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Spurs have just days to prepare for another cup tie, this time making the trip to Aston Villa.

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Tottenham Hotspur look to bounce back from a whimpering Carabao Cup showing against Liverpool on Thursday night with a response against Aston Villa in the FA Cup, or risk being knocked out of two tournaments in four days.

Ange Postecoglou's side had one foot in the Carabao Cup final when arriving at Anfield with a 1-0 advantage but looked leagues below their Premier League rivals under the lights on Merseyside. Arne Slot's men strolled to a 4-0 victory against the North London outfit.

Tottenham Hotspur have just a few days to prepare for their next challenge, a cup tie with Unai Emery's Aston Villa at Villa Park. Postecoglou is set to be without striker Richarlison, who picked up a calf injury against Liverpool, but Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel both made debuts in that match and are in line for more minutes.

FA confirms official Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur decision

The FA has confirmed the officials for the match at Villa Park. Referee Anthony Taylor will be in charge of the meeting between Spurs and the Villains.

Taylor is a familiar face having refereed 21 Premier League matches so far this season. His last work was in the Champions League last week, overseeing Atletico Madrid's 4-1 win at Salzburg.

The referee was in charge of the dramatic Spurs defeat to Chelsea in August, which the Blues won 4-3. Two penalty kicks and five yellow cards were shown in that goal-fest.

Aston Villa fans will also remember Taylor as the referee in charge of their 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United in December. The referee showed Jhon Duran a first half red card in that match.

The assistant referees will be Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn. The fourth official is Simon Hooper.

Ange Postecoglou confident of Spurs response

Speaking on Friday morning, Postecoglou was asked if he was confident of seeing a reaction against Aston Villa following a disappointing showing in the Liverpool defeat. He said: "Like I said, I have a great deal of belief in this group of players, and what they're going through, and how they're dealing with it. They were disappointed last night. We're all disappointed. But we'll learn from it. And we'll move on.

"People are on the TV and the radio and in the newspapers to give opinions and I respect that. They're allowed to do that, but I don’t have any obligation to listen to any of it. To get fuelled by the comments of people I’ve never even met, I don’t know how you live your life, but I certainly don't live my life that way.

"That's with all respect that they're there to give an opinion. It's not like I want to be successful here so I can go to these people and say to them, 'look, you were wrong'. I don't even know them. Why would I care where they think we're at?

"They're a million miles away from us, but they're allowed to have their opinion. We're an easy mark at the moment, and look after last night, there are times you've just got to take it, keep your council and atone for it in the way that only really matters and that is with playing the football I know we can."

In other news, Graham Potter is ‘prepared’ to offload a senior player at West Ham this summer as he looks to make his stamp on the squad.

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Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel made Tottenham Hotspur debuts in the defeat to Liverpool.

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Tottenham Hotspur defender Kevin Danso has admitted that it was a ‘stinging’ debut for the defender against Liverpool on Thursday night, but tried to take pride in his first appearance for the North London club.

The 26-year-old was snapped up by Spurs from Lens last weekend with Ange Postecoglou’s side beating Premier League rivals Wolves to the loan transfer. Danso had a medical lined up with the Midlands outfit before Tottenham Hotspur came to swoop in.

That was an important deal for the club given injuries to Micky Van de Ven and Cristian Romero with Danso ushered into the starting XI at the first opportunity for the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool last night. Spurs conceded four without reply as they went crashing out of the competition, despite having one foot already in Wembley Stadium for the final.

Tottenham Hotspur defender ‘proud’ to make debut

Danso partnered Ben Davies at centre-back with young Archie Gray and Djed Spence filling the full-back roles. It was another shaky showing from the Tottenham back line as the Reds cruised to victory thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil Van Dijk.

Taking to social media platform X on Friday morning, Danso wrote: “Yesterday marked my debut for @SpursOfficial in the @Carabao_Cup , and though we fell short against a strong side, I couldn’t be prouder to have worn this shirt for the first time.

