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Mail Sport's MATT BARLOW answers the five big questions facing Tottenham

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Tottenham return to Premier League action on Monday night with a trip to Leicester facing them in their season-opener.

Ange Postecoglou's first season in charge was full of highs and several lows, with Spurs eventually finishing fifth after their season tailed off following a positive start.

Ahead of the new campaign, Postecoglou said that he 'usually wins things' in his second season at clubs after establishing a foundation and a philosophy at whatever club he's managed.

And with a number of summer acquisitions now through the door at Hotspur Way, with the likes of Dominic Solanke arriving for £65million and Archie Gray for £30m, Postecoglou will be hoping to kickstart this season like he did the last.

But what challenges do Spurs and Postecoglou face this time round? Could Europe be a distraction or help spread the minutes? And have they managed to wipe out the errors that so dearly cost them last season? Mail Sport's MATT BARLOW answers the five big questions.

Has AngeBall been sussed?

It’s the biggest of the big questions. Did the blistering start to last season fade to a fizzle because the best teams figured out how to stop them?

Spurs won just four of their last 11 fixtures and those four wins came against the bottom four. Or was it down to other factors?

The ready excuses, including injuries to key players at key moments and international disruptions, are simply part of the Premier League landscape.

Every team must ride them out and there will be more of the same. Ange Postecoglou will not change.

His teams improve in the second season with a deeper understanding, stronger belief and, in theory, a greater depth of the type of players attuned to his style. We should hope he is right because it is great fun to watch.

Can Dominic Solanke fill the Harry Kane void?

At £65million it feels like a heavy price for someone who is not a regular international, and yet with his mobility and willingness to run behind feels like a much more natural fit for this Tottenham team than Ivan Toney.

Solanke matured into a fine Premier League striker at Bournemouth, proving he can lead the line against top-class central defenders and shoulder responsibility for scoring goals.

At 26, he is approaching his prime and has another chance to prove he can make the next step having engineered an exit from Chelsea as a teenager for a move to Liverpool which did not work out.

His development suffered during the contract stand-off at Stamford Bridge and cost him time but there is scope to improve and Postecoglou is craving a focal point up front. Richarlison has not nailed it down and opportunity knocks.

Can they stop leaking goals from set-pieces?

A favourite stick with which to beat Postecoglou and something he is trying to address even though he resists clamour to add a specialist set-piece expert to his staff.

Quite rightly, too. Set-pieces have been designed and practised intensively by top teams for decades, long before individuals started jumping from the shadows to stand sentry on the touchline whenever a corner was awarded.

There have been changes to the coaching staff at Spurs with Chris Davies leaving to manage Birmingham and replaced by Nick Montgomery and Sergio Raimundo.

Mile Jedinak and Ryan Mason will share responsibility for the set-pieces but the team remains low on aerial strength compared to Arsenal, who scored the most goals from set-pieces in last season’s Premier League.

Is the next generation ready to play a part?

The summer recruitment has revolved around teenagers with Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert arriving from Championship clubs along with Lucas Bergvall who signed in January from Djurgarden but remained in Sweden until the end of the season.

Exciting academy prospect Mikey Moore has signed his first professional deal at 17 and has flickered in pre-season friendlies.

All of which offers Spurs a youthful thread absent in recent years, but which amounts to nothing if Postecoglou does not trust them to contribute in some way, from the bench or in the cup competitions. No team gave fewer minutes to teenage players in last season’s Premier League than Tottenham.

Will Europe help or hinder?

Postecoglou bucked the trend last season when he claimed the lack of football was hurting Spurs. They played only 41 times in all with no European football and early exits from both domestic cups.

Antonio Conte would have adored the time for more analysis, preparation and long tactical exercises, but his successor reasoned that it made it harder to establish any rhythm or keep the fringe players ticking over and ready to step in when needed.

This season, they are back in the (freshly expanded) Europa League and expected to cope with the well-documented rigours of the Thursday-Sunday routine across at least eight ties, something which usually prompts the managers to grumble about travel schedules and tired players.

Leicester City have confirmed the agreement with Tottenham Hotspur over the signing of their academy product Oliver Skipp.

On the club's X (formerly Twitter), the Foxes released a picture of their newcomer, captioning it with: 'We have added to our midfield ranks with the transfer of Oliver Skipp.'

It is understood that Leicester's new manager, Steve Cooper, was keen to sign the player, who entered Ange Postecoglou's plans due to his homegrown status.

