The Spurs Web

Former Tottenham scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected at the club, identifies a major problem in Spurs’ squad and reveals what he has heard about the club’s January transfer plans.

Spurs’ squad is razor thin

Tottenham’s squad is still extremely thin in some areas, particularly in their defensive line.

That was demonstrated by the fact that Ange Postecoglou had to start both Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in the Carabao Cup clash against Manchester City on Wednesday, with the Dutchman coming off in the first half with a hamstring injury.

While Radu Dragusin gave an excellent account of himself in the 2-1 win over City, Postecoglou’s men will be in real trouble now if either the Romanian or Cristian Romero pick up an injury.

Mick Brown highlights an area of Spurs concern

Brown confessed that he sees the lack of strength-in-depth as the Lilywhites’ main weakness at the moment and he revealed that the club are currently drafting plans to sign another central defender in the summer.

He told Football Insider: “Tottenham worry me defensively. They fall down at the fundamentals, they’re just not good enough at the back. That’s even with their first-choice team on the pitch.

“Their strength in depth is an issue too because it makes rotation difficult. All the best teams have defensive units that you know you can rely upon every week.

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“Look at Arsenal, for example, the big reason they’ve been able to challenge for the title is because of their defenders. Gabriel and Saliba are so solid at the back, and everybody does their bit.

“Man City as well, everybody talks about their attacking talent and rightly so, but their defence is outstanding with the likes of Dias, Akanji and Gvardiol.

“They’ve got a settled pairing in Romero and Van de Ven, but behind them, they’re short of real quality options and strength in depth. From what I’m hearing, they want to bring in someone who can fill in if those two miss out.”

Micky van de Ven’s latest injury has necessitated new signing

While we are still waiting to hear about the severity of Van de Ven’s injury, it is clear by now that the centre-back has a chronic hamstring issue.

Tottenham Hotspur could be set to enter the race for the services of a Brazilian starlet after hearing that another European club have made an offer for him.

Tottenham to continue with the same transfer policy

It is fair to say that not all Spurs supporters are fans of the club’s current transfer policy of prioritising young, up-and-coming starlets.

However, the strategy certainly appears to have the approval of Ange Postecoglou, who has spoken repeatedly about how he enjoys trying to shape these rough diamonds into finished products (Football.London).

It turns out that Spurs are now monitoring another youngster who is turning a lot of heads with his performances in Brazil.

Tottenham ready to enter the race

This report comes from Vascaino and claims that the Lilywhites are now eyeing a move for Vasco de Gama youngster Rayan, who is impressing in the Brazilian top flight this season.

Tottenham have reportedly ‘sought information’ about the versatile attacker, who primarily plays on the right but can also operate on the left or up front, with the North London club seeing him as a good fit for the profile they are after.

Lyon are currently thought to have shown the most interest, with the outlet claiming that the Ligue 1 club have already made a ‘firm offer’ for the 18-year-old.

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However, Tottenham are keeping a close watch on the situation and are ‘willing to enter the dispute’ for the winger if they must.

Vasco de Gama’s stance on Rayan

Vasco are said to be aware of the growing interest from Europe in Rayan ahead of the January transfer window.

The Brazilian side have reportedly adopted a ‘firm and strategic stance’ ahead of any possible negotiations, having made it clear that he cannot leave on the cheap.

The publication adds that Vasco has put a price tag of €18m (£15m) on Rayan and are hoping that a bidding war ensues so that they can fill their ‘ailing coffers’.

One Tottenham player’s national team boss has bizarrely suggested Juventus should sign the player from the North London club.

Youngster continues to bide his time

Radu Dragusin has had to be patient since his move from Genoa to Tottenham at the start of the calendar year. It was always going to be a difficult challenge for the Romanian to consistently break into Spurs’ starting eleven ahead of either Cristian Romero or Micky van de Ven, and that is exactly how things have panned out.

However, he looks to finally have his chance in the starting XI with Van de Ven out injured for at least a few weeks.