“The loss stings, but I truly believe in this team and our journey ahead. I want to thank everyone at the club, and every single fan for the support! Onwards and upwards. COYS.”

Danso was given a 4/10 rating for his performance by LondonWorld. We wrote: “Not much better than Davies, who was screaming in frustration when the Lens loanee was nowhere to be seen for the Szoboszlai goal. A tough first outing for Spurs.”

Tottenham Hotspur have the obligation to make the loan move permanent this summer for a £21 million fee. The defender now has a couple of days to work with his new side before the FA Cup meeting with Aston Villa on Sunday. The visit of Manchester United follows next weekend in Premier League action.

Ange Postecoglou reviews Spurs debutants performance

Speaking after the tough defeat to Liverpool, Postecoglou backed Danso following his debut with words of affirmation for fellow debutant Mathys Tel too. The latter came off the bench in the first half to replace the injured Richarlison having completed a Deadline Day move from Bayern Munich.

Postecoglou said: "Yeah they did OK. Kevin was really positive, as was Maty. It's hard, you know, throwing guys in after their first trainings sessions, it's not ideal.

“That's part of our dilemma at the moment of trying to get some fluency and consistency but also knowing we have to keep tinkering with the starting line up to account for everything going on. But I thought they acquitted themselves well."

In other news, Tottenham Hotspur are facing yet another fresh injury blow ahead of meetings with Aston Villa and Manchester United as Postecoglou struggles to catch a break.

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The matches keep coming for Spurs with Aston Villa and Manchester United up next.

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Tottenham Hotspur had salt rubbed into the wounds of a Carabao Cup semi-final hammering at the hands of Liverpool on Thursday night with Richarlison forced off in the first half with an injury.

The Reds put four past Spurs at Anfield, finishing on an aggregate score of 4-1 as the North London outfit went crashing out of the cup. Ange Postecoglou's side didn't manage a single shot on target in the 90 minutes, drawing criticism from pundits after full time.

Tottenham weren't helped by seeing striker Richarlison limping off the pitch just before half time. The Brazil international had barely been involved in the game, his most notable moment being a coming together with Virgil Van Dijk early doors.

Fresh injury blow for Tottenham Hotspur

Richarlison, who signed from Everton for £60 million in 2022, has missed a large chunk of the season with a hamstring injury but had scored two goals in his four Premier League appearances since returning to fitness. However, it wasn't to be for the former Everton man on his return to Anfield.

Postecoglou is relying on the striker with Dominic Solanke out until March with a knee injury. The forward arrived at Tottenham Hotspur from AFC Bournemouth for £65 million and had scored 11 goals before picking up the injury in training.

Speaking after the 3-2 win over Hoffenheim, Postecoglou said: "All the information now is kind of we're looking at around the six-week mark for him. No surgery but maybe we can get him back a little bit earlier, we'll just see how he progresses, but at this stage it's only around six weeks."

The Aussie boss did give Bayern Munich loanee Mathys Tel a debut as Richarlison came off, but the 19-year-old is more comfortable as a winger than through the middle. That could leave Postecoglou short of options once again for this weekend's FA Cup meeting with Aston Villa and the upcoming Premier League clash against Manchester United.

Having been knocked out of the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup and the Europa League are the last realistic remaining chance of silverware this term for the under-pressure Postecoglou. The Spurs manager will be desperate for a return from his side against the Villains and Red Devils, especially when it comes to hitting the target.

Jamie Redknapp slams Spurs showing

Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, pundit Jamie Redknapp said: "I can't get my head around not having one shot on target in a semi-final. The one half chance was when Son manufactured something and hit the bar, even then you thought the game was gone for them.

"When you come into a semi-final, and it's difficult when you arrive at Anfield 1-0 up with the pressure and the noise that goes with it, but I just felt first half they were trying to play out the back, the goalkeeper was edgy, they didn't show any courage to get on the ball and make things happen. They were so abject.