Mail Sport previously reported that Leicester City were set to pay a guaranteed £20million with a further £5million in add-ons for Skipp.

This deal comes as Leicester City are scheduled to host Spurs at King Power Stadium for their opening game of the 2024-25 Premier League season on Monday.

According to Leicester's statement, the player - who signed a contract until 2029 - will be present in the stands of the Foxes' stadium for tonight's game.

'I'm really excited to sign,' said Skipp on the club's website. 'I've got the feeling that it's a good group of people and a good group of players.

'I'm sure that we've got a squad capable of challenging in every game. You look around the squad and there's lots of exciting players who have played in the Premier League and I'm really excited to see what this group can achieve.'

The midfielder's transfer marks the Foxes's sixth signing this season, after they secured the deals of Bobby Decordova-Reid, Michael Golding, Caleb Okoli and Abdul Fatawu, in addition to Facundo Buonanotte who joined on loan from Brighton.

Despite featuring in 21 games in the Premier League last season, Skipp was not a regular player, starting on five occasions while gaining only 694 minutes on the field in total.

Although the 23-year-old midfielder made six appearances out of seven games Spurs played during the pre-season, they were open to let their academy graduate leave.

Skipp was promoted to the first team in the 2018-19 season and made his debut against West Ham United in the Carabao Cup.

He spent the 2020-21 campaign at Norwich City, where he was included in the Championship's Team of the Year after helping his side secure a promotion to the Premier League.

Although he never played for England's senior team, he earned 24 appearances for the Under 21s squad.

Ange Postecoglou's Spurs will look to disrupt the established elite this season

When Howard Wilkinson led Sheffield Wednesday up into the top-flight the established elite were rattled by the speed and relentlessness of his team.

They were robust and direct. And, when the ball went dead, Wilkinson's players were drilled to react in pairs. One, usually the one nearest the ball, would sprint to retrieve it and throw it to the other, who would have dashed to the spot required to restart the game in the blink of an eye with the rest of the team attuned to plan.

It was a simple enough premise. One of several like it designed to generate intensity and pressure, to disrupt opponents and deny them time to reset, to seize a split-second advantage on the turnover of possession.

This was 1984, long before the audience cared about marginal gains or whether their club employed a specialist coach for set-pieces.

Wilkinson always says it took rivals until Christmas to figure out what Wednesday were up to and combat it, by which time they had beaten defending champions Liverpool at Anfield, held champions-to-be Everton at Goodison Park and were on their way to finishing seventh.

Same game different times, of course. These days, tactical secrets don't last for long. Turn up in the Premier League doing something different and effective and you will be scrutinised by the armies of analysts using every digit of data from every conceivable camera angle.

This time last year, Ange Postecoglou ruffled plumage at the top of the tree while repairing self-esteem at Tottenham before a cluster of injuries to key players brought momentum to a grinding halt.

Postecoglou's Spurs never really moved again with the same fluency. There were flashes but nothing like the same and they won only four of the last 11. Four wins against the bottom four. The big question as they start the new season at Leicester City on Monday is whether they were figured out.

The best teams, the best players, the best coaches adapt and find new ways whether that involves tweaking and tinkering or ripping up the plan and starting again. Pep Guardiola searches restlessly for adaptations to the winning machine he created at Manchester City.

Postecoglou performs with confidence. With almost 30 years of coaching behind his philosophy he is not going to change but be sure he will be tweaking and tinkering within his boundaries and expects Tottenham to improve with a deeper understanding, enhanced belief and a broader array of players tailored to his demands.

As explained by Vince Rugari in a new book 'Ange Ball', published by Headline, there are parallels if you want them at Yokohama F Marinos in Japan where he faced challenges in his first year changing minds in a culture hardwired into cautious football.

In the second season, having completed a major clear out and transformed the squad, they won the J-League title.

That is a very different competition, of course, in a very different country. But there are similarities as Spurs were drenched in safety-first, counter-attacking principles under successive managers since Mauricio Pochettino. They could also be better for another year.

The club has backed Postecoglou in the sense they have belatedly taken a financial hit on unwanted players. Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, Joe Rodon, Japhet Tanganga, Emerson Royal and Tanguy Ndombele have all gone this year. Sergio Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso will take the 2024 exodus into double figures.

Just so long as you are not about to sack or lose the manager, then shifting dead wood is no less important in the transfer market than buying players and comes at a price. Cutting loose Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Co was the real catalyst for Mikel Arteta's revolution at Arsenal and can have a positive impact across North London.

