Sport Witness

Troy Parrott has gone through the process of being a big hope in the Tottenham Hotspur system to working hard to make a name for himself elsewhere.

In the summer, he joined AZ Alkmaar permanently and has managed to make a mark in the Netherlands.

The 22-year-old has five league goals so far, and later today he will come up against Tottenham in the Europa League in what could well be an emotional game for the Irishman.

Ahead of the clash, Parrot has spoken to De Telegraaf about his time at Spurs, and he has no bitterness whatsoever about his exit.

He said: “Spurs is such a big club. I have been given a few chances to play for them and I am proud of that.”

Parrott stated that he is now living his own journey and has praised Tottenham for always taking good care of young players.

“You know: Spurs is a good club, they have always taken good care of me. They want to develop young players and deliver them to the first team. That is incredibly difficult, because the club is in the top 5 of the Premier League.

“I actually have nothing bad to say about the club. It wasn’t meant to be that I broke through there. Now my own journey has begun . I’m on my own journey.”

The Ireland international gave his thoughts about the Europa League game today, revealing that some of his family members will be at the game and that it will be a big evening for AZ players.

“There are also some family members and friends living in London coming to the match, so it is a special match in many ways.

“Look, there are a few world-class players there, it’s not going to be easy. But for me and my fellow players it’s an exciting and beautiful evening. It’s an opportunity to show what we can do against such a big team.”

Parrott has already opened his account in Europe for AZ, finding the back of the net against Elfsborg some weeks ago.

Scoring against Tottenham will be a massive moment in his young career and it could set the tone for him to have a really good campaign.

Radu Drăgușin was linked with a move away from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, but no deal took shape.

Napoli were said to be one of the interested parties. Recent claims have stated the Serie A side are looking at the possibility of securing his services in 2025.

On Tuesday, Drăgușin’s agent Florin Manea ruled out the option of the centre-back leaving Tottenham in the winter market. He insisted the 22-year-old isn’t interested in leaving Spurs.

That hasn’t stopped the Italian media from discussing the possibility of the former Genoa man returning to Serie A. Sampdoria assistant manager Roberto Baronio, speaking to Kiss Kiss Napoli’s Radio Goal, talked about the Romania international as an option for Napoli. His comments are relayed by Area Napoli.

Baronio knows the player from his time at Juventus, where he was the assistant manager. The Italian insists it wouldn’t shock him if Drăgușin were to join Antonio Conte’s side.

“Drăgușin at Napoli? It wouldn’t surprise me. He did very well in Italy, he was confirmed at Genoa, if he arrived at Napoli he would compete for the starting place. I coached him for a while, and I know him very well,” he said.

The Romanian arrived at the north London club from Genoa in January. Ange Postecoglou hasn’t relied upon him regularly at Tottenham. He’s clocked in 620 minutes from 13 games, of which 196 minutes are from this season.

On Tuesday, the Seville media reported Victor Orta had already taken steps to try and get Archie Gray from Tottenham Hotspur in the winter market

The idea was that Gray would arrive on loan, taking Sevilla’s final loanee spot, and be an option for the Spanish club until the end of the current season.

As we immediately pointed out, it felt quite unlikely indeed. Tottenham clearly rate the 18-year-old very highly, otherwise they wouldn’t have sent so much money to Leeds United for him.

Therefore, even if they were considering a loan, and there’s been little indication of that so far, Sevilla would surely be very far down the list of acceptable destinations and would likely have a thick line crossed through their name.

Sevilla have repeatedly demonstrated that they’re not exactly the best loan destination, and Spurs experienced that first hand with Alejo Véliz in the second half of last season.

The 21-year-old arrived much wanted by Orta, and yet despite the sports director’s messages to Spurs to allow the move, Véliz was only given around half an hour of action.

Wednesday saw the Seville media giving up on the idea, mentioning the above situation as a factor.

Now, Estadio Deportivo, the club’s local sport newspaper, states Tottenham have sent a distinct message via social media.

On Thursday, Spurs posted a picture of Gray with the words ‘Our Archie’, and that’s seen a very strong transfer hint.

Last month, we covered claims from Argentina that Tottenham Hotspur want to sign Boca Juniors’ Kevin Zenón in January or next summer. It was also stated Newcastle United and Benfica had made contacts to sign him, presumably in the last window.

Five days ago, O Jogo said Benfica are trying to get ahead of Newcastle and Real Madrid in the chase for the 23-year-old.