There continues to be speculation linking the 22-year-old with a return to Italy but it has been reported that the centre-back is fully focussed on Spurs at the moment (The Mirror).

Romania manager addresses Dragusin situation

Romania boss Mircea Lucescu has now addressed the defender’s situation at Spurs, confidently asserting that the 22-year-old is on his way to evolve into a ‘great defender’.

He told Gazzetta dello Sport: “Radu is always a starter for us in the national team, he is growing and will become a great defender. Now he is focused on carving out spaces for himself at Tottenham.”

Lucescu then went on to suggest that the Bianconeri should look to re-sign Dragusin if he continues to struggle for game time at Spurs.

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He added: “But if he were to continue to play little in England, if I were at Juve I would think about it: he is young, he knows Serie A and the world of Juventus. As a coach I am only interested in Dragușin playing and being happy, the rest is evaluations by managers and it is not up to me.”

Comments will not be appreciated by Spurs

It is quite unprofessional of Lucescu to make this comment about Dragusin’s future and to suggest a potential destination for him.

Tottenham will certainly not appreciate this and there is no chance that they would entertain any offers for the centre-back in January, with the former Genoa man being a key squad player for Ange Postecoglou.

Tottenham Hotspur expect a flurry of loan offers to arrive for one of their big-money summer signings as soon as the January window opens.

Youngster’s bittersweet start to Tottenham career

Some eyebrows were raised when Spurs paid £40m on Archie Gray in the summer, which is an unprecedented fee for an 18-year-old with just one year of Championship football under his belt.

However, the teenager has already demonstrated why he was valued so highly, showing maturity beyond his years, and having impressed across the backline as well as in midfield.

Despite the promise he has shown, the youngster has perhaps not had as much game time as he would have hoped for so far at N17.

Tottenham are expecting offers to arrive for Archie Gray

GiveMeSport now say that Gray’s list of admirers is growing and Tottenham are bracing themselves for loan offers to arrive for the player.

The report says that Spurs have been informed by intermediaries that a number of clubs in the Premier League and the Championship are expected to make loan proposals for the midfielder when the transfer window reopens.

Although Ange Postecoglou rates Gray highly, key figures at Spurs are anticipating a difficult decision on whether to let the England youth international leave in search of regular first-team football.

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January move unlikely for Gray

Gray’s versatility makes him an extremely valuable member of Postecoglou’s squad, with the Leeds academy graduate able to cover for a number of positions.

With the Tottenham head coach wanting to compete on multiple fronts, he will want to rotate his squad and it would be extremely surprising if he decided to let Gray depart.

If the youngster makes around 15 to 20 appearances across the season, that would be a decent number for him in his first season at Spurs.

Tottenham Hotspur are now reportedly set to challenge Manchester United in the race for an exciting winger, and the Lilywhites have a huge advantage over their Premier League rivals.

Tottenham looking to replace misfiring star

Spurs’ decision to extend Timo Werner’s loan spell has not worked out so far, with the German struggling for confidence in the final third of late. Thankfully, the RB Leipzig forward at least broke his curse in front of goal with an important strike against Man City this week.

Even so, reports over recent days have indicated that the Lilywhites will not activate the £8.5m option to buy the wide-man, who is expected to return to RB Leipzig at the end of the season (GiveMeSport).

It has now emerged that Tottenham have already identified another attacker to replace the German international.

Spurs want to re-sign former player

This claim has been made by TEAMtalk, who say that their former academy graduate, Marcus Edwards, has emerged as a target for the North London club.

It is revealed that Tottenham would have to compete with Manchester United for the 25-year-old Sporting Lisbon star.

This is because Ruben Amorim has swapped the Portuguese club for the Old Trafford hot seat, and he is keen on bringing Edwards with him to Manchester.

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Spurs have an advantage in the transfer race

with Amorim replacing Erik Ten Hag at Man Utd, one would think that the Red Devils would be favourites to sign Edwards. However, it should be pointed out that Edwards has been far from a firm favourite in the Sporting XI under Amorim over the past 6 months.

