The Spurs Web

Tottenham Hotspur are once again looking towards the Serie A to strengthen their backline, and they could even submit a player-plus-cash bid to make it happen.

Inter Milan star in Tottenham’s sights

Spurs are thought to be studying the market for central defenders and one young Serie A man has reportedly caught their eye.

This is according to InterLive, who say that Yann Bisseck is now attracting interest from North London in light of his performances for the Nerazzurri.

Although the 23-year-old is highly thought of at the San Siro, he is yet to establish himself as a regular in Simone Inzaghi’s starting eleven, and it has now suggested that he could soon be prised away from the Italian giants.

Tottenham could make a part-exchange offer

Inter Live allege that Bisseck’s versatility is something that Spurs find attractive, claiming that the Lilywhites could launch an assault on him next summer.

It is revealed that Tottenham could offer Radu Dragusin to Inter to sweeten the deal as Ange Postecoglou is not convinced by the Romanian.

However, as things stand, the Serie A club are not thought to be ready to consider any player plus cash offers for the young defender.

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Inter’s stance explained

The outlet says that Bisseck is liked a lot by Inzaghi, which is why Inter are not desperate to sell the German defender.

Any deal to sign him might have to be a straight cash deal and the centre-back is not expected to come cheap, given that he is contracted to the current scudetto holders until 2028.

However, the publication adds that this has not put off Tottenham, who want to test the waters to see if a deal for the former Koln man is doable.

Dominic Solanke is thriving like never before under Ange Postecoglou’s high-octane football system, transforming from a target man into a relentless, all-action forward. With his ability to press, hold the ball, and drive attacks, Solanke is proving to be a key figure in Postecoglou’s tactical revolution.

The perfect fit: Solanke’s hold-up masterclass

Dominic Solanke has flourished under Ange Postecoglou’s fast-paced and fluid football system, transforming his game from a traditional target man to a more nuanced, versatile forward.

Once known for his aerial prowess, Solanke now excels in holding the ball up and applying relentless pressure on defenders, perfectly complementing Postecoglou’s high-intensity tactics.

His technical ability and composure under pressure have become key assets in Tottenham‘s possession-based approach, providing the team with crucial fluidity in the final third.

Solanke’s intelligent link-up play and sharp decision-making—whether opting for short or long passes—have added a dynamic edge to Spurs’ build-up, making him a vital cog in their attacking machinery.

Pressing mastery: A tireless engine

One of the hallmarks of Postecoglou’s style is relentless pressing, and Solanke has quickly become an embodiment of this philosophy. His defensive work rate, often overlooked at Bournemouth, has gained recognition as a key feature of Tottenham’s new pressing regime.

Statistically, Solanke ranks in the top 10% of Premier League forwards for pressing actions, averaging 20 pressures per game last season.

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His ability to disrupt opposition defences while creating turnovers high up the pitch has been pivotal to Tottenham’s success, offering not just offensive contributions but also a layer of defence from the front.

High-intensity play: Solanke’s work ethic redefined

While Solanke’s goal-scoring prowess has fluctuated over the years, what sets him apart in Postecoglou’s setup is his unmatched work rate. Postecoglou’s demanding system requires forwards who can sustain high intensity over 90 minutes, and Solanke fits the bill perfectly.

His distance covered per game ranks him among the top forwards in the league, highlighting his importance as not just a goal threat but as an all-action player. This tireless movement and ability to stretch defences have allowed Tottenham to create more chances from wide areas, amplifying the offensive production of players like Kulusevski and Maddison.

Dominic Solanke’s blend of technical ability, defensive pressing, and sheer intensity makes him a standout performer in Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham side—undoubtedly, a key player in Spurs’ pursuit of success.

Former Aston Villa and Everton CEO Keith Wyness believes that a big appointment is expected to be announced by Tottenham within the next month.

Who is heading Tottenham’s commercial operations?