"It wasn't the inexperienced ones, it was the experienced ones I was looking at thinking, go on, lead the team. Son's your captain, show something, some character. Kulusevski, nothing."

In other news, this is how the Tottenham Hotspur players rated in that underwhelming defeat to Liverpool last night.

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Harry Kane scored 213 Premier League goals for Tottenham Hotspur before joining Bayern Munich.

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Arsenal legend Paul Merson has tipped the Gunners to sign Harry Kane from Bayern Munich after it emerged that the England captain has a release clause in his deal in Germany.

Kane left Tottenham Hotspur to sign for the German giants in 2023 with the North London outfit selling their talisman for £100 million. The striker is yet to lift a trophy with Bayern Munich but has plundered 70 goals in his 72 outings since the move.

Sport Bild now reports that Kane could be lured away from the Bundesliga should a club hit the release clause in his contract. That fee is reported to have been £67 million during the January window and will be reduced to £54 million next winter.

There is no suggestion that Kane wants to leave Bayern but the release clause news has certainly got the football world talking. Vincent Kompany's side currently sit top of the Bundesliga, six points clear of Bayer Leverkusen, and have the league title in sight. The club is also still in the last 16 of the Champions League and face Celtic next.

Should Kane get his hands on silverware, the thinking is that he could be tempted to return to the Premier League and hunt down Alan Shearer's record as the league's top scorer.

Paul Merson tips Arsenal to make Harry Kane swoop

Speaking on Sky Sports, Merson said: "He'll be going to Arsenal then. Arsenal will buy him. £64 million, why not? Sol Campbell did [played for Spurs and Arsenal]. If he's available, £64 million is a bargain. People will say his age but Arsenal need now.

"I've said I wouldn't give Mohamed Salah a three-year contract. I'd give him one or two but not three but that's different as Liverpool probably go and win the league this year. If Arsenal haven't won the league, you've got to take a chance and buy someone who is proven.

"I wouldn't be surprised. If I'm Harry Kane and I can go for £64 million, there's only a couple teams that can buy him. Arsenal, Man City are not going to buy him, what you hear about Man Utd with the [Mathys] Tel situation and not paying the loan deal, I don't know if that's true but it's worrying.

"Maybe Tottenham will buy him back but he'll have to win something at Bayern Munich to go back to Tottenham. If he don't win anything at Bayern Munich, you're not going to go back to Tottenham to win nothing."

Arsenal failed to sign a striker in the January window despite a season-ending injury to Gabriel Jesus. The Athletic claims that the club and Mikel Arteta were 'aligned in the view' that they would not simply sign a 'body' for the sake of it and focused attention on a move for Aston Villa man Ollie Watkins, which ultimately failed.

Mikel Arteta backs Kai Havertz

Arsenal will rely on Kai Havertz to lead the line as they try and make up ground in the Premier League title race. Arteta has stuck by the German and said: "He's been our main striker for a while now and he's producing some big numbers and his work-rate is unbelievable. Not only that but what we demand him to do in our model, his availability has been exceptional, so he's always there and we are very happy to have him.

"It doesn't depend on us. We have the intention, purpose and ambition to try to help the team and support the squad to be better and to finish the season really strong, and we are actively trying to do that

"I’m very confident with the work that the club is doing and exploring every single opportunity that we believe can have an impact on the team. That’s certainly the case and if we can agree something we will. If not, we won’t. We are trying everything that we can, but I don’t want to give any reassurance or not. I don’t know, it doesn’t depend only on us, so our intention is clear but the possibilities are affected by three parties."

In other news, Chelsea are reportedly harbouring transfer interest in an ‘outstanding’ Crystal Palace star, and it’s not Marc Guehi or Eberechi Eze.

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It’s all level on aggregate at half time in the Carabao Cup semi-final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.

