TBR Football

For Tottenham Hotspur’s £26 million man, his time in English football has largely been a case of one step forward, another step back.

And if he was hoping for more regular opportunities this season, the performances Radu Dragusin has produced on the rare occasions in which he has been included in Ange Postecoglou’s starting XI will not have done his chances much good.

Dragusin struggled badly as Tottenham needed two late goals to see off second-tier Coventry City in the EFL Cup. His only Premier League start in 2024/25 came during the 2-1 defeat by Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

And, during Dragusin’s most recent appearance in Postecoglou’s XI, he lasted only seven minutes against FK Qarabag in the Europa League.

Sent off only moments after kick-off as he dragged down a Qarabag attacker when through on goal, the Romania international cannot catch a break.

And, nine months after he arrived in North London from Genoa, Tottenham fans are yet to really see the Dragusin who dominated the best attackers in Serie A. Dragusin found himself on the radars of Napoli and Bayern Munich before choosing North London too.

Agent says Radu Dragusin is staying at Tottenham Hotspur

Napoli, now top of the table under former Spurs boss Antonio Conte, have been linked again with Dragusin recently.

But his ever-outspoken agent, Florin Manea, insists that the ponytailed powerhouse remains determined to fight for his place at Tottenham, even if that is easier said than done with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven ahead of him in Postecoglou’s pecking order.

“No, no,” Manea tells Sport pe Surse when asked if the 2023 Italian champions have made contact.

“It is normal for Napoli to have him on the list. He is a footballer who played well in Italy. I don’t think that Tottenham will part with Radu, even in the current situation, where he is not a starter.

“Apart from Romero and Van de Ven, they have no one [at centre-half]. I think that Radu will get more chances this year. And, if he plays 20 to 25 matches this season, I’m satisfied.

“We even talked after that moment in the Europa League when he saw red. He told me; ‘I’m learning, I’m putting it behind me and we’re moving forward’,” Manea adds, Dragusin suspended for that win away to Ferencvaros in matchday two.

“I think that, at this big level, the mentality is the most important. You have to fight and overcome the moments. In football, you live from one week to the next.”

Ange Postecoglou expects Dragusin to succeed at Spurs

Tottenham boss Postecoglou is keen to preach patience with Dragusin. The one-time Juventus youngster is still only 22 years of age, after all.

And he should not be written off after only a few months in which he is yet to be handed a run of games in Spurs’ first-team.

Furthermore, there is no shame in being kept out of the XI by World Cup winner Romero and arguably the finest left-sided centre-half in the league; Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven combining outstanding defensive awareness with the speed of Gareth Bale.

“He’s going to play a big part in our season,” Postecoglou told reporters at the start of September after that Newcastle reverse.

“I mean, he’s only 22. He’s still a young man, especially for a defender. And I thought exposing him to this atmosphere and the threat, the particular threat that Newcastle posed with [Alexander] Isak up front, he had to be really concentrated, and I thought he was.

“I think he’s going to play a big part in our season. Him coming through that, that whole experience, will set him up well.”

The latest international break is coming to a close with a number of Tottenham Hotspur’s players set to return to Hotspur Way.

Monday night saw a number of them in action with the likes of Spain, Italy and the Netherlands all in action in the Nations League.

Ange Postecoglou will be hoping to get his players back fit and healthy upon their return to north London over the coming days.

There may be some concern over the fitness midfielder Lucas Bergvall who left the Sweden camp with an injury concern.

However, there was one player in action on Monday night who really impressed some of his Tottenham teammates with his showing for his national side.

Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie impressed by £17m Tottenham player

Tottenham’s season has been fairly turbulent so far with three wins, a draw and three losses to their name after their opening seven games.

The international break did not come at a good time for the Lilywhites who have now had two weeks to dwell on their capitulation on the road to Brighton & Hove Albion.

But it seems as if some of their players have made the most of their time away with their national sides.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was in action from the start on Monday night for Italy in their game against Israel.

The Spurs shot stopper helped Italy on to a 4-1 victory with the visitors finding the back of the net after 66 minutes with Italy already in control of the game.

And his Tottenham teammates Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro were both impressed with the £17m goalkeeper’s display on Monday night.

The pair both responded to Porro’s Instagram post after the game as they both replied: ‘Mostro’ which translates to monster.

