Sky Sports

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara wants Spurs to sign Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Tottenham summer special podcast, O'Hara believes Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi is the "perfect man-manager" for Rashford, whose Man Utd future remains uncertain.

Sky Sports News understands a new left-sided forward is a priority for Tottenham amid interest in Manchester City's Savinho and Liverpool's Cody Gakpo.

LISTEN: Tottenham summer special podcast!

Transfer Centre LIVE! | Spurs news & transfers⚪

Spurs fixtures & scores | FREE Spurs highlights▶️

Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱

Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream PL games with no contract📺

O'Hara said: "I like Savinho. What I've seen of him, there have been bright sparks. It hasn't massively worked for him at Manchester City, but he's obviously a talented player.

"I like Gakpo, but the problem with him is he maybe needs four or five chances to score one, but he has got something about him. I wouldn't be disappointed in the signing - he's a player who I wouldn't mind.

"I just don't know why we don't go for Marcus Rashford. I really think that Spurs should just go, how much do you want? How much can we get him for?

"I know he's on £350,000 a week, and obviously Spurs potentially can't afford that, but he's such a brilliant player.

"If you get him at it with a point to prove, I just think he's still one of the best players around.

"If he stays at Man Utd, I think he'll play, so I just don't know why we've not been interested in him."

'De Zerbi can get best out of Rashford'

Rashford has returned to the Man Utd squad, having spent last season on loan at Barcelona, who opted against signing him despite scoring 14 goals and providing 14 assists in 47 appearances as they won LaLiga.

O'Hara feels the 28-year-old would fit the "bomba" signing De Zerbi teased last month, with it understood the Italian wants to sign at least one wide attacker in the final weeks of the summer window.

"I think De Zerbi is the perfect man-manager for someone like Rashford," O'Hara said. "He's a manager who will get the best out of him.

"I think he'd be a good signing for us. Maybe he doesn't want to sign for Tottenham, or maybe he may be looking elsewhere.

"But the left side is something we still need to address. Mathys Tel is a decent young player, but he isn't the answer.

"We have got to sign someone who's a top-drawer player, who gets us to another level and really pushes us on.

"If we've got the money, and it looks like we have, and De Zerbi's come out and said we're signing another big player, well, let's go and make something happen."

Spurs have spent £237m on six new players this summer, but their most recent signing - the club-record £100m arrival of Sandro Tonali - came over a month ago.

It has led to concerns that the club's recruitment drive has stalled, with the forward line still in need of reinforcement ahead of the window closing in just under three weeks.

Sky Sports News reporter Michael Bridge told the Tottenham summer special podcast: "Tottenham know what they need, and from the conversations I continue to have, and what I've seen so far this summer, I'm confident they'll get that done.

"I've been impressed with the midfield signings, and I've got that feeling from De Zerbi in his interviews this summer that he knows, and he's got a good feeling about what's to come.

"He has been so hands-on, and Spurs have said, 'Keep us up, you get the keys', and he has got the keys, so let's see if he opens the door on those forwards."

'I'd be disappointed if Spence is sold'

Meanwhile, Rashford's England team-mate Djed Spence looks set to leave Tottenham this summer.

The 26-year-old is closing in on a move to Inter Milan in a deal that could be worth up to £30m.

Spurs summer special podcast analyses Romero's imminent Atletico exit

But O'Hara has questioned the defender's potential exit, which would leave Pedro Porro as the club's only recognised right-back.

He said of Spence's possible departure: "I'd actually be disappointed to let him leave. I just don't think that we should let him go.

"He can play in different areas, multiple areas - left-back, right-back and on the wing. He's athletic, he's strong, he's decent on the ball.

"Maybe he lacks a little bit going forward in terms of his attributes. But if you look at him not being a starter, he's definitely one that you're going to use. Porro or (Andy) Robertson could get injured, and you can't rely on (Destiny) Udogie's fitness.

"If Porro picks up an injury, who is the guy who's going to step in there? It can't be Archie Gray. We've got to allow Gray to develop into a midfield player; that's what we've signed him for.

"So, if you're going to get rid of him [Spence], you're going to have to bring someone else in.

"I wouldn't be gutted if we sold him, but I'd be disappointed if we let him go."

