Sport Witness

West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are among the clubs showing interest in Ajax’s Brian Brobbey.

Three days ago, De Telegraaf stated West Ham are willing to go to great lengths to sign the striker. It was reported Tottenham and Everton are also in the mix for the 22-year-old.

Later that day, Brobbey’s agent confirmed he’d made a trip to London but didn’t dwell whether it was related to a potential move.

De Telegraaf reporter Mike Verweij has now covered West Ham, Tottenham and Everton chances of securing his services. He talked about it for the newspaper’s podcast, Kick-off, and his comments are relayed by Voetbal Primeur.

The journalist states the Netherlands international isn’t keen on joining David Moyes’ side in this window because the Toffees ‘don’t appeal to him’. Verweij adds if the player has to pick between West Ham and Spurs, he will pick Ange Postecoglou’s side.

“If a Premier League club like West Ham United or Spurs comes along, he doesn’t really want to go to Everton, then he wants to leave. If Spurs are going to continue, then yes, he wants to go there,” he said.

“West Ham have already indicated, and it was not an official offer, that they would be willing to loan him. If Brobbey plays five games from the fifteen to the winter break, then they wanted to take him over permanently.”

Recent claims from elsewhere have stated Tottenham aren’t keen on signing Brobbey. If this is true, West Ham can secure his services if they can find an agreement with the frontman and Ajax.

At the weekend, we covered claims from Spain which insisted Tottenham Hotspur remain well placed to sign Real Betis’ Johnny Cardoso in the summer.

Last summer, the Premier League side sold Giovani Lo Celso to Real Betis and as part of the agreement, negotiated a deal to buy Cardoso for €25m in June.

This gives Tottenham power to sign Cardoso as long as he finishes the season at the La Liga side.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have tried to sign the American in the winter market. AS state Manuel Pellegrini’s side have no plans to sanction a move for him in the coming days.

The Spanish club want to retain him until the end of this season, and this should please the north London club.

It’s claimed Real Betis are ‘determined to honour their word’ with Tottenham regarding the 23-year-old.

AS explain the English club have continued to follow the player and can secure his services by exercising the €25m clause valid in June. They add Tottenham exercising this option will depend on who the manager is at the time, with them appearing to believe Ange Postecoglou, who is thought to be keen on the Cardoso move, could be shown the door in the coming months.

Spurs have failed to win their last seven league matches and picked up four points from the last 10. They are 15th in the table and their recent poor run has raised questions about Postecoglou’s future.

Arsenal and Manchester United were keen on signing Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Bergvall, according to Fotboll Direkt.

The midfielder spent 18 months at Djurgårdens IF Fotboll before arriving at Spurs last summer.

His performances in Sweden had caught the attention of several clubs including Tottenham Arsenal and Manchester United.

Fotboll Direkt now state Spurs’ north London rivals Arsenal and the Red Devils were among 24 clubs that wanted to sign the 18-year-old.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona, Juventus, Atalanta, RB Leipzig, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven, AS Monaco, Marseille, FC Midtjylland and Stade Rennais are among the 24.

These clubs and several others were in the race to sign the Sweden international and all of them lost out to Ange Postecoglou’s side, according to the Swedish report.

In February 2024, Tottenham agreed a deal with Djurgårdens IF for Bergvall to arrive in north London last summer.

It was the Swede’s decision to join Tottenham Hotspur over all other options after being convinced by what Spurs proposed to him, this has worked out well as he’s played 27 matches so far this season.

In the summer, Tottenham Hotspur sold Giovani Lo Celso to Real Betis and as a part of this deal, they secured an option to buy Johnny Cardoso.

At the start of this season, Real Betis president Ángel Haro confirmed negotiations with Spurs over a deal for the midfielder. Tottenham can exercise the clause to buy him for €25m in June.

On Boxing Day, Diario de Sevilla stated the 23-year-old has attracted interest from other clubs, but Tottenham are the ‘most interested’.

Recent claims stated Wolverhampton Wanderers are looking to sign the American in the winter market. Saturday’s edition of ABC Sevilla explains the La Liga side will not let him leave until the end of this season.

