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Tottenham track £34m-rated teenage forward but face competition from Chelsea and Liverpool for rising star tipped to earn senior Brazil call-up

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Tottenham track £34m-rated teenage forward but face competition from Chelsea and Liverpool for rising star tipped to earn senior Brazil call-up - Daily Mail
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Tottenham are among the clubs following Vasco da Gama's young forward Rayan Vitor.

Club scouts have been monitoring his progress in recent months and checked on him again last week when he scored in a 2-0 win over Cruzeiro.

The 19-year-old was a prolific goalscorer throughout his youth and while his strike rate has dropped, he is still making an impact at first team level.

Quick and aggressive, Rayan is tipped for a national call-up to Carlo Ancelotti's senior Brazil squad also.

He has a release clause set at £34million but suitors are hoping he can be prised out for less.

However, competition is building with Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Liverpool, Brighton, Barcelona and Zenit St Petersburg among the clubs who have also been to watch him since the turn of the year.

Tottenham have been looking for a striker as they need depth in that position.

Richarlison was a player Spurs were willing to sell in the summer but has done well under Thomas Frank while Dominic Solanke has undergone ankle surgery and is expected to have clarity on his return date over the next week.

Tottenham also hope to see Radu Dragusin pick up his recovery from a cruciate ligament injury in the next few weeks.

The centre back was wanted by the Romanian national side this month but will continue his rehab with Spurs in the hope he can make a return to full training soon.

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Bodo/Glimt 2-2 Tottenham VERDICT: Thomas Frank's Spurs caught cold on their return to the Arctic Circle

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Bodo/Glimt 2-2 Tottenham VERDICT: Thomas Frank's Spurs caught cold on their return to the Arctic Circle - Daily Mail
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It will not go down as a perfect 10. This return to Bodo was far from perfect, but Thomas Frank is up to double figures as Tottenham boss with only one defeat.

Moreover, his team have an appetite for a fightback, not a quality many would attribute to Spurs.

They scrambled back from two down to draw at Brighton, then for a point at home to Wolves and now in the Arctic Circle where they were 2-0 down and outplayed for two thirds of the contest before somehow escaping defeat.

Richy brings up a ton

Richarlison emerged as the closest thing they had to a hero on his 100th Spurs appearance but for most of the night looked lost and isolated up front, as if the burden of leading the line every week was weighing heavily.

It is an ominous sign with Dominic Solanke out recovering from ankle surgery, Randal Kolo Muani now out for four games with a dead leg and Mathys Tel omitted from the Champions League squad.

The Brazilian squandered an early chance after a terrific run by Lucas Bergvall, but to his credit, he does keep going and was in the right place, making a nuisance of himself as the 89th-minute equaliser pinballed in the Bodo net.

Captain Chaos

Micky van de Ven won’t forget this shift as Tottenham captain. His foul on Odin Bjortuft cost Spurs an equaliser when they were trailing 1-0. Rodrigo Bentancur scored but a dubious VAR intervention for Van de Ven’s shirt-pull ruled it out.

Moments later, still seething, a scything tackle to release his pent-up fury was punished with a yellow card, then his sloppy pass back to goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario led to Bodo’s second goal.

It was strangely chaotic from a player who has barely put a foot wrong since arriving from Wolfsburg. Here, he lost his composure briefly but went some way towards making amends with a header to pull a goal back, from a brilliant cross by Pedro Porro.

Missed opportunities

Brennan Johnson might feel aggrieved at his peripheral role this season having finished last season as top scorer and Europa League final goal hero, but he did little to prove Frank wrong when restored to his favoured position on the right wing, in Bodo.

Nor did Wilson Odobert on the left flank. It defied the boss’s explanation that his wingers were picked to fit a game plan. Johnson running in behind, arriving in the box and Odobert strong in one-on-one situations.

Spurs improved when the big guns came on, summer signings Mohamed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Palhinha all started on the bench. And they summoned a greater sense of urgency with them on.

