details on the transfer today and how much Tottenham will actually receive for the Argentine.

Lo Celso completed a return to Betis on deadline day last week, bringing an end to a miserable spell at Tottenham following his move from the Spanish side in July 2020.

He had been linked with a move away from Tottenham throughout the summer as he was in the final year of his deal and not a part of Ange Postecoglou’s plans. Betis’ financial situation meant they played the long game, though, waiting until the end of the window to get Lo Celso for a fee they could afford.

There has been a difference in the reporting in Spain and England on the financials of the deal, with reports in the former keeping the fee low, around €5m, while the latter have Tottenham getting closer to €10m.

Rivero now explains that both are technically true, reporting that Betis have paid Tottenham an initial €5m fixed fee for the Argentine midfielder.

However, the Spanish side will have to pay €1m each year that they qualify for the Champions League for the next four years, although is dependent on Lo Celso playing at least half of the games.

So, they could end up paying €9m in total if they qualify for the Champions League in each of the next four seasons and Lo Celso plays in half of the games.

Thus, it seems, both fees are correct, although it will take an impressive four-year spell for Betis if Tottenham are to get the latter.

On deadline day, Tottenham Hotspur agreed a deal to sell Giovani Lo Celso to Real Betis.

Prior to the agreement, we covered claims from Spain which stated Spurs have acquired future rights on Johnny Cardoso, as part of the deal for Lo Celso.

Real Betis president Ángel Haro has now confirmed Tottenham’s interest and also their option to buy the 22-year-old. He revealed this during Natan’s presentation on Monday, and his comments are relayed by Mundo Deportivo.

“Johnny is a player that interests not only Tottenham, but many other teams, he has a great projection,” he said.

“In this case, within the Gio operation, they asked us for an option to buy for a value that for us was important and interesting and we gave them that option.”

Haro hasn’t revealed the fee Tottenham have to pay to buy the midfielder. According to Mundo Deportivo, the price is around €25m, and it can only be exercised during a two-week window in June 2025.

They add the American’s sale to Spurs could provide Manuel Pellegrini’s side liquidity to make Vitor Roque’s [on loan from Barcelona] stay permanent at the end of this season.

Real Betis sporting director Manu Fajardo has also confirmed Tottenham’s purchase option to buy the midfielder.

“Johnny’s performance is extraordinary. He’s going to bring a lot of joy to Beticismo. Tottenham has a purchase option in amounts that will satisfy Betis if they occur,” Fajardo explained, relayed by ABC Sevilla.

Cardoso arrived at Real Betis in January and signed a contract until 2029. He has made four appearances for Manuel Pellegrini’s side this season.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Bryan Gil failed to enjoy regular minutes under Ange Postecoglou’s orders last season. Back in July, he joined Girona on a season-long loan deal and has clocked in 341 minutes from four games so far.

The winger has started his spell at Girona on a bright note. Last month, the Spanish press stated the winger has adapted in a ‘phenomenal way’ at the La Liga side.

Last week, the Tottenham man scored his first goal for Girona against CA Osasuna. He played 89 minutes in their 2-0 win over Sevilla at the weekend.

According to Estadio Deportivo, Girona manager Míchel feels the Spain international, Iván Martín and Viktor Tsyhankov want to feature in every game, even ‘when they are not at 100%’.

“We were lacking a bit of speed, especially when it came to making the clearances inside,” he said, as relayed by Estadio Deportivo. “We have told the players this but it’s a way of working that they have internalised but it’s true that today, I don’t know if it is because of the heat, because they have played three days ago, but the players, sometimes, are very selfish. Today I have the feeling that not having made changes, people were very tired, and we lacked energy.

“That’s noticeable in the depth… because that’s when you have to get that 100% in pace and today, I didn’t see it in Víctor, I didn’t see it in Bryan Gil, I didn’t see it in Iván, but hey, we competed well.”

The Tottenham owned player failed to score a goal or register an assist against his former club on Sunday. Estadio Deportivo still claim the 23-year-old was the ‘MVP against Sevilla’.

Gil spent nine years at the Andalusian club before leaving them for Spurs in 2021. The Girona boss knew very well that the clash against Sevilla was “special” for the Spaniard.

“He’s a player that we were already talking about last year about the possibility of him helping us, this year he really wanted to come. You can see that he is very focused, and I have the feeling that he is very comfortable,” Míchel explained.

“So, we just ask that those physical data you have become numbers that have already made a goal, have made an assist and we want that to go further.”

This means Míchel wants the attacker to improve his statistics at Girona.

Tottenham Hotspur earned around €15m from the sale of Emerson Royal to AC Milan.

The Brazilian was expected to come in as a rotation option for the struggling Davide Calabria, although not everyone around the Serie A club was convinced by the deal.

Emerson made his first start for the Rossoneri in a draw against Lazio at the weekend, and endured a pretty bad beginning. Both of Lazio’s goals came from the right-back’s side and he is already taking quite a bit off stick from Milan fans.

MilanNews have looked at Emerson’s performance at the weekend, referring to him as ‘one of the worst players on the pitch’. They believe that things didn’t go well for Emerson, as they go on to look at the ratings that newspapers gave to the full-back.

They cite Gazzetta dello Sport rating him at 5, mentioning that the ex-Barcelona man ran out of gas in the second half.

MilanNews themselves give the 25-year-old a rating of 5, with Corriere dello Sport giving him a 5.5.

There’s a chance here that some of those who weren’t convinced about signing Emerson from Tottenham in the first place and jumping too quickly to throw opinions at him, as it is very early days for the Brazilian.