At this point, it is unclear who is spearheading Spurs’ commercial operations after it was announced earlier this year that the club’s former chief commercial officer, Todd Kline, had accepted the same role at Chelsea.

Kline is currently on gardening leave and there has been no official communication from Tottenham regarding his replacement.

That is a position that would have to be filled soon, especially at a time when the club are seeking a naming rights partner and are reportedly in talks over a minority sale (The Sun).

Appointment expected very shortly

Wyness is convinced that Spurs are now working behind the scenes to secure Kline’s replacement and are doing due diligence on the potential candidates.

In fact, the former Everton chief declared that Daniel Levy may finalise an appointment within the next month while adding that any new minority investors will also have a say in the decision.

Wyness told Football Insider: “There’s a merry-go-round of commercial chiefs at the moment. Spurs will want to try and bring people in from the outside and break the mould, but it doesn’t always work.

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“Having football experience is very important in a club, you have to understand the commercial rhythm of a club to be a success.

“Certain things have to be addressed at certain times of the year, plus the black book of access to sponsors and other partners is also important.

“Spurs will have appointed headhunters and they’ll be searching. If a new minority investor comes in, they may want a say.

“Tottenham will want someone in place as soon as possible, it’s not an area you want to leave vacant. I expect we’ll see someone coming in within the next month.”

Have Tottenham already made an appointment

Interestingly, TBR Football claimed a couple of days ago that Spurs might have already appointed Kline’s replacement behind the scenes even though they have not made it public.

The outlet pointed out that in the recently held Leaders Week, which is the biggest annual conference for sports business professionals, one of the attendees listed was the ‘chief commercial officer for Tottenham Hotspur’.

They claimed that a newcomer might have thus already begun working in that position on an informal basis.

Tottenham Hotspur practically got a new player this summer thanks to the resurgence of Djed Spence, but who is he, why was his career going wrong, and how valuable is he?

It has been a strange two years at Tottenham for Djed Spence, but he’s finally on the right track and is firmly a part of Ange Postecoglou‘s plans now.

Seen as he’s a fully-fledged member of the Spurs first-team squad now, Spence is a player you absolutely have to know everything about, and that’s where we come in. Here are all the key details on the xxfyodefender.

Djed Spence is a versatile defender

Djed Spence is primarily a right-back, but he can also function at left-back as he has been doing under Postecoglou at Spurs this season.

In the past, Spence’s athleticism and attack-minded sensibilities made him a fairly useful right-winger, too, but he generally operates more defensively.

At present, Spence is pretty much the first-choice understudy to both Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, filling in on either side of the defence.

Where did Spurs sign Spence from?

Spurs signed Djed Spence from Middlesbrough in 2022, but he previously played for Nottingham Forest rather prominently, too.

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Spence began his career with the Fulham academy before switching to Middlesbrough as a youngster. He made 70 appearances for the senior team there, but fell out of favour when Neil Warnock took over.

From there, he enjoyed a successful loan spell with Nottingham Forest in the year they won promotion from the Championship, scoring five goals and registering three assists. He was named in the EFL Championship Team of the Season and the PFA Championship team of the season in 2022.

After impressing in the second tier, Spurs snapped him up, with Spence opting for the big move rather than staying with Forest.

Life at Spurs has been difficult for Djed Spence

Arriving at Spurs with plenty of hype, there were big hopes that Spence could finally be the replacement right-back the club had been searching for since letting Kyle Walker leave, but things did not work out for him under Antonio Conte.

In the 2022/23 campaign, Spence made just six appearances for Tottenham, amounting to just 43 minutes of game time. He spent the second half of that season on loan at French side Stades Rennais.

When he returned, Conte was gone, but Postecgolou didn’t feel Spence was right for the squad and the young defender was loaned out to Leeds United for the 2023/24 campaign.