With new signings like Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert, and exciting academy talent Mikey Moore developing fast, Postecoglou has fresh minds to embolden, and a squad crammed with pace and creative flair.

Whether that is enough we are about to find out. Whether a complete absence of defensive instinct proves costly in the Premier League against the world's most powerful attacking units we will see.

Postecoglou would not be human if he did not hide doubts behind his bullish exterior, but we should wish Ange Ball well. It is terrific fun and provides genuine theatre. And that's what the game is about, mate.

Like father, like son

Mark Greaves was a keen and versatile young defender at Hull City when I was covering them for the Hull Daily Mail. These were bleak times for the Tigers and not only because of my negative outlook. They were hard-up and mired in boardroom strife and one of the worst professional teams in the country, flirting with relegation to non-league.

Greaves signed from Brigg Town where he won the FA Vase as a teenager. He was smart and likeable because he did not take himself at all seriously and his professional career unfolded in tiers four and five of English football.

On Saturday, I saw his son Jacob make a stylish Premier League debut for Ipswich Town looking for all the world like his father after Marvel makeover. Bigger, stronger, faster, bristling with purpose as if he might tear open his shirt and take off into the skies on a more pressing mission.

If he has inherited Mark's attitude, his humility and determination to maximise his talent and enjoy his football there is an exciting future ahead. Keep an eye on him this season. I am curious to know what his dad thinks of the greased locks and elastic hairband though.

Football's most prized coaching role

If Lee Carsley succeeds Gareth Southgate and makes the England job his own the office of Under-21 boss will become one of the most prized coaching roles in the land.

The U21s are currently in the interim hands of Ben Futcher, who will lead them next month into a game against Austria at Kenilworth Road where his father Paul and uncle Ron both played for Luton Town in the 1970s.

Manager moans

First Erik ten Hag, then Julen Lopetegui, managers lining up to tell us they weren't ready to start the season. Begging questions such as when exactly did they expect it to start.

Why not shorten the preseason tours. And can we stop moaning about the schedule anytime soon. Yes, we know it's brutal, gruelling, etc. That's the reason you all build massive squads. Rest the ones who are already tired and play some of the others. Greetings of the new season, everyone.

Dominic Solanke price boosted to 12/1 to score a header against Leicester City

Solanke scored four headed goals in the Premier League last season

Click here to see ALL today's latest sports betting stories

In what is the final fixture of the opening gameweek of the 2024-25 Premier League season - newly promoted club Leicester host top four hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur Monday.

Unsurprisingly, the visitors are heavy favourites to secure the win - with Ange Postecoglou's side price at 8/15.

Conversely, the Foxes are 17/4 underdogs to be victorious in their first game in the English top-flight since 2022-23, while a draw is 10/3.

In addition to the head-to-head odds outlined above, Sky Bet are offering four Price Boosts for this contest.

They include James Maddison to have a shot on target at 1/1, Cristian Romero to commit 2+ fouls at 4/1, for there to be 15+ match shots on target at 8/1, and Dominic Solanke to score a header at 12/1.

Maddison has had a shot on target in three of his last four league games, while Romero committed six fouls over Tottenham's last two Premier League games of the 2023-24 season.

Additionally, Solanke scored four headers for Bournemouth in the league last season. Can Solanke make an immediate impact at his new club? We will find out Monday.

Sky Bet odds in Full-time Result market for Leicester vs Tottenham Hotspur:

Tottenham Hotspur 8/15

Leicester 17/4

Draw 10/3

Sky Bet Price Boosts for Leicester vs Tottenham Hotspur:

James Maddison to have a shot on target WAS 4/6 NOW 1/1

Cristian Romero to commit 2+ fouls WAS 3/1 NOW 4/1

Dominic Solanke to score a header WAS 9/1 NOW 12/1

Leicester City are in pole position to sign Tottenham midfielder Oliver Skipp

Skipp, 23, has been with Spurs since 2018 and counts as a homegrown player

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Leicester are accelerating their interest in Tottenham midfielder Oliver Skipp as head coach Steve Cooper looks to bolster his squad for their Premier League return.

The Foxes have identified Skipp as a primary transfer target and are in advanced talks with Spurs over a move.

Tottenham had been reluctant to lose Skipp as they look to comply with the Premier League’s homegrown squad rules.

But there is now a sense that the club are willing to let their academy graduate leave, with Leicester now in pole position to sign the midfielder amid a growing sense that a deal can be wrapped up quickly.