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It took Liverpool just 35 minutes to wipe away Tottenham Hotspur’s lead at Anfield on Thursday night, with Cody Gakpo firing the Merseyside outfit ahead.

Ange Postecoglou’s side arrived at Anfield tonight with a 1-0 advantage thanks to Lucas Bergvall’s goal in the first leg last month. The in-form Reds were still favourites for many, having put six past Spurs in December, but Spurs can taste the potential first silverware since 2008.

The hosts have looked the more dangerous so far with the new look back line creaking under Liverpool pressure. Here’s how the Tottenham Hotspur players rate in the first half.

Tottenham Hotspur player ratings

GK - Antonin Kinsky, 7

Did well when carefully watching a deflected Mohamed Salah shot early on but looking a little nervous at times. A lack of communication when feebly trying to collect the ball from a cross, clashing heads with Ben Davies. Made a huge save before half time, getting a finger on a Salah volley to tip it over the bar.

LB - Djed Spence, 6

Looks well up for it tonight and full of energy but there’s a sense Salah’s influence will grow as his legs tire.

CB - Ben Davies, 5

Trying to oversee a new Spurs back four with his experience but it’s clear these four haven’t played together much. Looked like a proper war marshal with blood pouring from his head early on.

CB - Kevin Danso, 6

Looks promising on his debut. Did well to hold his line and ensure Dominik Szoboszlai was offside around the 30 minute mark.

RB - Archie Gray, 3

The Liverpool breakthrough looked likely to come on the left flank with Gray somewhat scattered trying to deal with Cody Gakpo. Diligent in his work as always, but just a second behind the opposition moves.

CM - Pape Sarr, 5

Quiet so far but neat when he has had the chance.

CM - Rodrigo Bentancur, 4

Struggling to get hold of the ball. Spurs need some bite in midfield to grab hold of this game.

Spurs dealt another injury blow

CM - Yves Bissouma, 6

Perhaps the most progressive of the three midfielders. Had an injury scare when appearing to strain his muscle after stretching to tackle Curtis Jones.

LW - Son Heung-min, 6

Quiet in his offensive work but intervened wisely in his own box after seven minutes to end a Liverpool attack.

ST - Richarlison, 6

Found himself in a spat with Virgil Van Dijk early on. A couple moments of nice hold up play. There’s a feeling he could have taken a chance tonight if Spurs teed him up but hauled off shortly before the break with an injury.

RW - Dejan Kulusevski, 5

Not afforded many touches so far but looking to provide an option on the break. Lashed a shot well over shortly before the break.

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Spurs and Liverpool are two of the Premier League clubs who continue to be linked with a transfer swoop for Nico Williams.

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Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have all eyes locked on the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Anfield tonight but fresh transfer reports on Thursday may have turned heads at the two Premier League sides.

Ange Postecoglou takes his team to Merseyside with a 1-0 advantage but will have to fight to keep that lead against a Liverpool team that has been hard to beat this season. The Reds sit six points clear at the top of the table, with a game in hand on second-placed Arsenal.

Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel could both make their debuts in the biggest fixture of the season so far, having arrived at Tottenham Hotspur during the January window. The latter is a particularly exciting prospect, having signed from Bayern Munich to add goals to the Spurs frontline.

Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool linked with Nico Williams

Another player that the North London outfit have been regularly linked with is Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams. Fichajes had claimed that Spurs were ready to trigger a £50 million release clause to sign Williams last month, before they ramped up efforts to recruit Tel.

The Euro 2024 winner has also regularly been linked with Arsenal and tonight's opponents Liverpool. The Gunners have been found lacking when it comes to strength in depth up top this season amid injuries to Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus, while the Reds still search for a long-term Mohamed Salah replacement.

The Athletic has provided an update on Williams' future which will no doubt have caught the attention of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool today, even with kick-off just hours away. The outlet claims that the player is 'open' to a Premier League move and that Spurs and Liverpool have ‘long-standing admiration’.

