TBR Football

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a goldmine and will be Daniel Levy’s legacy at Spurs, but the arena has also sparked a number of controversies in North London.

The 62,850-seater arena is considered one of the best in Europe if not the world and has trebled Tottenham‘s matchday and commercial income since they moved in 2019.

What’s more, Levy and his peers in the Spurs boardroom managed to finance the stadium at a time of low interest rates, which are totally inaccessible in today’s economic environment.

Vacating White Hart Lane has been the single most transformative event in the club’s history, catapulting Spurs to global attention and cementing them among the financial elite of the so-called Big Six.

However, there are a core element of Tottenham’s bedrock fanbase that see the new stadium as emblematic of the club’s increasing commercial focus.

Spurs generated £550m in revenue in the last recorded financial year and some supporters believe that emphasis on the bottom line has come at the expense

When on examines Tottenham’s controversial new concessions policy, which essentially amounts to phasing out more affordable senior tickets, it is hard to argue that is not true at least to some extent.

And that contingent of supporters will point to the latest story involving Spurs and UEFA to validate their convictions.

Tottenham respond to UEFA controversy

Tottenham generated £118m through the turnstiles in 2022-23, the last season for which financial data is publicly available.

Alongside Chelsea, Spurs also generate more money per fan than any other club, according to research from Sports Business Institute Barcelona.

But it appears Spurs are not prepared to stand still as they look to compete with rivals Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool who can also expect to generate £100m-plus every season from matchday income.

Last week, it was reported that Tottenham had voted against a new cap on away ticket prices voted by UEFA for its club competitions – the Europa League, in Spurs’ case.

The cap, which has now been passed, limit clubs to charging £51 in the Champions League and £17 in the Conference League, while Spurs’ ceiling for away tickets in the Europa League is now £34.

However, as has been relayed by a number of outlets, Spurs have responded with an official statement, saying: “It is factually incorrect to state that there was a vote on this matter at the UEFA Club Competitions Committee. It is therefore entirely inaccurate to say that the Club voted against ticket price caps.”

But The Athletic’s Matt Slater has now reported that, while the matter did not go to a vote, Spurs did voice their opposition to the new price cap at the committee meeting.

They are believed to be one of several clubs to do so, although their resistance did not amount to any kind of formal action.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, naming rights, Euro 2028, and the Champions League final

Tottenham will host Euro 2028 matches, which will guarantee them a modest hosting fee and catering proceeds up to £1m, but the true benefit will be to the Spurs ‘brand’.

The same principle applies to Spurs potentially hosting the Champions League final.

They have also been granted a new license to stage double the number of football events they can host per year, which are worth eight figures to the club after costs on an annual basis.

A naming rights deal continues to elude them, however.

TBR Football understands that Spurs originally wanted more than £20m per year for their naming rights but there has been little interest at that price.

And with no chief commercial officer currently in place as Todd Kline sees out his gardening leave before he joins Chelsea, it seems that ambition is on ice or the time being.

Tottenham Hotspur had a really productive transfer window, recruiting five exciting players.

The North Londoners outlaid £124m and four of their five signings were teenagers – evincing Ange Postecoglou’s long-term vision.

Dominic Solanke’s £65m arrival from Bournemouth was their most expensive recruit of the window, followed by Archie Gray, who cost £40m.

Before signing Solanke, Tottenham were looking at a striker on the continent and now it’s just emerged that he’s open to leaving the club.

Jonathan David open to leaving Lille

Tottenham were interested in Jonathan David, who’s been labelled ‘one of the best strikers in the world’ per Toby Marinaro, earlier this summer and now he’s just hinted that he’d be open to a move to the Premier League despite being in talks to renew his Lille contract.

“Right now, we’re speaking with (LOSC president) Olivier Letang about a possible extension,” David told The Athletic.

“We’ll see how that goes. I’m open to anything. I think obviously the Premier League is regarded as one of the best leagues in the world.

“And for me it’s not the Premier League or bust. I’m open to anything and every league has its challenges.”

Tottenham should go back in for Jonathan David in Janaury

Tottenham are lacking depth up front and need a suitable back-up to Solanke.

