Inside Futbol

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Liverpool legend Phil Thompson has insisted that he feels sorry for Tottenham Hotspur’s Archie Gray and Radu Dragusin after the Reds demolished Spurs on Sunday, dubbing the pair ‘absolutely appalling’.

Spurs have experienced a shaky season so far and were thrashed 6-3 at home by Liverpool at the weekend to leave them on eight Premier League losses from 17 games.

Ange Postecoglou’s men are going through major injury issues, especially in defence, where Gray played as a makeshift central defender alongside Dragusin.

Spurs went on to concede six times against the Reds at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Liverpool could even have scored more goals.

Thompson feels sorry for Gray and Dragusin, who he thinks looked ‘frightened’, and says the pair were ‘absolutely appalling’.

Thompson said on LFC TV post-match about Spurs: “I felt for their back four because they were all over the place.”

“Honestly, young Archie Gray there with Dragusin, they were absolutely appalling.

“They were frightened literally to pass the ball forward, they were nervous, they just wanted to pass the ball back and forward to each other and we took full advantage of it.”

Postecoglou will be desperate to get the likes of Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies back as his side are set to face Newcastle United, high-flying Nottingham Forest and arch-rivals Arsenal in the upcoming weeks.

Pete Norton/Getty Images

Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens has hailed Tottenham Hotspur loan duo Josh Keeley and Jamie Donley for their performances against Barnsley at the weekend

Keeley and Donley are considered players for the future at the north London outfit and this summer they have been sent to League One outfit Leyton Orient.

The custodian has featured 13 times so far for the Os while Donley has played 20 times already and has chipped in with four direct goal contributions.

At the weekend against Barnsley, Keeley kept a clean sheet and Donley scored in Leyton Orient’s 4-0 win.

Wellens insisted that the 19-year-old attacking midfielder put in a brilliant performance against Barnsley.

“Jamie Donley, for a young kid, who wants to play football, I thought he was outstanding”, Wellens told Leyton Orient’s media after the Barnsley win.

“Our two wingers and centre-forward really hard and when you put them under pressure and they cannot serve long balls forward, we nullified their threats a lot.”

He also noted that Keeley did very well and he feels the shot-stopper is a vital part of his side’s defence.

“But I have to say our defensive department at the moment, the goalkeeper, both I include Zach [Obeiro] and Josh [Keeley] and whoever plays right-back, I thought [Ethan] Galbraith again, was outstanding.”

Keeley and Donley will be looking to put in consistent performances for the rest of the season to impress their parent club at Leyton Orient.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Fixture: Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool

Competition: Premier League

Kick-off: 16:30 UK time

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has picked his team to welcome Liverpool to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League this afternoon.

Spurs have shrugged off a poor run of form by recording back to back wins, first thumping Southampton 5-0 in the league and then edging a 4-3 thriller against Manchester United in the EFL Cup in midweek.

Spurs continue to sit just eleventh in the league standings though and there will be pressure on Postecoglou to drive them up the table soon.

Tottenham beat Liverpool in the last meeting between the two teams in north London and Postecoglou will fancy his side’s chances of downing the Reds again today.

Fraser Forster is between the sticks for Tottenham, who have a back four of Pedro Porro, Radu Dragusin, Archie Gray and Djed Spence.

In midfield, Tottenham field Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr, while leading the attacking threat are James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke and Heung-Min Son.

If Postecoglou needs to try to influence the game from the bench then he does have options and they include Timo Werner and Destiny Udogie.

Tottenham Hotspur Team vs Liverpool

Forster, Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence, Bissouma, Sarr, Maddison, Kulusevski, Solanke, Son

Substitutes: Austin, Reguilon, Udogie, Dorrington, Bergvall, Olusesi, Werner, Johnson, Lankshear

Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Fixture: Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool

Competition: Premier League

Kick-off: 16:30 UK time

Liverpool have named their side to go up against Tottenham Hotspur in a crunch Premier League fixture in north London this afternoon.