Coincidentally, Leicester host Spurs on Monday night in the Foxes' first Premier League game since last season’s promotion.

Leicester have bolstered their side with multiple signings since making their return to the Premier League.

Abdul Fatawu has made a permanent switch from Sporting Lisbon having been on loan at the King Power Stadium last season.

Centre back Caleb Okoli has penned a five-year deal with Cooper's side after joining from Atalanta while former Chelsea youngster Michael Golding has joined.

Bobby De Cordova-Reid brings Premier League experience having joined on a free from Fulham, as does Facundo Buonanotte, who has signed on loan from Brighton.

Tottenham have complete the signing of Burnley's youngster Wilson Odobert

The 19-year-old Frenchman joins with a five-year deal that will run until 2029

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Tottenham have announced that they have reached an agreement with Burnley's winger Wilson Odobert.

In the statement on their website, Spurs stated that the player signed a five-year deal and will wear the number 28 shirt.

The transfer fee was confirmed to be £25m plus £5m in add-ons, despite the market value for the Frenchman, which is currently around £8.5m (€10m).

Odobert has featured for Burnley in the 2023-24 season, making 33 appearances and scoring four goals, three of which were in the Premier League.

Despite featuring in Burnley's winning Championship game against Luton Town - where the player scored a goal - Odobert's signing emerges as Tottenham continue their busy transfer window amid several exits and arrivals throughout the summer.

Wilson Odobert - a PSG academy product between 2017 and 2022 - has yet to feature for France's senior team but has played in the various national teams such as Under 20s, Under 21s and Under 23s.

However, the 2004-born player hasn't been selected for Thierry Henry's France squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

He began his senior career with Troyes, where he made 32 appearances and scored four goals. However, his team finished in 19th place and was relegated to Ligue 2.

Burnley's former manager, Vincent Kompany, was particularly pleased with the winger's level, stating: 'I will almost refrain from what I really think about him because, at this moment in time, I don't think people realise how good he is.'

Meanwhile, Tottenham have been searching for a young winger, considering the previous reports that they would consider suitable offers for Manor Solomon, who failed to impress Ange Postecoglou since his arrival in the summer of 2023.

In this way, after the Lilywhites secured a replacement for the Israeli player, Solomon is set for a loan move in the nearest future.

Two other Spurs wingers, Ryan Sessegnon and Bryan Gil, have left the club, with the first one joining Fulham as a free agent, while the Spaniard completed his season-loan switch to LaLiga's Girona.

Signing Odobert, the club said: 'We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement for the permanent transfer of Wilson Odobert from Burnley, subject to formalities.'

The development comes after it was announced that Dominic Solanke joins Tottenham in a club-record £65m deal for Bournemouth.

The Englishman was highly valued on Ange Postecoglou's transfer wish list after his strong performance at Bournemouth, helping them to a 12th-placed finish.

Odobert becomes Tottenham's fifth signing of the season after Solanke, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Min-hyeok Yang.

Tens of thousands of Mail Sport readers have voted over the summer to choose the greatest-ever player at every current Premier League club.

Thank you to everyone who participated either through our online poll or by email.

With the 2024/25 top-flight season beginning on Friday August 16, we are revealing all the winners this week.

Here are your selections for SOUTHAMPTON, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR, WEST HAM UNITED AND WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

SOUTHAMPTON

WINNER: MATT LE TISSIER (1986-2002) Games 543, Goals 212

Le God as he was called by Southampton supporters was the ultimate one-club man, spurning opportunities to join bigger clubs to spend his entire career on the south coast.

He probably boasts the best highlights reel of any Premier League player, scoring a range of spectacular goals, from mazy dribbles and ferocious volleys to the most delicate of chips.

Largely due to his individual brilliance, Southampton were able to stay in the top flight for the entirety of his career, his skills winning the admiration of team-mates spanning a teenage Alan Shearer to Wayne Bridge.

He also understood the sense of occasion. His winner against Arsenal in 2001 was the final goal ever scored at The Dell, Southampton’s home for more than a Century.

Commentator Jon Champion said: ‘Who better to say farewell than one of the finest players to wear the red and white?’

In fact, you’ve decided he is the very finest though Mick Channon, star of the 1976 FA Cup-winning side, also garnered a lot of support in finishing second.