Bodo fantastic on plastic

Bodo/Glimt’s prowess on their synthetic pitch is well known. Spurs overcame it in May with strong defensive display and threat on the break. A 3-1 lead from the first leg helped that night because they knew the Norwegians would have to come out and take risks eventually.

When they did, they were able to punish them. But, here, Frank’s team seemed to struggle to find the pace. It didn’t help that the three forwards failed to hold up the ball and carry them out of defence for more than an hour.

In contrast, Bodo set off with confidence, quickly into their rhythm and zipping precise passes to feet and dominating, albeit without creating a clear chance until the penalty in the 33rd minute when Rodrigo Bentancur’s senseless slide belied the frustration creeping into Tottenham’s game.

Slow to make changes

Spurs were lucky not to be more than two down when they launched the fight back. There was the first-half penalty skied high by Kasper Hogh, who also missed from the spot in Bodo’s Champions League opener against Slavia Prague, another sitter fired over from even closer by Sondre Brunstad Fet and scares at the end.

Frank’s team were outplayed in the first half but still resisted making changes at half-time when the game was goalless.

Jens Petter Hauge had fired Bodo ahead before Spurs made a change and had scored a second before the changes started to have an impact.

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Champions League LIVE: Latest score, team news and updates

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Champions League LIVE: Latest score, team news and updates from all of the games featuring Galatasaray vs... - Daily Mail
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Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest scores, team news, and updates as Galatasaray vs Liverpool and Bodo/Glimt vs Tottenham headline the action in the Champions League, with Lewis Steele and Matt Barlow reporting from the grounds.

© Associated Newspapers Ltd

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Tottenham REJECT international call-up for star - after Thomas Frank called for patience in his recovery from injury

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Tottenham REJECT international call-up for star - after Thomas Frank called for patience in his recovery from injury - Daily Mail
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Tottenham have rejected Romania's attempts to call up defensive talisman Radu Dragusin as they try to revive their fading World Cup dream.

Dragusin, out since January with a cruciate knee ligament injury, is close to fitness once again.

Spurs head coach Thomas Frank said in August that he expected him back in contention within 'a couple of months' but also stressed the need for extreme caution on the road back from such a serious injury.

Dragusin, 23, was named last week by Romania boss Mircea Lucescu on a preliminary list of overseas-based players for the two October internationals, a friendly against Moldova followed three days later by a qualifier at home against Austria, the strongest rivals in Group H.

Defeat against Austria will end Romania's hopes of reaching next year's finals if Bosnia-Herzegovina also beat Cyprus. And Lucescu, 80-year-old legend of Romanian football, wanted his strongest central-half to be involved into the camp as a positive presence.

Dragusin became Romania's most expensive player when he snubbed Bayern Munich to joined Tottenham from Genoa in a deal worth up to £26million, in January 2024.

Lucescu envisaged him training with the squad and fuelling morale, perhaps even making a brief cameo appearance from the bench, but only if there was a mutual benefit as part of his recovery programme.

And there isn't. Spurs soon dashed any hopes, making it clear they wanted to keep Dragusin focused on his day-to-day rehabilitation plan, training and building his fitness steadily under the scrutiny of their medical team.

Romania have accepted this and do not intend could force the issue even though FIFA rules entitle them to call-up players.

'I spoke with him,' Lucescu told Fanatik in Romania when asked about Dragusin. 'He was very happy for the national team comeback but I don't think I will call him. Tottenham wasn't so happy to let him come now at the national team.

'He needs one more month to play again. Radu wants to come, but others warned us it is better to let him train with Tottenham now.'

Dragusin has not played since injury in a Europa League tie against Elfsborg in January. He is training regularly but not yet back in the full-contact sessions with the first team. He has not been selected in Tottenham's Champions League squad.

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Tottenham suffer frustrating injury blow as Thomas Frank reveals key player must undergo surgery

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Tottenham suffer frustrating injury blow as Thomas Frank reveals key player must undergo surgery - Daily Mail
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Dominic Solanke has undergone surgery on an ankle problem that has been troubling him for two months.

Solanke missed most of preseason after picking up the injury in a friendly at Reading, the first under new boss Thomas Frank.