Arne Slot’s side sit on top of the league standings, but they now have Arsenal and Chelsea breathing down their necks, putting extra pressure on the Reds to pick up all three points today.

Spurs though have proven to be tough opponents for Liverpool in recent years and though the Reds have won three of their last five visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, all three of those victories have seen Spurs score and push them.

Slot is without defender Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley, who are injured.

Liverpool have Alisson in goal today, while at the back Slot selects Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Andrew Robertson.

In midfield, the Reds deploy Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, while leading the attacking threat are Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah.

If Slot needs to chop and change then he can look towards his bench, where options available to him include Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones.

Liverpool Team vs Tottenham Hotspur

Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Gomez, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Diaz, Gakpo, Salah

Substitutes: Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Jones, Elliott, Jota, Tsimikas, Quansah, Nyoni

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou was impressed by Lucas Bergvall’s impact in Sunday’s match against Southampton and believes that it is good to have competition for places in midfield.

In the absence of his preferred choice Yves Bissouma, Postecoglou sought the help of teenager Bergvall in midfield.

Bergvall played the full 90 minutes and not only helped his team keep a clean sheet, but also register a 5-0 win to ease the pressure on his manager.

The 59-year-old was impressed with what he saw from the young midfielder, who he felt showed maturity, discipline and real quality.

Asked whether Bergvall’s performance on the night now increases the competition for Bissouma, Postecoglou said at a press conference: “It’s good to have an option there.

“Lucas did fantastically well the other night and he has done in the last two or three games he has played for us as he’s really made an impact.

“But the other night I thought he was really good.

“In the first half, he really showed maturity playing that role, discipline and real quality as well.

“It’s good to have that option.

“Having Biss available is great as well.”

Spurs are due to face Manchester United on Thursday in the EFL Cup and Postecoglou has a selection headache on his hands.

“I’ll make a decision tomorrow but at the same time that was Lucas’ first start for quite a while and he did tire noticeably in the second half so we’ll have to see how he’s recovered from the game.”

If Spurs can put Manchester United out of the EFL Cup then they will advance to the semi-final stage.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur teenager Archie Gray has revealed that he was ‘a bit star struck’ by big name Spurs stars after he joined the club from Leeds United.

After an impressive season with Leeds United in the Championship, Gray secured a move to the Premier League with Tottenham.

The leap was a significant one for the 18-year-old, but he has been thrown firmly into the first team squad by Ange Postecoglou.

The former Leeds man is working with household names, but insists off the pitch they are normal.

“They are world-class players but at the end of the day off the pitch they are just normal people”, Gray told the Daily Mail.

Gray further took time to insist that the stature of the players at Tottenham reminded him of playing with those players on FIFA and left him star struck.

The defender-cum-midfielder though feels well settled in and insists the Spurs squad is a great group.

“In the changing room they are normal guys.

“Looking on the outside you think “wow I play with these guys on FIFA” because that’s how I looked at it when I first went in!

“It sounds a bit weird but I was still a bit star struck.

“But they are just normal guys who are really helping me every day.

“I think the difference is that when work comes to work on the training pitch it’s 100 per cent every single day.

“As soon as they get off the pitch they are really great to have around in the changing room.

“It’s a great group.”

Gray has already experienced the Premier League and the Champions League in a Tottenham shirt and has 15 appearances to show for that.

He has also been one of manager Postecoglou’s trusted names to play in different positions.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Djurgarden sporting director Bo Andersson has admitted that the more Lucas Bergvall plays for Tottenham Hotspur, the more it will financially benefit the Swedish club.

The teenage Sweden international joined Spurs this summer after a deal was agreed for him in the January transfer window earlier this year.

The 18-year-old is considered a top prospect at the north London club and he has been an active part of Ange Postecoglou’s squad in the ongoing campaign.

He has featured 17 times already for Spurs and Djurgarden’s sporting director admitted that Bergvall getting more game time is good news for the Swedish side.