However, his loan spell there was cut short, with manager Daniel Farke implying there may be some kind of behavioural issue leading to the decision. A move to Italian outfit Genoa for the second half of the season helped repair Spence’s reputation somewhat and the Italian side were keen to sign him on a permanent deal.

But, over the summer, Spence knuckled down and showed an impressive turnaround in his attitude. It was enough to win Postecoglou over, and he was retained for the current season.

Spence a new contract at Tottenham keeping him at the club until 2028. On that decision, Postecoglou said: “With Djed, it could have been easy for to go out on loan again. But when he came into pre-season, he was determined to make a career for himself here at Tottenham rather than wait to be loaned out.

“He did everything right in training, his attitude was great. He’s a good footballer, I think the way we play suits him and he’s knuckled down to that. And he’s earned himself a spot on the roster in our squad.”

The only negative for Spence this term is that he was left out of Postecoglou’s Europa League squad for the league phase, meaning he is having to make do with domestic cup action and a bit-part role in the Premier League for now.

Djed Spence’s salary and market value

It is believed Djed Spence earns around £25,000 per week at Spurs, and his current market value is roughly £6.65m.

Spence is one of the lowest-earners on the Tottenham wage bill, with an annual salary of £1.3m, which puts him on par with Wilson Odobert. Only Lucas Bergvall, Brandon Austin, and Alfie Whiteman are thought to earn less right now.

Tottenham reportedly paid an initial £12.5m to sign Spence in 2022, with add-ons potentially taking that deal closer to £20m. His market value has dropped significantly since then, largely due to his lack of game time over the last two years.

Spence’s personal information and social media

Djed Spence was born in London, England, on August 9, 2000, making him 24-years-old at the time of writing. His full name is Diop Tehuti Djed-Hotep Spencg.

He is an English citizen, but also has Jamaican and Kenyan heritage due to his father and mother respectively. Spence has represented the England Under-21s on six occassions, and therefore could switch national allegiance if he wanted to.

Spence is 1.84m tall and weighs just 71kg. Like many in the Spurs squad, he is a tall but lean young man with a very athletic build.

You can find Spence on Instagram, where he has over 178k followers, or on Twitter/X, though he is far less active on that platform, with just under 64k followers.

Sky Sports present an impressive stat about red cards that some might see as a big endorsement of Ange Postecoglou’s methods.

Ange Postecoglou’s methods have been widely criticised

Postecoglou is not one to change his game plan even when Tottenham go down to ten men. In fact, the Australian demonstrated last season against Chelsea that he does not even want his side taking a more cautious approach when they have two men sent off.

The Spurs boss has been widely criticised for that approach, with many suggesting that it is naive and perhaps even suicidal for him to continue playing that way with a numerical disadvantage (ESPN FC).

However, Postecoglou will argue that it is that mentality and approach that has seen his side pick up points even when they go a man down as evidenced by the club’s 3-0 win over Qarabag last month.

Spurs outperform rivals with ten men

In contrast, we have seen the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United struggle to impose themselves on the game and get results when they have one less player on the pitch.

Sky Sports have now revealed that among the traditional big-six clubs, Tottenham have secured the most points per game over the last five years in matches where they have been down to ten men.

The Lilywhites have accrued an average of 1.44 matches per game when they have a man sent off, which is comfortably higher than some of the other sides.

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Is this proof that Ange’s methods are right?

Some might view this stat as evidence that Postecoglou’s philosophy of continuing to commit bodies forward in attack despite being down to ten men, is the right approach.

However, it is worth pointing out that this stat is calculated from 2019 onwards, well before the Australian took over at Spurs.

Besides, these numbers do not offer any context on how much time was left on the clock when these red cards were brandished and which opposition they came against, with those factors heavily influencing the average points per game.

Tottenham Hotspur’s man in form, Brennan Johnson, has performed a U-turn on whether to be present on social media, after his well-documented decision in September to wipe his Instagram profile.