The £65million England striker returned to make three appearances from the bench but has not started a game this season and not played for more than a month.

Initially, Spurs tried to treat it with rest and injections but this has failed to solve the issue.

'It's time to make a minor surgery,' said Spurs boss Frank ahead of Tuesday's Champions League tie at Bodo/Glimt.

'We will know more about timeframes after the international break but I don't expect it to be long.'

Randal Kolo Muani, who has missed three games with a dead leg, is not yet training and captain Cristian Romero has not travelled to Norway. Romero's absence is a precaution, according to Frank.

After Wednesday's Champions League clash in Norway, Spurs, who drew 1-1 with Wolves at the weekend, travel to Elland Road on Saturday to take on Leeds United ahead of the international break.

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Tottenham 1-1 Wolves: Joao Palhinha rescues Spurs with injury time equaliser after flat display - as Vitor Pereira's side pick up first point of season

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Tottenham 1-1 Wolves: Joao Palhinha rescues Spurs with injury time equaliser after flat display - as Vitor Pereira's side pick up first point of season - Daily Mail
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Tottenham have not beaten Wolverhampton Wanderers in six meetings although this equaliser came so late it tasted like victory.

It was scored by Palhinha, a composed and clinical finish, a side-footer hit first time from the edge of the penalty area after Pape Matar Sarr nursed a cross by Mathys Tel his way.

Relief washed around the stadium, but this was an escape for Thomas Frank on a day when he knew three points against a team with none would have lifted Spurs into second.

Until half time Frank’s team sizzled with intent. Then Vitor Pereira made changes and reshuffled, nullifying the chief threats of Mohammed Kudus and Destiny Udogie, and nicked a goal from a corner.

Santiago Bueno scored it, his first for Wolves and they defended their advantage until the fourth minute of stoppage time when Palhinha struck.

It was a cruel twist for Pereira and his players, but they at least have a point on the board.

Tottenham will reflect on missed chances in the first half and an inspired save by Sam Johnstone to deny Kudus after only 15 minutes.

Xavi Simons whipped in a cross from the left and Kudus met it with a header at the back post. Somehow the Wolves ‘keeper threw up a hand and deflected the ball against the bar.

Another fine save further frustrated Kudus, who did find the net only to see it ruled out for offside.

Lucas Bergvall released him with a backheel, but Kudus was clearly offside. The flag went up quickly and it was the correct call.

Simons operated from a position wide on the left, drifting inside to open the channel for Destiny Udogie who charged forward to great effect, overloading Wolves right back Matt Doherty on his return to Spurs.

Bergvall missed his kick in front of goal, unable to complete a swift counterattack led by Udogie and made a far better attempt with a far more difficult chance, a scissor-kick volley from a cross by Kudus which flashed narrowly over.

Wolves hit the woodwork in first half stoppage time when a corner reached Doherty in the deep and he fired against the outside of a post from a tight angle.

Pereira reshuffled at half time, making two substitutions and reverting from a back-four to his more familiar back-three formation.

Jackson Tchatchoua was handed the task of silencing Kudus and made a good job of it, encouraged by the goal soon after the restart.

It was untidy to say the least, a corner met by Jorgen Strand Larsen in the air and Guglielmo Vicario’s save only served to push the ball against Palhinha.

The rebound fell to Santiago Bueno, who forced the chance over the line for his first Wolves goal in two years since joining them from Girona.

Frank changed personnel and took more risks and Wolves threatened on the counter. Vicario’s save from Hugo Bueno kept Spurs in the game and Palhinha rescued them at the death.

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Tottenham vs Wolves - Premier League: Live score, team news and updates as Spurs look to continue impressive start under Thomas Frank against winless Wolves

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Tottenham vs Wolves - Premier League: Live score, team news and updates as Spurs look to continue... - Daily Mail
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Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as Tottenham host Wolves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Matt Barlow reporting from the ground.

© Associated Newspapers Ltd

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Man City star handed new SIX-YEAR contract after £70m Tottenham transfer failed to materialise

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Man City star handed new SIX-YEAR contract after £70m Tottenham transfer failed to materialise - Daily Mail
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Savinho is in line to net a new six-year contract at Manchester City after flirting with a move away to Tottenham in the summer.