Djurgarden will receive performance related bonuses if Bergvall is able to meet pre-agreed targets during his time at Tottenham.

“Yes, it’s no secret that the more he plays, it can benefit Djurgarden”, Andersson told Swedish outlet Fotbolldirekt about Bergvall.

It was previously suggested that Djurgarden would receive a bonus whenever Bergvall starts a Premier League game for Tottenham but Andersson indicated that it might not be the case.

“No, it might not be the first [league] start [when we receive bonuses].

“The better he performs, the better it is for Djurgarden, and for Brommapojkarna [Bergavall’s club before Djurgarden].”

Bergvall’s previous clubs will be keeping an eager eye on his performances for potential cash windfalls in future and there is every sign they may get them, with Postecoglou pleased with the Swede.

David Rogers/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has insisted that he will use his experience from Celtic to ease South Korean talent Yang Min-hyeok into the Spurs set-up over the Christmas period.

The teenage attacker signed a five-year deal with the north London club in the summer, but remained at his Korean club to see out the season before then heading to England.

He contributed to 18 goals directly in K-League and will be available to feature for Spurs for the second half of the Premier League season.

Postecoglou admitted that the teenager cannot be registered until January and he is not ready to rush him into the team, but he is in London now and starting the settling in process.

He has experience working with Asian players in the UK from his time at Celtic and he stressed he will use his experience from the Bhoys to help Min-hyeok settle at Spurs.

“Yes, he has been in the building the last couple of days sort of having a good look around”, Postecoglou told a press conference about the 18-year-old South Korean.

“Obviously we can’t register him until January 1st so he won’t train with us but I always feel it’s good, I had this experience at Celtic with the Asian lads we brought in, the Japanese and Korean boys, bringing them in before Christmas which allows them to settle in, especially off the field.

“That way by the time we get to register them in a couple of weeks they are already settled and can train fully.

“It’s good to see him around.

“He has been doing some English lessons which is great, he’s already sort of conversing and it’s great to have him in the building.”

All eyes will be on how quickly Postecoglou slots the Korean talent into the Spurs team, with games coming thick and fast.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

One of Tottenham Hotspur’s stars is keen on joining an interested club in the January transfer window.

Spurs offloaded a number of fringe players in the summer as the likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Giovanni Lo Celso and Japhet Tanganga ended their associations with the north London club.

Some players did not leave though despite not being in Ange Postecoglou’s plans and out-of-favour defender Sergio Reguilon stayed put.

He could have a chance to leave in January though and the Spaniard is interesting Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

Jose Mourinho needs to sign another left-back and Fenerbahce are assessing several possible options, including the Spurs man.

According to Turkish broadcaster A Spor, Reguilon is also in favour of a move to Fenerbahce to reunite with his former Spurs boss, Mourinho.

The switch is one that appeals to the Spurs defender and could represent the perfect escape route from north London.

Reguilon was not pleased with any of the offers on his table last summer and refused to go as a result.

He has been on the bench three times in the Premier League for Spurs so far this season.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

A Tottenham Hotspur star has closed the door on leaving the club for now, despite again being approached by clubs from Saudi Arabia.

Spurs spent in the summer to sign Dominic Solanke, Wilson Odobert, Lucas Bergvall, and Archie Gray, but at present it looks unlikely to spark a top four challenge.

Ange Postecoglou may want more fresh faces in the approaching January window, but Spurs’ own players could be in the sights of other clubs.

There has been continued speculation over Brazilian forward Richarlison, who is a popular figure amongst Saudi Arabian sides.

However, according to Spanish daily AS, Richarlison ‘closes the door’ on a move away from Tottenham for now.

Richarlison is not looking to leave the north London outfit at the moment and his position has been taken despite Saudi Arabian sides asking about him again.

He is currently injured and it has been suggested that he is focused on his rehabilitation to get back into Spurs’ team as he is aiming to be a part of Brazil’s 2026 World Cup squad.

Saudi Arabian sides remain keen though and they could well continue to try to convince Richarlison to move to the Kingdom.