So, with David now in the final year of his contract, there’s a chance to get him in Janaury for a significantly reduced fee.

The Canada international had a £25m price tag in the summer so it’ll be even lower come the winter transfer window.

Though, they wont be alone in their interest.

Tottenham Hotspur have a rich history of academy graduates.

Harry Kane is a prime example of that and is widely considered one of the greatest players to ever pull on the Tottenham strip.

With that said, it appears Spurs have another star emerging from the academy who is showing genuine promise to one day represent England at senior level – just like Kane.

Will Lankshear one of the brightest prospects in Tottenham’s academy

Will Lankshear, who’s been labelled a ‘wonderkid’ per The Sun, is perhaps the brightest prospect in Tottenham Hotspur’s academy at the moment.

Indeed, Mikey Moore certainly rivals him for that notion but considering he’s already made his senior debut, we’ve focused on Lankshear.

The former Sheffield United youth star is prolific for the under-21s, netting 26 times in 33 outings and he’s continued that vein in form with the young lions.

Since making his England under-19s debut last October, Lankshear has scored three goals in five appearances, so evidently he’s ready for senior football.

That came in pre-season and he made a real impression in Ange Postecoglou’s side, however, he is still awaiting his debut in a competitive match.

What the youth talent expert thinks of Will Lankshear

Superhotspur, who is well respected for his judgment on Tottenham academy players, provided a summary of his profile.

“With some good pace to his game, as well as being a tireless runner, Will is always on the move in and around the penalty area.

“However, what has been even more evident from this season in particular, is his clinical ability in front of goal.

“He has a real variety of finishes, and he is very clever in how he finishes his chances from inside the box.”

If Lankshear continues on the path of his lofty trajectory, he really could be a future England international.

Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed a big summer window of overhaul but there is one signing that Ange Postecoglou will already be regretting.

Spurs boss Postecoglou wanted a summer of change and he got that in the main as a number of top signings arrived and certain ‘dead wood’ was moved on.

For Postecoglou, the key now is to embed all these new players into his system and deliver consistent results.

In terms of results so far, it couldn’t be much more Tottenham if they tried. One draw, one comfortable win, and then a poor defeat just about sum up Spurs as a Premier League club.

Still, there have been enough positive signs in those games to suggest the summer window – as a whole – was a success for Spurs.

However, while certain players look the business already, it’s safe to say Postecoglou might already be regretting one signing.

And that man, is Timo Werner.

Tottenham should have moved on from Timo Werner

Spurs signed Werner way back in May when they exercised an option to take him on loan for a further season.

At the time, the moved seemed sensible and it was another player capable of covering multiple positions through the door.

However, just three games in, Spurs fans will be wondering why they bothered.

Werner has played just 28 minutes so far and coincidentally, the only time he hasn’t come on was in the game where they hammered Everton 4-0.

For whatever reason, Werner simply never looks like scoring and right now, you have to wonder where he fits in.

Tottenham’s youngsters mean Werner is not needed

There are some exciting young players emerging at Spurs right now and sadly for Timo Werner, that means he might not get a look in.

The signing of Wilson Odobert came out of nowhere but he’s already started under Postecoglou and looks ahead of Werner in the pecking order.

Likewise, Spurs are also excited by the signing of Yang Min-Hyeok. The South Korean is seen as a bargain and given his position, it’s another wide player.

Further, Lucas Bergvall has also impressed since signing and he is expected to get plenty of minutes.

Finally, the signing of Dominic Solanke means that Heung-Min Son is going to be playing in his more natural position down the left, once again, meaning Werner is surplus.

The German, then, albeit only three games in, will already be wondering if he has any sort of role to play this season.

Despite the transfer window in England being shut, clubs can still make signings from the free agent market.

There’s a depth of talent who are still yet to find their next club and there are a number of Premier League sides who are considering making a move.

West Ham are looking at former Liverpool defender Joel Matip and now TBR Football can exclusively reveal that Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have been approached by one of the best free agents available.