Long-serving Terry Paine, who played a remarkable 816 times for The Saints, finished third to leave Kevin Keegan fourth – the position he also occupied in the Newcastle vote.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

WINNER: JIMMY GREAVES (1961-70) Games 379, Goals 266

Though Harry Kane managed to surpass Jimmy Greaves’ Tottenham goals record before he left for Bayern Munich, Spurs fans have decided the No1 spot in their all-time list still belongs to Greavsie.

Signed from AC Milan in 1961 to join a “Glory Glory” Tottenham Hotspur team that had just won The Double, Greaves managed to make a huge impact.

He won the FA Cup in 1962 and 1967 and helped Spurs make history in 1963 becoming the first English club to win a European trophy. Needless to say he scored twice in the 5-1 Cup-Winners Cup final romp over Atletico Madrid.

Greaves was a pure goal machine, gliding past defenders in tight spaces and an exponent of being able to pass the ball into the net from seemingly any angle.

Though injury cost him a place in the England team during the 1966 World Cup finals, his status at White Hart Lane never dwindled.

‘The greatest goalscorer there ever was and ever will be,’ said his former team-mate Cliff Jones after Greaves’ death in 2021.

He later became well-known to a younger generation for the way he conquered alcoholism to become a TV star on the Saint and Greavsie show with partner Ian St John.

But Spurs fans remember him as a lethal forward first and foremost. WMcBtF writing into Mail Sport from Exeter said: ‘Jimmy Greaves by a mile. How much would he be worth today.’

Glenn Hoddle, who played midfield like a Quarterback in the 1980s with his range of passing, was a worthy runner-up to Greaves, and Kane a strong third despite not winning a major trophy with his boyhood team.

WEST HAM UNITED

WINNER: BOBBY MOORE (1958-74) Games 646, Goals 27

As the only Englishman to lift the World Cup as captain, Bobby Moore’s status as a national treasure was assured well before his untimely death from cancer in 1993.

But West Ham fans also remember him as their Wembley-winning captain, leading them to both the FA Cup in 1964 and European Cup-Winners’ Cup in 1965 underneath the famous Twin Towers.

Immaculate on and off the pitch, Moore introduced a new style of defending to English football, encouraged by his senior West Ham team-mate Malcolm Allison to build play as well as stop the opposition.

His presence helped the claret-and-blues enjoy the best period of their history, in addition to the cup victories, there were two League Cup semi-finals and an unbroken run in the First Division including a sixth-place finish the year before he left for Fulham.

His former team-mate Harry Redknapp says of him: ‘What a man. The straightest, most honest bloke you could meet in your life. Won the World Cup, and even the opposition loved him.’

Mail Sport reader Antony from Watford put it simply: ‘Mooro as a player, head and shoulders above everybody else.’

West Ham have enjoyed a revival during the Premier League years with Italian maverick Di Canio voted second in the all-time list and Eastender Mark Noble third after spending his entire career with his local club.

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

WINNER: BILLY WRIGHT (1939-59) Games 541, Goals 16

More than three-quarters of Wolves voters went for one of two legends – divided by time and position but both universally loved and respected at Molineux.

Ultimately, former England captain Billy Wright – the first player to win a hundred caps for his country – was selected over goal machine Steve Bull, helped that Wright was part of the most golden period in Wolves’ history while Bull had to score his goals in the lower divisions.

Wright overcame fear he’d be too small to be a central defender to lead Wolves to three league championships and the FA Cup in 1949.

He was voted Footballer of the Year in 1952 and after retirement was awarded the CBE.

His marriage to Joy Beverley, part of the acclaimed singing group The Beverley Sisters, made him part of the country’s first truly “celebrity couple” recognised everywhere they went.

A statue of Wright greets visitors to today’s Molineux. As his Wolves and England team-mate Bert Williams said; ‘You don’t get 100 caps unless you are exceptional.’

“Bully” was a clear second in the poll as recognition for the record 306 goals he scored for Wolves. Charismatic 1970s striker Derek Dougan pipped Premier League midfielder Ruben Neves for third.

AC Milan have completed the £15m signing of Tottenham defender Emerson Royal, with the centre-back signing a four-year contract with the Italian giant.

The deal will also include an option of a further 12 months as Royal departs the Premier League following a mixed time in England's top-flight.

Emerson scored four goals in 101 appearances for Spurs after joining from Barcelona in 2021 for a reported fee of £25.8million.

'We have reached agreement with AC Milan for the transfer of Emerson Royal,' read a statement on the Premier League club's website.

'We wish Emerson all the best for the future.'