The familiarity of playing under a manager he knows well and whose system he is well-versed with could surely be tempting for the player, but only if he backs himself to break into the starting line-up.

Tottenham insider Paul O’Keefe claims there has been a big shift in the approach of the club’s hierarchy as they look to attract investment.

Daniel Levy not a popular man

Daniel Levy is hugely unpopular among a section of the Tottenham fan base, who have long accused the Spurs chairman of putting profit before glory.

Many have felt that his unwillingness to back certain managers at the right time is the main reason why the club have failed to get over the line and win silverware over the last 16 years.

As Ange Postecoglou’s project is now having some hiccups, Levy’s role has now once again come into sharp focus.

Tottenham insider says priority has changed

Paul O’Keefe has now taken to social media to declare that the club’s hierarchy are now doing their utmost to make the Lilywhites as attractive as possible for potential investors.

As a result, he asserts that the focus has been on trimming the wage bill rather than on improving the first-team with quality signings.

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According to reports over recent weeks, former Newcastle minority owner, Amanda Staveley, backed by ‘serious money’ from the Middle East, is currently in talks with Levy over buying a minority stake in Spurs (The Sun).

Tottenham’s wage bill

Spurs did make a serious effort to trim down their wage bill in the summer, but one can argue that they had to do that as their squad was extremely bloated.

According to GiveMeSport, Tottenham’s current wage bill stands at £111.8m, which is the sixth highest in the league, not far off Liverpool in fifth.

Paul O’Keefe reveals why Tottenham decided against signing Conor Gallagher and Eberechi Eze back in the summer, even though Ange Postecoglou wanted them.

Spurs summer business splits opinion

While some Tottenham fans felt that the club did some solid business in the summer transfer window, others felt that the North Londoners could have pushed the envelope a bit more.

They questioned why the club continued to prioritise young, up-and-coming talent over players who are proven at the highest level.

Their concerns are proving to be legitimate so far, with Postecoglou’s men yet to really click this season and continuing to struggle for consistency.

Paul O Keefe’s revelation on Gallagher and Eze

Spurs insider Paul O’Keefe has now revealed that the speculation linking Gallagher and Eze to Tottenham in the summer did have legs.

He has explained on social media that Postecoglou did want to sign the former Chelsea midfielder, but Spurs were not willing to match the England star’s wage demands.

O’Keefe revealed that wages were again the main reason Tottenham passed up on Eze, while Chelsea were willing to pay a larger transfer fee than the Lilywhites for Pedro Neto.

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Will Spurs go back in for Eberechi Eze?

Now that O’Keefe and others have confirmed that Tottenham did consider a move for Eze back in the summer, it will be interesting to see if the club go back in for the Crystal Palace star in January.

However, a deal for the 26-year-old will certainly not be easy, with reports suggesting that the Eagles want £60m for their star man, and more consequentially, they want the whole fee upfront (GiveMeSport).

On top of that, one would assume that the Palace star is unlikely to have relaxed his wage demands.

Tottenham may have made it through the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie with Manchester City, but Guglielmo Vicario very nearly cost his team the win in the dying moments.

A mostly quiet night for Vicario

Overall, the game between Tottenham and Man City left Guglielmo Vicario with very little to do in goal. He was beaten by a Matheus Nunes strike just before half-time, but couldn’t really do anything about that goal.

Throughout the game, Man City’s players hit the ball off-target for the most part, though Vicario did make one important interception to palm away a cross late on.

As Spurs clung on to their 2-1 lead against the Premier League champions in the closing moments of the game, the fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium surely felt their heart in their throat as City took the lion’s share of possession and threatened to create a decisive opportunity.

Ange Postecoglou‘s men held firm and sealed the win to book a place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, but all that hard work was almost undone due to Vicario’s big blunder towards the end of the game.

Guglielmo Vicario flaps at a Tottenham corner again

We have seen Vicario show his frailties from set-pieces for some time now, but his error in judgement against City may just be his worst yet.

With a corner floated into the Spurs box, Vicario decided to go for the ball, but ended up on the floor after getting nowhere near it and running into his own player.