Adrien Rabiot’s representatives have approached Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur

TBR Football understands that the Pro League have made him a very large offer for Adrien Rabiot, as have Galatasaray, and Fenerbahce before them, but as it stands the Frenchman does not plan on leaving Europe.

AC Milan have backed away after refusing to meet his demands last week, whilst we understand Bayern Munich and Monaco have held talks but as yet no firm offers.

The same is true of England – talks have taken place with every major club in England, the big six plus Villa and Newcastle in that they have all been approached by Rabiot’s people – indeed they have been speaking all summer, trying to get a deal but we can confirm he is yet to get an offer from any Premier League club.

As it stands the 29-year-old’s wage demands are understood to be around £220,000-a-week.

Rabiot was dropped from the French squad for their Nations League games and TBR Football understands Didier Deschamps has told him to get his club career sorted out.

Adrien Rabiot’s wage demands could be putting off Premier League clubs

It appears as though Rabiot’s wage demands are pushing away a lot of Premier League suitors.

So, with the season now well underway, the former Juventus midfielder will likely have to accept significantly lower wages if he is to stay in Europe.

Otherwise, a switch to the Saudi Pro League looks his most likely destination at this stage.

Tottenham Hotspur have certainly had some iconic midfielders over the years, the likes of Luka Modric and Rafael van de Vaart immediately spring to mind.

Right now, Tottenham fans will hope that both Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall could one day be mentioned in such high esteem, talents who start in north London at much younger age.

Ange Postecoglou opted against recruiting a ready-made solution for his midfield this summer, preferring to put his faith in Yves Bissouma predominantly.

Bissouma even played as a single-pivot against Everton in Spurs’ dominant win, a welcome return from his disappointing actions off of the pitch.

That being said, Postecoglou does also have Pape Matar Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur to turn to as well, two exciting talents in their own right.

Former Tottenham and Barcelona player Paulinho announces his retirement

Although Sarr is Spurs’ most effective box-to-box option right now, that was previously a task that was manned by Brazilian midfielder Paulinho.

Paulinho signed for Tottenham back in 2013 for £17m, Andre Villas-Boas’ first summer signing at the time.

In total, Paulinho made 67 appearances for Spurs, scoring 10 times and assisting his teammates on seven occasions.

The Brazilian was always an exciting player to watch, playing under Villas-Boas, Tim Sherwood and Mauricio Pochettino during his time in north London.

Paulinho eventually left Tottenham in 2015, heading to Guangzhou Evergrande during the influx of money into Chinese football at the time.

The midfielder then went on to play for Barcelona when returning to Europe, before eventually ending his career at Brazilian side Corinthians.

That being said, Paulinho has just announced his retirement from football on social media at the age of 36-years-old after an excellent career.

Paulinho says he asked to leave Tottenham after struggles

Speaking to The Players’ Tribune in 2018, Paulinho actually lifted the lid on his struggles at Tottenham off the pitch, as well as on it.

The Brazilian found London life difficult and didn’t feel as if he was the right player for Villas-Boas.

Paulinho said: “Actually, I would like to clear up something about my time at Spurs. I really cannot say a bad word about the club or the staff or the president.

“It is true that it was a very difficult period for me as a player, and there were times when I did not want to leave my apartment in London because I was so stressed about not playing.

“For a footballer, not playing is like a fish not being in the water. I felt as though I were suffocating.

“For whatever reason, I was not in Mauricio Pochettino’s plans. I didn’t fit his philosophy, I guess.

“But we never even had a disagreement. One day, I went to the club president and told him that if they got an offer close to what they paid for me, that I would like to move on. They were very professional about it.”

Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison may be amongst a raft of Premier League players who were quite happy to see Neal Maupay secure a move away from England in the final hours of the summer transfer window.

Despite scoring 33 goals in the Premier League over his career, Neal Maupay will perhaps be remembered best for a number of antics which often infuriated rival players and fans.

Perhaps his most famous moment last season came at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when the 28-year-old scored to put Brentford in front back in February. Maupay decided to mimic James Maddison‘s darts celebration, just to annoy the Spurs fans that little bit more.