That's a boost for all of the forward's suitors in England. Williams has thus far been happy to stay with his boyhood club, not to be rushed into a move, and it had appeared that if any transfer was sanctioned, it would be to Catalan giants Barcelona.

Williams ‘happy’ at Athletic Bilbao

Speaking in October, Williams said: “I’m not thinking about my future now. I’m so happy to be at Athletic, fans are happy too. Bilbao is my home, I’m really happy and I want to enjoy it here. I want to bring Athletic at the best level. The dream is that Europa League final at San Mamés.”

TBR Football had reported that a move to the La Liga side had eventually be written off with a surplus of wingers already at Barcelona and financial issues surrounding Williams' contract. Attention now turns to the Premier League ahead of the summer window.

The Bilbao star was not in the matchday squad for his side's clash against Real Betis last weekend with transfer rumours still swirling. However, the club confirmed that was due to injury and not a result of a late bid.

A club update on Sunday read: "Medical report: Nico Williams & Unai Nunez. Both players will miss Sunday's LaLiga match against Real Betis Nico Williams and Unai Núñez are unavailable for Athletic Club's LaLiga clash with Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin on Sunday. "Nico has a strain in his left hamstring muscles and Nuñez has a hamstring injury in his right leg."

In other news, Liverpool are set to be without an 'absolute phenomenon' of a player for tonight's clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

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Tottenham made a January move for the defender, and are now expected to go back in for him in the summer.

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Tottenham had a busy transfer window, making three key signings in order to try and gain some much-needed squad depth.

They signed Bayern Munich striker Mathys Tel on loan on transfer deadline day with a £50m option to buy. Furthermore, goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was signed early in the window to help replace the injured Guglielmo Vicario.

Ange Postecoglou remains under pressure as he looks ahead to a crucial Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool. Spurs won 1-0 in the first leg, meaning that they take a slim advantage to Anfield on Thursday.

However, a recent ACL injury to defender Radu Dragusin comes as a blow, especially considering the injury that centre-back Cristian Romero continues to recover from. Tottenham did sign defender Kevin Danso on loan from Lens, but they are expected to target a £70m centre-back again in the summer.

Tottenham “won’t give up” on signing Marc Guehi

Spurs made a bid in the region of £70m for Crystal Palace defender Guehi on transfer deadline day, which was rejected by the London club, who are reluctant to sell the England international.

Guehi was subject to bids from Newcastle in the summer and has also attracted interest from Chelsea, but it was Tottenham who made a January move for the 24-year-old. According to former Spurs scout Mick Brown, Tottenham “won’t give up” on signing Guehi, and are expected to make a summer move for him as Postecoglou plans to strengthen his defence.

Brown told Football Insider: “I expect they’ll revisit that offer in the summer, they won’t give up. Guehi is a wanted man, Newcastle wanted him last summer and now Tottenham are after him. Tottenham need a centre-back and he’s the ideal option there. He’s as stable as there is at the back, he’s a regular starter for England now, and he can go under the radar at time at Crystal Palace. He plays at a solid level every week and is consistently impressive, so a few clubs have been looking at him.”

The England international has made 23 Premier League appearances for Palace this season, scoring three goals for Oliver Glasner’s side.

Tottenham failed to sign Guehi alternative on deadline day

After their late bid for Guehi was rejected by Palace on deadline day, Tottenham quickly turned their attention to Chelsea centre-back Axel Disasi, who was available for a loan move late on in the window. They were reportedly trying to sign Disasi, but failed to do so, as the defender preferred a move to Aston Villa, who ended up signing him on a loan deal for the remainder of the season.

Reports said that Tottenham and Chelsea agreed terms on a loan deal for the defender, and that the Blues didn’t want him to go to Aston Villa, as they are a competitor for the Champions League places in the Premier League.

Villa and Chelsea are separated by just six points with the Blues in fourth currently, and Villa sitting eighth in the table. The two teams meet later in February, when Villa will make the trip to Stamford Bridge on Saturday 22 February.