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While Vicario was flapping around aimlessly, City youngster Nico O’Reilly struck a shot towards goal and, with the ball creeping into the bottom corner, it was up to Yves Bissouma to save the day with a perfect goalline clearance.

You can watch the mistake below:

This has to stop

That attempt to come for the ball last night was perhaps the worst I’ve ever seen from any goalkeeper, and this needs to be remedied in training as a top priority. Vicario is a brilliant shot-stopper, his distribution is good, but he is not dependable at all when it comes to commanding his box.

Journalist Jonny Buchan has suggested that it might be in one EFL club’s best interest to offload a player they signed on loan from Tottenham back in the summer.

Injury nightmare for Spurs man

Manor Solomon has had terrible luck with injuries over the past 18 months, with the winger struggling to remain fit since making the switch to the North London club in the summer of 2023.

The 25-year-old joined Leeds on loan in the recent window and he would have hoped to get his career on track by getting regular minutes in the Championship this term.

However, that has not materialised, with a hamstring injury keeping the attacker out of action for a month and restricting to him just five appearances so far.

Calls for Manor Solomon to be offloaded

The Tottenham man has certainly not set the world alight in the opportunities that have come his way, although that can perhaps be put down to the fact that he has not been fully fit.

Jonny Buchan has suggested that Daniel Farke’s men might have to prematurely end Solomon’s loan spell in January and replace him with another wide man.

The journalist said on BBC’s Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet podcast (as relayed by CaughtOffside): “You wonder with Solomon whether he’s going to be able to get that time, and then you question do you keep him? Or do you send him back?

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“Then use that spot, I’m not saying they’re on the limit of their loans, they’re not, but do you use that pot that you’ve used money-wise to get someone else who can maybe have a bigger impact?”

Solomon still has time to turn things around

Now that Solomon is back fit, he still has two months to impress Farke and show that he can contribute to Leeds’ quest for promotion.

If the winger can avoid injuries, he will get minutes under his belt and one would expect him to be able to run rings around Championship defences.

Tottenham Hotspur welcome current top-four side, Aston Villa, to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as they look to bounce back in the Premier League after the dismal defeat to Crystal Palace.

How will Tottenham’s starting lineup look?

Ange Postecoglou will be forced to make some changes from both the team that lost at Selhurst Park and the one that triumphed in the cup, due to players suffering injuries. Let’s take a look at our predicted Tottenham XI:

Guglielmo Vicario will start his third match in the space of a week, having featured on Wednesday in Tottenham’s 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Manchester City.

At right-back, Pedro Porro returns to the starting lineup and he should be feeling fresh after being rested in midweek.

Destiny Udogie has not had that same luxury, as he had to come on to replace the injured Micky van de Ven after just 14 minutes against Man City. He will start, as he looks to find some consistency in his form.

Ange Postecoglou has confirmed in his press conference that while van de Ven’s ‘strained hamstring’ is not too serious, it will likely keep him on the sidelines until after the international break (Tom Barclay).

This means that Radu Dragusin will enjoy a rare second consecutive start for Spurs and will probably partner Cristian Romero in the centre of defence, although the Argentine international was a bit sore after the City game, so there is the possibility of Ben Davies replacing him in the starting lineup.

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In the pivot of midfield, Yves Bissouma will start, replacing Rodrigo Bentancur, who played the full 90 minutes on Wednesday night.

James Maddison will start in the attacking midfield role, along with Dejan Kulusevski, who helped take Spurs to the Carabao Cup quarter-final with two assists in his last outing.

On the right wing, Brennan Johnson will look to get back among the goals, having not scored since the international break.

Heung-min Son returns?

Heung-Min-Son could return to the starting lineup, having trained today as he looks to fully recover from the thigh injury he picked up against Qarabag in the Europa League. He would replace Timo Werner, who is a little sore since the City game, when he scored his first goal of the season.

And up front, Dominic Solanke will start, with the striker impressing in his all-round play since joining Tottenham, however, he could really do with getting a goal.

Predicted Tottenham XI to face Aston Villa