Should Spence seal a move to Serie A, Sky Sports News understands Tottenham will look to add another right-back before the window shuts on September 1.

Sky Sports News senior football news editor Lyall Thomas told the Tottenham summer special podcast: "If Spence leaves, then I think Spurs should be looking at a right-back who's a little bit younger and more of a development project.

"Porro's one of the few players at Spurs who you can bank on playing every game - he hasn't got that injury record that others have got.

"He's a World Cup winner and if you've got him as your leading right-back then having him as a mentor to develop would be a good shout."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Atletico Madrid have agreed a deal in principle with Tottenham to sign Cristian Romero.

The package is in the region of £34.2m (€40m) with add-ons. A 15 per cent sell-on clause is included.

Atletico have been long-term admirers of the Argentina international, and there was an expectation that Spurs would allow captain Romero to depart this summer if the right offer arrived.

Transfer Centre LIVE! | Tottenham news & transfers⚪

Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱

Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream PL games with no contract📺

The central defender was always believed to have preferred a move to Atletico, with Inter Milan and Spurs' north London rivals Arsenal among the other clubs to have been interested.

Romero's Spurs deal is due to run until the summer of 2029.

The 28-year-old was sent off twice last season during Spurs' Premier League relegation battle. He then missed the end of the campaign due to a knee injury.

Romero received criticism from supporters when he appeared to be set to watch his boyhood club Belgrano play River Plate in the Argentina Primera Division Apertura final instead of being at Tottenham's crucial last game against Everton. Romero did, though, attend the final game of the season, in which Spurs secured Premier League survival.

He has made 124 appearances for the club over five seasons, scoring 12 goals and being shown four red cards in the Premier League.

Spurs had appeared to lay the groundwork for Romero's exit this summer following the arrivals of defenders Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi.

'Spurs not getting value for Romero'

Spurs are set to take a lower fee for Romero than what they received for teenage defender Luka Vuskovic, who joined Brighton in a club-record £50m deal earlier this summer.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Tottenham summer special podcast, which will be available to listen to from midday on Thursday, Sky Sports News' Michael Bridge said of Romero's imminent exit: "Spurs are not going to get the value for a player of his ability.

"Luka Vuskovic, who didn't make any competitive appearances for Spurs, will be sold for more than what the club's captain will go for because he's gone to a Premier League club.

"I think it's best for all parties that Romero leaves. I think 99.9 per cent of Spurs fans would agree with that.

"On his day, there aren't many better - he doesn't make any mistakes for Argentina, but in terms of Tottenham it just feels like it's his job.

"He adores Argentina, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it feels as if Tottenham is a bit of a chore for him and it's gone a bit too much that way."

Could Romero have joined Arsenal?

Earlier this month, one source had told Sky Sports News that Arsenal had looked into Romero as an option to bolster their centre-back options.

However, it never progressed beyond interest, with Spurs reluctant to let their captain join a Premier League side, let alone their fiercest rivals Arsenal.

"There was talk that Romero would have happily accepted a move to Arsenal," Bridge told Sky Sports' Tottenham summer special podcast.

"There were no club-to-club talks on this, but when you hear that then that's the final nail for Tottenham supporters."

The north London rivals tend not to do transfer business with one another. The last transfer negotiated between the two clubs came 49 years ago when goalkeeper Pat Jennings joined Arsenal from Spurs in a deal worth a reported £45,000.

O'Hara: Time for Romero to move on

Also speaking on Sky Sports' Tottenham summer special podcast, ex-Spurs midfielder Jamie O'Hara said of Romero: "He's a bit of a liability. When he plays, he costs us games, points and red cards.

"I just think his attitude towards the board and the way he was, I just think it's, 'All right, thank you, and we're going to move on'.

"We've finished 17th the last two seasons, and he's been involved. He was captain last season, and the way he acted at the end of the season, when he got injured, and we all saw him crying, that wasn't for Tottenham; it was more for Argentina and his World Cup.

"And then he goes to Argentina on the last day of the season, and everyone's like, 'Where's Romero?' So that situation for me needs to be put to bed. I don't think we need any of that bad publicity around us.

"Get as much as we can for him; let him move on. We've got back-up now with Van Hecke and Senesi, so thank you, see you later."