Johnson deactivated his Instagram account

Brennan Johnson has endured many ups and downs since joining Spurs. Although the winger recorded 10 assists for his team last season, supporters were left wanting more from the Welsh international, who did not look threatening in front of goal and struggled to find consistency in his performances.

Costing Spurs £47.5m, Johnson has been under pressure since his first day at Hotspur Way to live up to his price tag, but he has not been able to achieve this until recently, blanking in Tottenham’s first four Premier League matches of the season (Sky Sports).

Spurs supporters were ruthless in their criticism of Johnson and pundits were eager to have their say as well. Former Tottenham midfielder, Jamie O’Hara notably slated the 23-year-older after the North London derby defeat, calling him ‘frustrating’ to watch and saying he never showed for the ball and that it was ‘unbelievable’ how much he hid.

It was after this game that Johnson made the decision to deactivate his Instagram account, which has almost 350,000 followers.

Brennan Johnson is back online

Today, Johnson has reactivated his Instagram account, posting a story featuring Pape Matar Sarr in sunglasses, despite him appearing to be in a dressing room.

This comes after a fine run of form for Johnson, which has seen him score six goals in six consecutive matches for Spurs, which already beats his tally from last season, and while that run ended against West Ham, the speedster managed to get himself into shooting positions and right now he looks full of confidence (Transfer Markt).

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Johnson has attempted to downplay rumours about why he deactivated his account in the first place, claiming in Tottenham’s matchday programme, that it was not a big deal and had nothing to do with improving his game (football.london). But the timing of his return to the social media app leaves this open for debate.

Johnson is heading in the right direction

Whether Johnson’s form since his break from social media has been a tactical masterclass or a happy coincidence, it has been a joy for the Tottenham faithful to watch him turn things around and live up to the hype that surrounded his move.

Regardless of whether the Spurs star has Instagram or not, if he keeps playing with the desire and attacking intent he has shown in the past few matches, he will end up having a very successful season.

Tottenham Hotspur face the return of Troy Parrott this week in the Europa League as AZ Alkmaar visit N17. The Lilywhites will be looking to teach their old pupil a lesson while maintaining their 100 per cent record in the League Phase so far this season.

Tottenham vs AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League

Tottenham started their Europa League campaign with wins over Qarabag and Ferencvaros, but the relentless Ange Postecoglou will want to keep that run going this week against Alkmaar.

Only the top eight in the League Phase table will achieve automatic qualification to the main Knockout Phase – which also means on fewer matches to play in the competition.

Spurs are currently third in the table, behind Lazio and Lyon only on goal difference. A win by a three-goal margin could be enough to send the Lilywhites top at the end of matchweek three.

Spurs vs Alkmaar score prediction

Pascal Chimbonda expects Spurs to continue their fine Europa League form on Thursday night with a narrow victory over visitors AZ Alkmaar, while we expect them to also earn a clean sheet.

Pascal prediction – 2-1 Tottenham win

Spurs Web prediction – 2-0 Tottenham win

The Table

What do you think the Tottenham vs AZ Alkmaar score will be?

Tottenham Hotspur will be hoping to continue their impressive 100 per cent record in the Europa League this week with a victory at home to AZ Alkmaar.

Tottenham Hotspur vs AZ Alkmaar

Ange Postecoglou is unlikely to make too many changes against tough Dutch opposition on Thursday night, especially with the return of in-form Troy Parrott.

We believe that Guglielmo Vicario will start between the sticks rather than rotating out for the likes of Fraser Forster or Brandon Austin.

In the inverted full-back positions, Pedro Porro retains his place on the right, while Archie Gray comes in to cover on the left. Ben Davies also remains an option for the latter.

In the centre of defence, Cristian Romero wears the armband for the evening, partnering Radu Dragusin who will be desperate for another chance after that early red card against Qarabag,

Rodrigo Bentancur returns to the pivot role, hinting that Yves Bissouma will start again in the Premier League at the weekend against Crystal Palace.