It was perhaps not the smartest idea from Maupay as the goal came just 15 minutes in. Tottenham would then score three times on their way to a 3-2 victory, with Maddison playing an important role in the third goal.

James Maddison shares what he made of Neal Maupay stealing his celebration

Maupay would claim that Maddison was offended by the celebration, but it seems that it was something else which actually annoyed him more.

Speaking on Golf Life, the England international was asked about whether he has spoken to Maupay about the incident, and whether there remains any animosity towards the forward.

“No,” he said, when asked about if he had spoken to Maupay.

“No beef. I was more frustrated because we conceded than he did my celebration. I’m a bad loser, I love winning more than actually hating him. He’s trying to be a wind up merchant, he’s trying to create that image, but no, nothing from my side.”

The bizarre actions continued – long after Brentford’s defeat

Of course, Tottenham’s players will argue that their comeback had little to do with what Maupay did in the game, but it is hard to imagine that it did not fire them up even more.

Bizarrely, Maupay joked afterwards about having the Tottenham players on toast – after all of them celebrated a goal by throwing an imaginary dart in his direction. While that would have been something to potentially be proud of had Brentford won, it does seem incredibly strange to take that view after a defeat.

Maupay would also be quick to seemingly mock Maddison after the attacking midfielder was left out of the England squad for the European Championships this summer. So he had little problem doubling down on his actions.

Maddison meanwhile, probably feels that he has little reason to stoop to that level, particularly with their paths unlikely to cross again anytime soon.

Tottenham Hotspur have unearthed a number of raw talents from the EFL in recent years.

Dele Alli is a prime example of that having joined from League One outfit MK Dons back in February 2015 before establishing himself as one of the best players in the Premier League for a time.

Archie Gray is the latest example in that recruitment strategy as he looks to build on his phenomenal season with Leeds United last term.

Though, it’s now just emerged that the club turned down the chance to sign another EFL diamond for a staggeringly low fee.

David Pleat advised Tottenham to sign Ivan Toney

Former Tottenham scout David Pleat has identified a number of top talents for the club in recent years, namely Dele, Heung-min Son and Christian Eriksen.

But, some whom Pleat recommended were snubbed by Spurs and it’s just come to light that they turned down the opportunity to sign Ivan Toney for around £8m, according to The Athletic.

He also put forward Jarrod Bowen when he was at Hull City and Ollie Watkins whilst he was plying his trade as a midfielder at Exeter City.

However, evidently, Tottenham felt they couldn’t make the step up or have the desired impact – which in hindsight is a real transfer blunder.

Ivan Toney, Jarrod Bowen and Ollie Watkins now some of the best players in Europe

Toney, who’s now considered a ‘world class’ striker per talkSPORT, has just completed a £40m switch to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli, meanwhile, Bowen and Watkins are among some of the best players in the Premier League.

There’s an argument to make that all three would start for Ange Postecoglou’s side in their own right.

This season, Tottenham Hotspur will be returning to European competition after 2023/24 ended up being a fallow year.

Spurs made it to the last 16 of the Champions League in 2022/23, narrowly losing to AC Milan.

However, their eighth-placed Premier League finish that year deprived them of Europe the following season.

Tottenham have since put that right, finishing fifth last season to earn a place in this season’s Europa League.

The tournament means Spurs will have great opportunities to give competitive game time to some of their fringe players and academy stars.

Football.london journalist and Tottenham expert Alasdair Gold has now looked at which Spurs players could get the bulk of their minutes in the Europa League.

Alasdair Gold backs Fraser Forster and Radu Dragusin for Europa League starring role

On Saturday, Gold hosted a fan Q&A on football.london, with supporters fielding questions about the latest goings-on at N17.

One fan asked him how much rotation he expects to see in the Europa League and whether the likes of Brandon Austin, Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin would feature plentifully.

Gold replied: “I think naturally there will need to be a hefty dose of rotation although much will depend on the opposition.

“With games every three days for much of the coming months, Postecoglou can’t afford to just put out his strongest team in every match otherwise they will tire quickly or even worse, get injured. He has already spoken about keeping his main men fresher this season with more rotation.