Spurs registered serious interest in the Brazil international after Son Heung-min departed, James Maddison’s anterior cruciate ligament injury and missing out on Eberechi Eze.

Savinho was open to leaving the Etihad Stadium but Spurs weren’t willing to match City’s valuation, believed to be north of £70million.

City are in negotiations with the winger’s representatives over a fresh deal and hope that an agreement could be reached in the coming days.

‘Always for the people up front it is about numbers, goals and assists,’ Guardiola said after the 21-year-old scored his first goal of the campaign at Huddersfield Town in midweek.

‘Savinho created a lot last season but in the final third, the final moment he was a little bit too hectic.

‘But the moment he learns that, because he is so young, the more he improves, he'll be a top-class player because he can play on both sides, he's got the speed and the work ethic.

‘Savinho will make this step, naturally it will come and he will be a top player for Man City.’

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Tottenham 3-0 Doncaster: Spurs star shines in surprise role, £30m signing endures another night to forget and loanee shows promise, writes JAMES SHARPE

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Tottenham 3-0 Doncaster: Spurs star shines in surprise role, £30m signing endures another night to forget and loanee shows promise, writes MATT BARLOW - Daily Mail
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Tottenham cruised into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a comfortable 3-0 win over Doncaster on Wednesday.

A stunning overhead strike by Joao Palhinha put Spurs ahead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before Jay McGrath's own goal ended the League One side's slim hopes of an upset.

Brennan Johnson got on the scoresheet late on as Thomas Frank's men set up a crunch tie with Newcastle in round four.

JAMES SHARPE picks out the talking points from a routine night for Frank's team.

Star shines in surprise role

When the team-sheets were handed out, most people's first thought was that in the absence of first-choice centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, it would likely be youngster Archie Gray who would partner Kevin Danso in the back-line.

Gray was often used as a makeshift centre-back by Ange Postecoglou, sometimes even at full-back, but when the whistle blew it was clear this was not how Thomas Frank saw things.

It was fellow central midfielder Joao Palhinha who slotted into the back four instead and Gray was given the nod in the middle of the park – and he showed exactly why he's so highly-rated. He's 19 but plays with a confidence and experience far beyond his years.

He made great runs off the ball to create space for his team-mates, his passed the ball with confidence and battled physically when needed.

Frank confirmed this is where Gray is at his best in his eyes. 'I think Archie can play centre-back and right-back but I see him more as a midfielder and I liked to see him today in that position,' he said.

'We saw his running power, very willing to run in behind, very good when he has that drive with the ball. It was a fine performance.'

Night to forget for Tel

If Mathys Tel thought this would be his chance to put pressure on Richarlison and Dominic Solanke, things did not go to plan.

The Frenchman snatched at two dangerous crosses from the right so badly that he completely missed the first one from Brennan Johnson, when even the slightest contact would have given him a certain goal, and bare got a touch on the second late in the second half.

That he was able to get into those scoring positions was a positive that Frank preferred to focus on after the game.

'I don't think he has been on a bad run. He played striker against West Ham which he did quite well and worked hard to arrive in the right areas which he did tonight so in terms of a performance it was a step up. Then we can look at the end product to score the goal but the performance to arriving in the box I was very happy with. I think it was a step up.

'His ability to arrive in the box and the pace to run in behind and get in the right areas was good. His pressing abilities are very good. His link-up play is something that is a good level but can be even better.'

Williams-Barnett becomes becomes No 900

With three minutes left on the clock, 16-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett replaced Tel to make his first-team debut for the club and become the 900th player to represent Tottenham.

The teenager has been a sensation for the side's under-21s this season, scoring six goals and registering four assists in just six matches, including a hat-trick in a recent thumping of Leicester.

His arrival was greeted by a roar from the Tottenham crowd and the youngster showed no signs of nerves. He looked confident in the short period he was on the pitch, beating his marker to play a neat pass to Destiny Udogie in a move that ended in Lucas Bergvall putting the ball in the net but seeing his effort ruled out for offside.