Pasión Fútbol now back up Tottenham and Newcastle interest in the midfielder. They state the Premier League duo, along with Brighton & Hove Albion, Lyon, FC Porto and Napoli are all closely following Zenón. The website have also provided the Argentine club’s stance on a potential deal in the winter market.

Boca Juniors took him from Unión Santa Fe in January and his performances this year has caught the attention of several European clubs. Their president, Juan Román Riquelme, is planning for possible exits in the next window and Zenón could be one of them.

The South American club’s leaders and their coaching staff are aware it’ll be ‘difficult to retain’ the player. Therefore, Riquelme is preparing to sell Zenón in the ‘coming weeks’ [in January], if there’s an offer close to his $15m [£11.5m] release clause.

Tottenham and Newcastle wouldn’t have issues offering a fee close to £11.5m for Zenón.

Guglielmo Vicario has become a leader at Tottenham Hotspur, since arriving at the club from Empoli in the summer of 2023.

Now the undisputed regular between the sticks, the 28-year-old has also been enhancing his chances of playing regularly for Italy, making vital saves and showing his ability on the ball at Tottenham.

He’s made sure that Spurs haven’t really missed Hugo Lloris after the Frenchman’s exit, and the Italian has become a fan favourite in London.

The goalkeeper has spoken to Gazzetta dello Sport about his time at Spurs and what he makes of the season so far.

He believes Tottenham have deserved more from the campaign but things will get better: “From a playing point of view we expressed a lot and perhaps achieved a little less than we deserved. Evidently if we didn’t collect points, something is missing, there is definitely something to improve, we need to work on it.

“It’s a so-so start, let’s say, we could have collected more but we look to the future with confidence.”

The 28-year-old was also asked about his habit of scolding his teammates after Tottenham concede, as he stated that this always helps the side.

“I think you shouldn’t get carried away by negative moments and you need to immediately raise the decibel level of the team.

“Every now and then it helps and I try to do it, because maybe I’m the one who is a bit more lucid at the back and can see certain things better. But I always do everything for the common good, in the interest of bringing home the result.”

With the London giants playing in the Europa League, Vicario also spoke of Tottenham’s chances in the competition.

“It is a competition in which there are above all many high-level opponents. We started very well, with two victories, and now we need to follow up with Thursday’s match against AZ.

“It becomes crucial: you cannot afford missteps in European competitions, you don’t have time to recover ground. Thursday’s match is a great opportunity.”

Ange Postecoglou’s side are currently seventh in the Premier League table and third in the Europa League table.

They have impressed a lot as an attacking side and have been let down by poor finishing and bad defending during counter-attacks. Once those issues in the side are fixed, Spurs could well be contenders to win silverware.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero wants to play for Club Atlético Belgrano at some point in his career.

That’s according to the Tottenham star’s mother Rosa, and she revealed this during a chat with Radio Sucesos. Her comments are relayed by TNT Sports.

The Argentine international was part of the Belgrano academy between 2014 and 2016. He was promoted to their senior team in 2016 and made 19 appearances for them.

Romero left his country when Genoa signed him from the Argentine club in 2018. After a spell in Italy, he arrived at Tottenham in August 2021. The Premier League side initially signed him on loan from Atalanta and made his stay permanent a year later. The Copa América winner has been a regular at Spurs and has a deal lasting until 2027. Recent claims have talked about Real Madrid’s desire to try and secure his services next summer.

According to the South American’s mother, his plan is to return to Belgrano in the future, and she remains optimistic that the Tottenham player will do so.

“His lifelong dream is to succeed at Belgrano, which is still his love today. It is a pending question, and he will surely do it,” she said.

Romero has impressed for Tottenham and Argentina. Taking this into account, it’s unlikely he could return to Belgrano in the near future, despite his mother’s admission.

Serie A has been a pretty effective hunting ground for Tottenham Hotspur in recent seasons.

The likes of Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski, Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario have all arrived from the Italian top flight, turning into rather successful signings.

Radu Dragusin also arrived from Genoa in January but things haven’t quite worked out for him just yet.

There is now a possibility of the Romanian moving away in exchange for another Serie A defender.

InterLive believe that the player in question is Inter’s Yann Bisseck and Tottenham are ‘strongly interested’ in signing the versatile defender, whose situation could become intriguing next summer.