The newspaper points out Tottenham have a ‘preferential’ option to buy Cardoso for €25m in June.

Mundo Deportivo are also reporting on Vítor Pereira’s side showing interest in the Real Betis player. They and other clubs have tried to sign him in January, but the Spanish club are refusing to sanction a move unless there’s an offer much higher than €25m.

The report claims none of Cardoso’s suitors want to meet Real Betis’ request. Therefore, he will continue at Real Betis until the end of this season. This is good news for the north London club, who look well placed to activate their clause in the summer.

Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are among the clubs in the picture for Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapié.

The Ecuador international was part of Bayer Leverkusen’s title winning squad last season and has featured regularly this season, making 27 appearances in all competitions.

This week’s edition of SportBild claims Tottenham, Chelsea and other clubs are keen the centre-back.

They point out the 23-year-old is called ‘El Kaiser’ in his homeland and this is ‘in reference to greatest German footballer of all time, Franz Beckenbauer’. The same view isn’t shared by Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso.

“For me, Piero is more of a fighter than an emperor. I’m very happy to work with him,” he said.

Last month, the German club rewarded the defender with a new deal until 2029. Despite the renewal, the report suggests the South American could leave the Bundesliga winners.

The weekly magazine claims Alonso’s side are expecting to collect €70m from his sale, with summer obviously likelier.

Atlético Madrid showed keen interest in 2021 and even tried to sign Hincapié last summer. SportBild add Tottenham and Chelsea have him high on their lists while Napoli are also keen on signing the player.

Hincapié, for his part, is happy with his life in Germany. If Spurs were to beat the Blues and other clubs, they have to convince him and offer €70m to Bayer Leverkusen.

That’s a big ask given their season so far.

Slavia Prague manager Jindřich Trpišovský insists he’s pleased Antonín Kinský was able to join Tottenham Hotspur in the winter market.

Monday’s edition of Dnes has published a detailed interview with the coach and one of the topics discussed was the goalkeeper.

On January 5th, Tottenham signed Kinský from Slavia Prague for a reported fee of around £12.5m and secured him to a contract lasting until 2030.

Ange Postecoglou has started the 21-year-old in all four matches since his arrival, ahead of Fraser Forster.

Kinský spent four years at the Czech side, during which he had two loan spells at MFK Vyškov and FK Pardubice, before joining Tottenham.

Trpišovský brought him to Slavia Prague from Dukla Prague and only started to give the stopper regular opportunities in the first half of this season. The manager was specifically asked whether he could have asked his side to block Kinský’s sale to Tottenham.

He said: “Certainly not, it couldn’t be done. I can’t imagine the coach’s right of veto in any departure. Except in the best clubs in the world, which are secured, and their players practically have nowhere to go.

“I myself was very happy, what kind of story Tonda [Kinský] is writing. I saw him for the first time on the pitch of Admira in Prague.

“I was behind the goal when he was winning the cup for Dukla. He was 17. Now I turn on the TV and the same Tonda is playing against Liverpool. I’ll admit I’ve rarely had such a feeling in front of the TV.

“Now I will be very brave, but I am convinced that Tonda has the quality to one day become the best goalkeeper in Czech history.”

That is a big shout, given Petr Cech’s existence.

The new Spurs signing’s former teammate from Pardubice, Viktor Budinský, recently stated Kinský’s dream is to join Real Madrid. Budinský even said the Tottenham player is learning Spanish.

Dnes asked the Slavia Prague manager if the Czech Republic U21 international’s ‘dream’ is really to join the Champions League winners.

“I know his dream, but I can’t reveal it. Anyway, in a year and a half in our league, he made such a name for himself that Tottenham bought him, which says it all. It was a pleasure to work with him. From the first moment I arrived, I’ve been interested in the limits of how far we can go,” Trpišovský

Sunday’s edition of Catalan newspaper Sport has a big article on the fight Barcelona put up to sign Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense.

The Blaugrana agreed a deal to sign the Brazilian in July 2023, but he didn’t physically make the move until January 2024. He struggled to have a quick and consistent impact with Barcelona and in the summer he was loaned to Real Betis for two seasons with a €25m buying option.