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The Premier League is ‘hopeful’ that the semi-automatic technology will still come in ‘this season’.

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Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Chelsea and Premier League rivals will soon play top flight fixtures with the use of semi-automated VAR offside technology after 'significant progress' towards the implementation of the system was confirmed this week.

It's been almost a year since the 20 Premier League clubs voted unanimously to introduce the technology, which could reduce the time taken for an offside check by 31 seconds on average. The news comes just days after the fixture between Chelsea and West Ham was decided by an offside decision.

Pedro Neto scored the Blues' equaliser in the 64th minute as Enzo Maresca's side came back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1. After the goal was given, there was a lengthy check for offside by VAR with multiple angles and replays needed to decide that Marc Guiu had not nicked the ball on its way over to Marc Cucurella, which would have put the full-back in an offside position.

VAR used for offside call as Chelsea beat West Ham

Reacting to that decision after the game, Hammers boss Graham Potter said: "We felt unlucky with the first goal. We felt it was a foul on Jarrod [Bowen]. I haven’t seen it back [the Guiu offside call]. It took that long, it must have been tight."

Boos rang out around Stamford Bridge during that lengthy VAR check and the new system should help in that situation. The semi-automatic system was not ready at the start of the campaign but was due to be brought in after one of the Autumn international breaks.

That was not the case and, now in 2025, an update has come from the Premier League. Chief football officer Tony Scholes said: "We are still testing it, but we are making significant progress. We're in a different place to when I spoke to managers just over Christmas, we've made a lot of progress in this area.

"Now I'm hopeful that at some point this season we will be able to introduce semi-automated technology but I repeat the points I've made a number of times. We are not going to introduce it if we've got any doubts at all with regards to its operation."

Semi-automatic offside coming to the Premier League

The semi-automatic offside system will remove the manual process of placing lines onto players and the pitch, speeding up the decision making on offside calls. FIFA and UEFA used an enhanced system in the World Cup and Champions League, which saw a chip placed inside the ball for better detection of whether it had been touched. However, Adidas owns the patent for that system and does not provide the ball to major European leagues.

Scholes added: "The system that we've adopted, we believe it to be the best system. We believe it to be the most accurate and the most futureproof system as well and that's why we went with that.

"I have to confess, given the difficulties that we had over the first few months of the season, I had severe doubts about this, but the progress made over the last four to six weeks has been significant. We believe we're going to be adopting the best system and the most accurate system without the need for the chip in the ball."

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Spurs make the trip to Anfield on Thursday night with one foot in the Carabao Cup final.

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Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a late boost ahead of taking on Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final on Thursday night with news that the Reds will be without key man Trent Alexander-Arnold for the clash.

Ange Postecoglou takes his Spurs side to Anfield tomorrow in what looks to be the biggest fixture of the season. The London outfit claimed a 1-0 victory at home last month and go into the second leg holding the advantage.

If the Aussie's team holds onto their lead, Tottenham Hotspur will book a place in the Carabao Cup final and the chance to take on either Arsenal or Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium. Spurs haven't won a trophy since 2008 and the chance for silverware would be a welcome triumph in a season that has been underwhelming in the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur have their own well-documented fitness concerns but Liverpool manager Slot has a problem to contend with too. The Reds have a fully healthy squad apart from Alexander-Arnold, who limped off during the 2-0 win over AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium last weekend.

Arne Slot confirms Liverpool blow

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Slot said: “He is going to miss the game tomorrow and we have to see if he is able to play on Sunday. But what we do know is that he is not available for tomorrow.

“I think you saw that he left the pitch with a bit of a pain in his leg, so that’s why he misses the game tomorrow. But he is already on the pitch, not with the team but with the rehab coach, so let’s see how long it is going to take. But he will not be available tomorrow.”

That's an undoubted boost for Tottenham Hotspur, even if Alexander-Arnold has enjoyed one of his less prolific seasons with two goals and seven assists so far - although two goals and two assists have come since the turn of the year.