This was clearly the first appearance of many Williams-Barnett will make in a Spurs shirt and was yet another examples of how players seem to be making their breakthrough even younger, after the likes of Max Dowman at Arsenal and Rio Ngumoha at Liverpool.

'Over the last many years, the focus on talent development in academies across the world is so big,' said Frank. 'The Talent pool is bigger, these talents coming through are. younger and younger.

'One thing is tp debut when you are 16 but the next step, and much more important, is how they take the next step forward. It is very tough to keep going and get into the first team but the first step is very important. 'It is always a pleasure to be part of a young player's debut.'

Loan star gets his moment

Williams-Barnett was not the only Tottenham teenager on display. Damola Ajayi, 19, is on loan at Doncaster and was given permission by Spurs to play against his parent club.

Ajayi has started all three of Rovers' games in the Carabao Cup, scoring in their 4-0 demolition of Championship leaders Middlesbrough in the first round, and showed flashes of what he is capable of.

Inside the first 10 minutes, he picked out team-mate Toyosi Olusanya with a cross only for the striker to head wide a great chance.

Ajayi, who scored in the Europa League victory over Elfsborg last season, is yet to start a league game for Doncaster, making seven substitute appearances but Rovers boss Grant McCann insisted he still has a big role to play.

'He's getting better all the time,' said McCann. 'He is going to play a lot of games at our club. When you move from under-21 level to first-team football it is a different kettle of fish. It's more physical, faster, so he is adjusting and we are working with him all the time. He has serious ability, he showed it in glimpses here, created a few chances in the first half. He'll soon be ready to start week in, week out.'

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Tottenham 3-0 Doncaster Rovers: Thomas Frank's side cruise past League One opponents as Joao Palhinha scores stunning bicycle kick

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Tottenham 3-0 Doncaster Rovers: Thomas Frank's side cruise past League One opponents as Joao Palhinha scores stunning bicycle kick - Daily Mail
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Tottenham have clearly got the taste for this silverware lark. In times gone by, the prospect of a gutsy League One up-and-comers like Doncaster Rover coming to town for an early-season cup clash would have given off all the vibes of a Spurs banana skin.

Not these days. Not against the Europa League winners, for heaven’s sake. And certainly not against this now steady and serious Tottenham side under Thomas Frank. He’s made no secret that there’s a hunger for more trophies and he made sure his side got the job done.

Makeshift centre-back Palhinha's overhead kick inside a quarter of an hour before an own goal by Doncaster’s Jay McGrath was enough to put the game beyond Grant McCann’s side.

They didn’t even need Lucas Bergvall’s disallowed goal in stoppage time finish to count but Brennan Johnson still made sure of it with the last kick of the game after a scintillating counter-attack.

It was three in the end but it could have been so many more. Mathys Tels twice found thin air from a few yards out after dangerous crosses, Rodrigo Bentancur put a header just wide, Achie Gray had a low shot saved, and substitute Richarlison couldn’t quite get on to the end of another good low ball across goal.

You wonder how much more of a fight Doncaster would have put up had manager Grant McCann not shuffled his pack quite so vigorously with nine changes from the weekend.

Perhaps not much, but Rovers had the edge for a brief spell in the second half once McCann brought on his big guns.

It always feels a shame when lower league sides care even less about this competition than the giants.

Still, what a story this Doncaster one continues to be under McCann, who hauled Doncaster from the lower reaches of League Two to the title and have made a decent fist of life in League One, and whose name was sung by the hardy 3,860 travelling supporters who had made the 170-mile trip in great voice.

They watched their side give it a go, too, brimming with that same Yorkshire spirit. They had chances.

Toyosi Olusanya nodded a free header wide after a cross from Spurs loanee Damola Ajayi, who had been given permission to face his parent club.

Antonin Kinsky needed to pull off a stunning diving save to tip Doncaster skipper Owen Bailey’s scissor kick around the post.

Glenn Middleton hit the side-netting with a late free-kick that half the stadium thought had gone in.

But, in the end, the gulf was just too great. No banana skins here.

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