Barcelona paid more than that. Their deal was worth €30m plus a potential €31m in bonus payments, and Sport have now suggested Tottenham competition was part of the reason they paid so much and rushed the signing through.

Sport explain intermediary André Cury was working on behalf of Barcelona and ‘stopped an offer from Tottenham’ getting through. Deco, who was then simply working as an advisor to the Catalan club, was also involved.

Tottenham were offering the player €4.8m in wages, according to Sport, and that compared to the €1.8m he got at Barca. However, a job had been done on the youngster and he was convinced to snub Spurs.

Sporting Club de Portugal are hoping Nottingham Forest will step up interest in Marcus Edwards and take him off their hands, even with a percentage going to Tottenham.

That’s according to Record, who make it clear Sporting want rid of the forward and are hoping for suitors like Nottingham Forest step up.

The newspaper reports that Edwards future will not be in Alvalade. The Portuguese club are evaluating various scenarios to get rid of the forward.

That could be a loan or permanent deal, so long as they can get €8-10m somehow. The fact is, though, they are ‘open to a transfer’.

The hope is that someone will step forward for the 26-year-old before the end of the window. Nottingham Forest, Olympiacos, Al-Nassr and Crystal Palace have all been linked in the past. The player is currently ‘giving preference’ to a return to England.

Any deal for him will see Sporting take 65% of the money while Tottenham would take the remaining 35%. That was the deal the two clubs negotiated when he headed to Portugal in 2019.

He initially joined Vitoria Guimarães on a free transfer then joined Sporting in a €7.75m deal in January 2022. Tottenham have retained their percentage on him since then. Thus, they will receive a cut of any future transfer.

Sporting are now desperate to secure that transfer this month. They appear to have grown increasingly exasperated with the player and his attitude and now want to cut ties completely.

The hope now is that Nottingham Forest or someone else will step forward, hand them a small profit and ensure something goes to Tottenham as well.

Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are in the mix to sign Barcelona’s Ansu Fati.

That’s according to Sport, who state the winger is expected to leave the La Liga side in the winter market.

Hansi Flick has left the 22-year-old out of the squad for last three games, and Barcelona are considering letting him leave on loan.

Tottenham and West Ham are interested in bringing him back to the Premier League even though he struggled during his loan spell at Brighton & Hove Albion last season. The two Premier League sides are looking to improve their attack in January.

New Hammers manager Graham Potter will be without Michail Antonio and Niclas Fullkrug due to injuries while Spurs missed out on signing Paris Saint-Germain’s Randal Kolo Munai on loan to Juventus.

Sport point that out and add Tottenham’s defeat to Arsenal in the north London derby has only ‘triggered tension’ and the club will be looking for reinforcements in January.

The report’s summary claims Fati has received two offers from the Premier League, while Tottenham and West Ham are the only two English clubs mentioned in the report.

With Barcelona willing to let the forward leave on loan, the deal could go through if the London clubs can convince Fati.

Tottenham Hotspur are looking for a new striker in the winter market after missing out on Paris Saint-Germain’s Randal Kolo Muani to Juventus, according to Tutto Juve.

The France international has decided to leave the Ligue 1 winners after failing to feature regularly this season and Tottenham and Juventus are the two clubs to have shown keen interest in him.

A week ago, journalist Mirko Di Natale stated Ange Postecoglou had called the 26-year-old to give him assurance of a prominent role at Tottenham.

Two days ago, we covered claims from France which stated Spurs have tabled an offer of loan deal with an obligation to buy. On Wednesday, the French media reported Kolo Muani has snubbed Tottenham in favour of Juventus, who have agreed a deal with PSG.

The former Eintracht Frankfurt star has arrived in Italy to undergo medical examinations with the Serie A side.

Tutto Juve explain the Premier League side thought they were ‘close to an agreement’ to sign the Frenchman, after working on this operation throughout this month. They add missing out on Kolo Munai has left Tottenham ‘devastated and disappointed’.

Postecoglou’s side are now ‘desperately looking’ for another striker in January.