Tottenham Hotspur earned around €15m from the sale of Emerson Royal to AC Milan.

The Brazilian was expected to come in as a rotation option for the struggling Davide Calabria, although not everyone around the Serie A club was convinced by the deal.

Emerson made his first start for the Rossoneri in a draw against Lazio at the weekend, and endured a pretty bad beginning. Both of Lazio’s goals came from the right-back’s side and he is already taking quite a bit off stick from Milan fans.

MilanNews have looked at Emerson’s performance at the weekend, referring to him as ‘one of the worst players on the pitch’.

They believe that things didn’t go well for Emerson, as they go on to look at the ratings that newspapers gave to the full-back.

They cite Gazzetta dello Sport rating him at 5, mentioning that the ex-Barcelona man ran out of gas in the second half.

MilanNews themselves give the 25-year-old a rating of 5, with Corriere dello Sport giving him a 5.5.

There’s a chance here that some of those who weren’t convinced about signing Emerson from Tottenham in the first place and jumping too quickly to throw opinions at him, as it is very early days for the Brazilian.

Last month, Tottenham Hotspur allowed Alejo Véliz to join Espanyol on a season-long loan deal.

The striker joined Tottenham from Rosario Central in August 2023 and clocked in 45 minutes from eight games for Spurs. He then moved to Sevilla on loan in January, where he managed 31 minutes from six matches.

Ange Postecoglou didn’t include Véliz in his plans this season, resulting in Tottenham letting him go out on loan to Espanyol.

AS say the 20-year-old’s ‘path in Europe hasn’t been easy’, but he’s ‘happy again’ at Espanyol.

At the weekend, he scored the winner in the 96th minute against Rayo Vallecano, to help the club secure their first win of the season.

The Spanish club and their manager, Manolo González, conveyed their ‘trust and faith’ in the Tottenham man, before his arrival. He had a difficult year since joining Tottenham and made this clear after scoring his first goal for Espanyol.

“It was a very big relief. I’ve come from a year in which I have not had a good time in terms of football. I want to thank my family, my girlfriend who always supported me,” he said, quoted by AS.

“To the coaching staff for giving me the chance to come here, to my teammates and to all these people for always supporting us.”

The goal against Rayo Vallecano was his second since arriving in Europe a year ago.

“It was something that I had been looking for, that I wasn’t getting. I had a thorn in my side. Goals are very important for strikers,” Véliz explained.

“I made up my mind that maybe it’s just a streak, that the goal wasn’t opening up for me, but I was thinking about contributing as much as I could to the team. I knew the goal was going to come, it came today and hopefully many more to come.”

Despite playing just games, AS say Espanyol and Véliz feel that he has ‘found his place’ at the Spanish club. González trusts him and his teammates are ‘amazed’ with his finishing in training.

The report adds the Tottenham owned player has already made the Espanyol fans forget about last season’s star, Martin Braithwaite. He scored 22 goals and left as a free agent in the summer.

Tottenham’s Sergio Reguilón will continue to assess his options after failing to secure a move away from the club on deadline day.

That’s according to AS, who say the full-back finds himself in a ‘labyrinth’ at Tottenham after failing to find an exit on the final day of the window.

The market has now closed, and the Spaniard did not leave Tottenham, leaving him in an awkward situation as he is not registered in the Premier League or Europa League squads. He has to find a solution to his future, with everything indicating he would find a new club at some point this summer but that not happening before the window closed.

His options are now limited as the top five leagues in Europe have now closed their windows. That leaves Reguilón looking to at options such as Portugal, Türkiye or Saudi Arabia.

At this point the defender’s future ‘remains undefined’, with him clearly not in Tottenham’s plans but with no interest from other clubs at this moment in time.

A departure somewhere is considered a ‘foregone conclusion’ at this point, it’s just a question of where and when as the options dwindle following deadline day.

On Friday, Tottenham Hotspur confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Real Betis for the transfer of Giovani Lo Celso.

Real Betis president Ángel Haro García had a chat with the local reporters, relayed by Diario de Sevilla. He revealed the 28-year-old could arrive in Spain today, to complete the transfer from Tottenham to the La Liga side.

The Argentina international will carry out the medical tests with Real Betis in the next few hours. He will then join the national team for the upcoming international break.

“Yes, the idea is that he will probably travel tomorrow [Saturday], although he also has a commitment with the national team, he will have to leave again with his national team, but well, we can enjoy a bit of time,” he said.

The La Liga side were in the market for a new midfielder, after Nabil Fekir decided to leave them from UAE based side Al Jazira. The president claims his side had a “great challenge” to replace the Frenchman.

Real Betis identified Lo Celso and Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos as the main targets, before deciding to bet on the South American.

When the reporters quizzed the president whether the former Arsenal man was on an option, he revealed why his side decided to sign Lo Celso.

“Well, we had two or three top options open, for us these options were the ones you are talking about as a very good option, and then we finally opted for Gio,” Ángel Haro García explained.

“Well, they are options that open, each market has its particularity, in this case it seemed that a window was opening, but as I said, we also had another window and other open players.”

“I would like to talk about the players we have, the issue of Dani could have been a possibility, but I am very satisfied with Gio, a great player, we already know him at the club and we have to focus on giving him love and he surely gives us great joy.”

Spurs initially took Lo Celso on loan from Real Betis in 2019 and made his stay permanent in January 2020. The midfielder scored 10 goals and registered eight assists from 108 games for Tottenham.