Since he only played 45 minutes against West Ham, James Maddison starts again, while Dejan Kulusevski is handed a much-needed rest.

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Lucas Bergvall comes into the midfield with yet another chance to impress Ange in Europe.

Up front, with Son missing from training today, Mikey Moore starts on the left side of the attack.

Brennan Johnson will be looking to kickstart a brand-new goalscoring streak after ending his run of goals against West Ham. He starts on the right.

Richarlison is not yet ready to start a match following his return from injury, so Dominic Solanke leads the line for Tottenham.

Predicted Tottenham XI to face AZ Alkmaar

Tottenham Hotspur don’t exactly have the best history when it comes to transfer dealings with Sevilla, so the rumour that the Spanish side are eager to take one of the Lilywhites’ best young players on loan will very likely come to nothing.

Archie Gray a target for Sevilla

The player in question is Archie Gray, the 18-year-old who just joined Spurs in the summer in a reported £40m deal from Leeds United.

He’s made a brilliant start to life at Spurs, too, impressing Ange Postecoglou and the coaching staff behind the scenes, while also getting a decent taste of first-team action on the pitch.

However, Mucho Deporte have claimed that Gray is now the subject of interest from Sevilla, with a loan move being eyed for the January transfer window.

Apparently, Sevilla chief Victor Orta is “already asking about” the availability of Gray with a view to borrowing the teenager until the end of the season.

Interestingly, Orta worked at Leeds previously and is thought to have had some involvement with the development of Gray from an academy prospect to breaking into the senior squad at Elland Road.

Sevilla deals always go South

Spurs will not only be reluctant to let Gray leave as he is viewed as an important member of Postecoglou’s squad, but there will more than likely be some hesitance due to the way Sevilla have handled Tottenham players in the past.

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The club got a pretty raw deal when it came to the signing of Bryan Gil back in 2021, losing out on Erik Lamela and over £21m for a player who failed to succeed in North London.

Then, last season, Alejo Veliz moved on loan to Sevilla for the second half of the campaign, but was only given 31 minutes of action across six appearances for the Spanish side.

Do not do this deal

There is no way Spurs should or would allow this deal to happen. Archie Gray has come in and hit the ground running under Postecoglou, and he’s definitely going to get more and more opportunities as the season goes on.

He will probably play more at Spurs than he would in Spain, and he will certainly benefit from being at the club rather than moving on temporarily.

Harry Redknapp believes that one Tottenham player is now coming into his own and has been right up there with the best players in the Premier League this season.

Spurs star continues to be showered with praise

There are no prizes for guessing that Redknapp is referring to Dejan Kulusevski, whose reputation has skyrocketed over the past couple of months.

Ange Postecoglou’s decision to move him to the number eight role has proven to be an inspired decision, with the Swede going from strength to strength each week.

The 24-year-old’s list of admirers seems to be growing with each game, with a number of pundits now starting to wax lyrical about the Tottenham man.

Harry Redknapp’s big claim about Dejan Kulusevski

Redknapp is the latest to join the Kulusevski fan club, remarking that the former Juventus man has taken his game to a new level since his change of position.

The former Spurs boss insisted that the attacker has been Tottenham’s best player and one of the best in the Premier League so far this campaign.

Redknapp named Kulusevski in his Team of the Week and wrote on BetVictor: “I always thought Dejan Kulusevski was a good player, but he’s gone up a level this season, he’s been a revelation in that central position!

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“I think he’s been by far Spurs’ best player this season and he’s dragged them through games with his energy and quality in there. I don’t see many players in the league who are playing better than him right now.”

Kulusevski will keep his feet on the ground

Despite all the praise that has been coming his way, Kulusevski is not the kind of person who would allow it to go to his head.

The Swede has a fantastic work ethic and it is clear that he is driven to become the best player he can be. There is really no limit to the level he can reach, given how complete his skillset is.