Spurs could make an offer at that point, potentially including Dragusin, who isn’t said to be part of Ange Postecoglou’s plans.

As of now, Inter don’t want a player included in any deal and would only sell Bisseck if a major cash offer is made. Regardless, it’s stated Tottenham want to make an attempt and potentially land the German.

Bisseck is still liked a lot by Inter boss Simone Inzaghi and that is one reason why the Nerazzurri aren’t desperate to sell him.

Tottenham Hotspur star Micky van de Ven has insisted he is not surprised by his rapid rise, as he wouldn’t have joined the club if he wasn’t confident, he could step up.

The Dutch defender has been speaking to De Telegraaf about his current rise after joining Tottenham in a €40m deal from VfL Wolfsburg in August last year.

The 23-year-old has established himself as a key player in Ange Postecoglou’s side since, flourishing in the forward-thinking, all-out attack system that the Tottenham man employs.

His unique combination of pace, strength and comfort on the ball has earned him glowing praise from around Europe and has most convinced he could be a star of the future.

Such a rapid rise given he was playing for Volendam in 2019 is impressive, but he’s not surprised, insisting he wouldn’t have moved to Tottenham if he wasn’t absolutely sure he could make the step up. “The last year has been incredibly fast,” he said.

“Of course, you know your own qualities, but it is always a question of how you are going to do at the highest level, on the highest podium. So far, that has been going very well at Spurs. From Wolfsburg to Tottenham is a big step.

“It is working out very well. I also made the steps to Wolfsburg and Tottenham because I thought I could handle the level. That is why it does not surprise me that it is going so well. If you know your own qualities, you do not make such a step if you cannot handle it.”

This summer saw Van de Ven featuring for the Netherlands at Euro 2024, playing at left-back in games against Poland, Austria, Romania and Türkiye.

Playing for the Netherlands means featuring alongside a wealth of defensive talent, with the Dutch boasting options such as Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Ake and Mathijs de Ligt.

The Tottenham defender is aware of that and admits he spent the summer learning from the experience around him, namely Van Dijk.

“I have really grown as a player through the European Championships,” he added.

“You gain a lot of experience during such a final tournament. The boys also help you all the time. It is the little things that you take with you, for example in the coaching.

“I have also spoken a lot with Daley Blind, who has helped me with several things. But you also look at how Virgil does on the field. Those are all things that you can take with you.”

On Tuesday, we covered claims from Italy that Tottenham Hotspur showed interest in US Lecce’s Patrick Dorgu in the summer window. The Premier League side didn’t proceed with the negotiations when asked for €30-35m.

Spurs have maintained their interest in the 19-year-old, who has impressed for the Serie A side this season. He operated as a left-back and manager Luca Gotti moved him mainly to the wings earlier this year.

On Friday, Dorgu was rewarded with a new contract until 2029. It will not stop Tottenham or any other club from chasing the versatile player.

That’s according to Saturday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport, who state AC Milan have him in their sights. The Rossoneri have to be wary of the competition from Tottenham and Chelsea, who are ‘in pole position’ to sign the Denmark international.

Gazzetta say Dorgu, who’ll turn 20 years of age later this month, is Lecce’s ‘golden boy’. Milan have already seen their €8m offer get rejected in 2023 and are still keeping close tabs on him.

The Premier League sides have entered the battle and the ‘auction has already started’ for Dorgu, with Tottenham in the lead.

Despite the renewal, the newspaper states Lecce are ‘ready to achieve a historic capital gain’ from his sale. There’s no mention of their demand or the fee Tottenham could offer for the youngster.

Both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have been linked with a move for Lecce’s Patrick Dorgu in recent months.

The versatile Danish player made his debut for the national team recently, attracting more attention, and Lecce have now acted quickly and tied him down to a new deal.

Earlier today, the club confirmed that the player has signed a new deal that will expire in the summer of 2029.

While that might concern Tottenham and Chelsea fans, it doesn’t ruin their chances.

FiorentinaNews have reported that it is Spurs who retain major interest in the youngster and Chelsea are probably second in the race. The new deal, though, doesn’t mean that he will stay at Lecce beyond this season.

He is very likely to depart in the summer and it seems as if the new deal is only to increase the player’s value.

Lecce’s own intention is to maximise how much they earn from Dorgu’s sale, especially because he joined the club only for a fee of €200k. The contract is their attempt to make a big transfer and potentially launch an auction.