“I would think Fraser Forster will play in goal for most of the games, otherwise the decision to include him instead of (Djed) Spence looks a bit daft. Radu Dragusin will play plenty but Davies may be needed at left-back at times.

“It’s a good competition to give (Lucas) Bergvall and (Archie) Gray – perhaps at right-back – plenty of minutes in as well as others like Timo Werner and the many central midfielders who will be vying for spots in all the games.

“Richarlison, when he returns, will likely be able to get his sharpness and goalscoring on point in the competition and we’ll get to see youngsters like Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear hopefully.”

How Guglielmo Vicario stands to benefit

Tottenham were being widely tipped to leave Forster out of their Europa League squad, but Ange Postecoglou controversially opted to leave Spence out.

Although it’s a huge shame for Spence to miss out, it makes sense to include Forster in the squad.

The Tottenham goalkeeper is an “unbelievable” player with extensive experience who deserves to be in the spotlight, and he’s very popular in the dressing room too.

Last season, Forster made just one appearance for Tottenham, in the League Cup, so it’ll be good to see him get many more minutes.

Obviously it’s not all about sentimentality – Forster playing in in the Europa League means Guglielmo Vicario will get some rest so he can remain fresh and focused for the Premier League campaign.

Tottenham Hotspur have a busy spell after the international break comes to an end, with games in three competitions all coming up in the next few weeks.

Spurs will look to make amends for their mixed start to the Premier League season in the most high-stakes fixture they’ll have this season, the North London derby.

Tottenham then enter the League Cup at the third-round stage after the Arsenal game, as they head to Championship side Coventry City.

Then comes the Europa League, with matches against Qarabag at home and a trip to Ferencvaros before the October international break.

Earlier this week, Spurs announced their Europa League group stage squad, and there was a glaring omission, with Djed Spence failing to make the cut.

As per football.london, the Europa League regulations meant Ange Postecoglou had to omit two senior players.

Sergio Reguilon was one, and Spence – rather than Fraser Forster, who was heavily touted to miss out – was the other.

Alasdair Gold has now issued a damning verdict on Postecoglou’s decision to omit Spence from Spurs’ Europa League squad.

Alasdair Gold says Djed Spence omission from Tottenham Europa League squad is ‘big red flag’

On Saturday, Gold hosted his latest Q&A session on football.london, and a fan asked him about what the Tottenham boss thinks of Spence.

The journalist responded by saying the full-back has been “really unfortunate” and questioned the “very risky” decision to leave him out.

Indeed, Gold even went as far as to describe the lack of an outfield club-trained player in the first-team as a “big red flag”.

Gold wrote: “Spence has done really well this summer and impressed everyone inside the club, including Postecoglou.

“I think he’s just been really unfortunate in that the squad choice would suggest the Spurs boss does not trust his back-up goalkeeper options enough to leave out the experienced Fraser Forster. That means Spence was the odd man out.

“It’s a very risky decision because it leaves the defensive cover very light for the group stages. Romero is suspended for the first game against Qarabag and an injury or two more and there’s going to be some problems. Spence was able to cover both right and left-back spots.

“How the 24-year-old will react is going to be interesting. He’s come on in two of the first three Premier League games and will likely play in the Carabao Cup, so he should still get game time. It’s just a massive shame because he would have played a lot in Europe.

“Overall it’s a big red flag against the squad management Spurs have overlooked in recent years with not a single outfield club-trained player in the first team now. They have made moves to change that but it’s been a problem they should have sorted a long time ago.”

Spence may well be questioning his Tottenham future now

It wasn’t that long ago that Spence was being talked about as a potential departure from Spurs, but he has worked so hard to get back in contention.

The outcome of this is that he remains at the club and is in line for more minutes, but leaving him out of the Europa League squad will have been a bitter pill to swallow.

The Europa League will be a great opportunity for some of the fringe players to get starts and give Postecoglou food for thought, but that won’t be happening now.

It wouldn’t be surprising if this decision would’ve prompted Spence to start thinking about finding another club in the January transfer window.