Spurs are set to make a loss on Romero, who joined from Atalanta for around £42m in the summer of 2021.

O'Hara said of Atletico's £34.2m deal for Romero: "The problem is there's a premium for English clubs, who will pay over the odds for people with European clubs inflating the fee.

"The problem is if you're going to go and sell him to Atletico Madrid, they haven't got the money.

"If we were selling him to Man Utd, we could probably get £60m-70m for him. But the problem is if you sell a player to Europe, they just don't have the money that the Premier League clubs have, so you have to accept that it's going to be a lesser fee than what maybe you think you can get for him.

"He wants to go to Atletico Madrid. He just feels like an Atletico Madrid player. I just feel like you've just got to take that one on the chin and move on from it."

Romero's exit signals new era at Spurs

Speaking on Sky Sports' Tottenham summer special podcast, Sky Sports News senior football news editor Lyall Thomas said:

"Quite a top figure in the football industry said to me, 'Go and watch Romero's role in the second goal in Spurs' 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at home last season'.

"I watched him, and it was arms in the air, not tracking the player back who ended up scoring, which contributed to the goal.

"That was Spurs when they needed their captain the most, and he just wasn't there in that moment, so that says it all.

"It's time to move on from that era of Spurs and into the new era.

"This has been shown by some of the players they've brought in, which is not just to have an impact on the field but to have an impact on the dressing room and sort that area of the club.

"It's a move that suits Romero to go and work with his compatriot [Diego] Simeone. I can imagine they will suit each other down to the ground. It just fits. The planets are aligned on this one."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Chelsea will host Jack Wilshere's Luton Town in the Carabao Cup second round, while Tottenham Hotspur host Charlton Athletic in a London derby.

Former Arsenal midfielder Wilshere will take his League One outfit to Stamford Bridge, as the 11 Premier League sides not involved in European competition this season joined the winners of the first-round ties in the hat.

Got Sky? Watch the Carabao Cup on the Sky Sports app

Not got Sky? Stream the Carabao Cup with no contract

Among the other tasty ties are League One AFC Wimbledon visiting Alvaro Arbeloa's Fulham at Craven Cottage, while Keith Andrews' Brentford face a potentially tricky tie against Birmingham at St Andrew's.

The winner of the Devon derby between Plymouth and Exeter, live on Sky Sports on Monday night, will get Premier League side Coventry City at home, while West Ham face an all-Championship tie away to Southampton.

In the north draw, Newcastle have been given Championship side West Brom at home, while Leeds were given an all-Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest.

David Moyes' Everton go to second tier club Preston - as the Toffees boss reunites with the club where he began his managerial career.

Like the first round, the second round draw was also regionalised and split into Southern and Northern section ties. The second-round matches will be played in the week commencing August 24.

The remaining Premier League teams will join in the third round, which will be split over the week commencing September 7 and the week commencing September 14. The teams competing in the Champions League will start in the later week.

Carabao Cup second round draw in full

North Draw

Stoke City vs Hull City

Newcastle vs West Brom

Blackburn vs Sheffield Utd

Nottingham Forest vs Leeds

Doncaster vs Middlesbrough

Barnsley vs Crewe

Preston vs Everton

Blackpool vs Lincoln

Sheffield Wednesday vs Wolves

Bradford vs Burnley

Fleetwood vs Shrewsbury

South Draw

Walsall vs Leyton Orient

Ipswich vs Leicester

Cardiff vs Norwich

Stevenage vs Reading

Cambridge vs Millwall

Birmingham City vs Brentford

Southampton vs West Ham

Watford vs Peterborough

Fulham vs AFC Wimbledon

Plymouth or Exeter vs Coventry

Chelsea vs Luton

Tottenham vs Charlton

Catch up with all the goals so far!

The first-round ties have had plenty of drama, action and goals as sides from the Championship League One and League Two sought a spot in the second round.

Clubs relegated from the Premier League in West Ham, Wolves and Burnley have all made it through, while three clubs from League Two have also booked their spot in the hat - Crewe, Fleetwood and Shrewsbury.

Sorry, this blog is currently unavailable. Please try again later.

Back to Home

This content is provided by , which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow cookies for this session only.