High expectations arrived on Royal's back when he joined from Barcelona three-years ago but has struggled to find consistent form under different managers.

The Brazil international was at times booed by Tottenham supporters during his spell at the club, while Micky van de Ven's arrival last year dropped him further down the defensive pecking order.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has established a starting centre-back partnership of Cristian Romero and Van de Ven that would has also restricted Royal's Premier League playing time.

Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Caleb Wiley will spend next season on loan at French Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.

The Blues signed the 19-year-old left-back from Atlanta United last month and following his stint at the Olympic Games with the USA, he will join up with the club that is now being coached by Liam Rosenior.

'We look forward to supporting his development throughout the season,' a Chelsea statement said.

Wiley, who was born and raised in Atlanta, signed a six-year contract with Chelsea after joining for a fee in the region of £8.5million.

Ben Knight has left Manchester City to join Spanish side Real Murcia on a permanent deal.

The 22-year-old midfielder, who has previously had loan spells at Crewe and Stockport, made his only competitive City appearance in the 2021 Community Shield.

A key Tottenham midfielder has been forced into a grovelling apology after filming himself inhaling laughing gas and posting it on Snapchat.

Spurs star Yves Bissouma posted a video of himself inhaling nitrous oxide in a chauffeur-driven limousine and laughing between puffs to his private Snapchat account, which the Sun have obtained.

The news comes just a week before Spurs start their Premier League season at Leicester City next Monday night and will be an unwanted distraction for boss Ange Postecoglou and Bissouma's team-mates.

The Mali and former Brighton midfielder, 27, released a statement on Sunday night apologising for his 'severe lack of judgment'.

Bissouma said: 'I want to apologise for these videos. This was a severe lack of judgment.

'I understand how serious this is and the health risks involved, and I also take my responsibility as a footballer and role model very seriously.'

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur told The Sun: 'We are looking into the events.

'This will be dealt with as an internal matter.'

Possession of laughing gas with an intent to use recreationally was made illegal in the UK last year.

Nitrous oxide, known as ‘hippy crack’, is contained in canisters, which can be super-sized.

The canisters are then used to fill balloons which are inhaled to provide a quick ‘high’.

Usage carries a series of risks including heart attack, strokes and brain damage. There have been fatalities among users.

In November, the law was changed to make nitrous oxide a controlled Class C Drug. Possession for inhalation is now deemed a criminal offence although a conviction may be unlikely unless it appears as though there is a desire to supply others.

New, super-sized canisters can deliver 80 times the usual dose, while canisters can be obtained online and relatively cheaply as long as the buyer confirms they are over 18 and it is to be used for food production.

There are concerns that its usage is rife among Premier League footballers with routine drug tests unlikely to detect its presence.

Bissouma is entering his third season with the north London side, having made 56 appearances in total for the club.

Prior to that, the midfielder had been at league rivals Brighton, where he made 124 appearances across four seasons for the Seagulls.

Harry Kane has finally ended his trophy drought at Bayern Munich with a memorable win in the Visit Malta Cup.

Somewhat inevitably, the site of his long-awaited securing of silverware was at his former club Tottenham Hotspur, where he famously spent 14 trophy-less years.

But an emotional Kane shirked the opportunity to get his hands on a rare trophy, declining to lift the Visit Malta Cup out of respect to his old side.

The centre forward came off the bench on his return to north London today to help guide the German side to a 3-2 victory.

Former Spurs defender Eric Dier also made a second-half appearance and claimed a winners' medal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after he joined Kane in being presented a special commemorative gift by ex-player Ledley King before the match.

It was former captain Kane's first return to his old club, where he scored 280 goals, but he made little impact, taking just one shot in a quiet display.

But his Bayern side got the job done nonetheless, overturning a first-half deficit by exploiting an increasingly concerning Spurs set-piece weakness.

The hosts had taken the lead inside the first minute as winger Dejan Kulusevski exchanged a one-two with Brennan Johnson before finding the net in this pre-season encounter.

Dayot Upamecano then punished Spurs for a string of missed chances when he turned in Mathys Tel's header from close range to make it 1-1 on 15 minutes.

Vincent Kompany's side then raced into the lead through a Serge Gnabry finish before club legend Thomas Muller rubbed in the misery for Tottenham by scoring from a free-kick whipped into the box.

Kulusevski provided some late hope after he turned in Lucas Bergvall's clever ball but it was not enough to deny Kane the sweet, yet unfamiliar, test of victory on a warm and humid August day.