Few players know Spurs as well as the England international, who has faced the North London side more than any other club in his playing career. Alexander-Arnold has played Tottenham Hotspur, a total of 18 times, and only lost two of those matches.

The defender has picked up a goal and four assists against Spurs since first facing the top flight rivals in 2017. Those two defeats have come in recent years, with Tottenham Hotspur beating Liverpool in the Premier League in 2023 and then earlier this year in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

Alexander-Arnold hailed as ‘unbelievable’ for previous Spurs performance

Alexander-Arnold has caused Spurs plenty of problems in those matches. Having played a key role in orchestrating a comeback to draw 2-2 with the London side in 2022, Gary Neville said: "I don't think I've seen two full-backs play in the Premier League that are as good as these two as a pair [Alexander-Arnold and Robertson]. The way in which they combine on the pitch, the way they play the game, they're an absolute joy.

"Robertson with his consistency does everything well. Defends well, he's competitive - slightly too much at the end - but he scored a goal and set up a goal. Alexander-Arnold is an absolute phenomenon when it comes to the quality of his passing, his delivery. It's something I've never seen before from a full-back.

"It's like De Bruyne, it's Beckham, it's Gerrard, and they're attacking players. He's playing at right-back, it's the highest accolade I could pay him. The contribution these two make is unbelievable. It's bizarre to me. I grew up saying let the full-back have it. You can't let these two have it."

Explaining the tactics behind the 1-0 win over Liverpool last month, Postecoglou said: "When people said my midfield set up was a little bit more conservative today, that's because I only had three midfielders to choose from. The others weren't available, so we certainly went about it the same way.

"Look, Liverpool don't allow you to dominate the game the way other teams do, and our players every three days are playing a game of football, without rest, and you saw Liverpool at the end, they put on some significant talent, some really good footballers, some top footballers.

"I couldn't do the same, and yet the guys who are out there are consistently doing it, so maybe we're not as dominant as we want it to be, but there's good reason, not through the lack of trying or different intent in terms of how we went about it."

In other news, these are the late Deadline Day deals you might have missed in the Premier League on a hectic end to the transfer window.

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Tottenham have been dealt another injury blow as they bid to get their season back on track.

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Tottenham have suffered yet another major injury blow as their nightmare season continues to unfold. Spurs have been hit with injury blow after injury blow this season, with Ange Postecoglou unable to catch a break.

The North London club are currently in the bottom half of the Premier League table, and after weeks without their best two central defenders, things were looking up, with Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero returning.

But on top of a fresh injury crisis hitting the attacking core, with Dominic Solanke, Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson all suffering setbacks, Radu Dragusin went down with what looked like a nasty knee injury. It has now been confirmed by The Athletic that Dragusin’s season is over, tearing his ACL.

The centre-back has not been in great form, although he has been playing in a makeshift back-line due to the injuries. He now faces a long layoff, and Spurs have lost another player ahead of Thursday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg with Liverpool, a tie they lead 1-0 as things stand.

Deadline day solution

Spurs could look to add another defender on top of Kevin Danso on deadline day given the Dragusin blow. The Telegraph are reporting that Tottenham have restarted negotiations with Chelsea over a possible loan deal for Axel Disasi.

Disasi had agreed a deal with Villa, but Chelsea don’t want to sell to a top four rival, and Tottenham will have the advantage as long as the player is willing to make the move. Matt Law reported for The Telegraph: “Tottenham Hotspur have resurrected their move to sign Axel Disasi on loan for the rest of the season. Spurs still have an agreement in place with Chelsea to sign Disasi on loan for the rest of the season for a fee of £5 million.

“Disasi has been reluctant to join Tottenham, instead favouring a proposed move to Aston Villa, which led to Spurs looking at alternative targets. But negotiations have restarted and Spurs are now making a new move to convince the player.”