Guglielmo Vicario performance vs Israel in numbers

Vicario’s display for Tottenham have come under criticism of late with the goalkeeper struggling during set piece routines.

Despite this, Vicario is receiving interest from Inter Milan with Spurs open to selling the Italian if a huge offer was to land.

Here is a round up of Vicario’s display vs Israel on Monday night…

It does seem as if it was a fairly quiet night for the Spurs goalkeeper in what was only his third-ever appearance for his national side.

Former Newcastle United supremo Amanda Staveley went public with her interest in Tottenham several weeks ago, but there has been little in the way of official updates until recently.

Staveley was the public face of the Saudi-finance consortium that bought Newcastle United for £305m in October 2021, but she has been forced to abandon her stake and seat on the board at St James’ Park.

Daniel Levy, the divisive chairman and co-owner of Tottenham confirmed in April that the club was seeking to expand its capital base to invest in the playing squad and fund infrastructure projects.

Staveley has been linked with investing £500m in Tottenham in exchange for a minority stake.

Significantly, Spurs value themselves at around £3.75bn, so any Staveley-led investment would not herald a major ownership change behind the scenes.

And the latest news may in fact come as bad news for any Spurs fans hoping to see the Middle East financier buy into the club.

While Staveley’s appearance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the weekend set the rumour mill off again, it has not been a good week of PR for the former Newcastle director.

For one, it emerged that her investment firm PCP Capital Partners, which was the vehicle through which she was reportedly interested in buying into Spurs, has been liquidated.

And in a new official update filed with Companies House, a second Staveley-owned company through which she previously owned her stake in Newcastle has now also been liquidated.

Curiously, that winding up petition came just a week after the company, formerly called Cantervale, changed its name to Redstart Leisure Limited.

What does Staveley’s company’s liquidation mean for her Spurs investment vision?

It should be noted that Staveley was never likely to use her personal fortune to invest in Spurs, so the insolvency of her companies is not a death knell for her part-takeover of the North London club.

Rather, Staveley would likely play a similar role as she has previously done at Man City and Newcastle, whereby she acts as the public face for a faction of Middle East investors who provide the capital.

Staveley has had a number of financial and legal issues in recent months and years, but they did not prevent her from taking a seat on the board at Newcastle, as well as a minority stake in the club.

She could also borrow from a Middle East-backed consortium to take an equity stake alongside them in N17, just as she did at St James’ Park three years ago.

If any club in the Premier League has needed a leg-up financially in recent years, it is Everton. And now, at the dawn of the Dan Friedkin era, one could be on the horizon.

As well as their well-documented issues in terms of Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), Everton were until recently staring down the barrel of a cash flow crisis under Farhad Moshiri.

The British-Iranian billionaire’s money appears to have almost totally dried up after pumping hundreds of millions in Everton, leaving Everton just weeks away from being unable to pay bills.

However, Dan Friedkin’s imminent takeover will not only reduce their debt burden and ease anxieties about the transition to Bramley Moore Dock but also ensure that the club can continue operationally.

To explore the financial issues of the day for Everton, TBR Football spoke exclusively to Liverpool University football finance lecturer and industry insider Kieran Maguire.

Bramley Moore Dock naming rights

Over two years ago, Everton appointed an agency to find a naming rights partner for the new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock.

Less than a year out, Everton have not yet named a branding partner, despite having held talks with the likes of Qatar Airways.

However, Maguire is confident that an ultra-lucrative deal is still on the cards, potentially surpassing the £20m-a-year that Spurs wanted for the naming rights for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“Everton have a lot of positive attractions for a prospective sponsor,” he said.

“There is the stadium coming online and a lot of benefits in terms of first-move advantage there,” he said.

“Having a combined front-of-shirt and naming rights deal could be significant.

“We have seen that at the Emirates, Etihad and Amex Stadiums. All of those have been long-term deals, 10 years-plus.

“If they are going to do something on this front, it is important that they are proactive. We have seen at Spurs that they prevaricated and have potentially lost money.

“There is also the danger that if a stadium goes with one name for a very long time, trying to get a new name into the public consciousness can be difficult.

“However, Arsenal were originally Ashburton Grove and City were originally the Commonwealth Stadium.

“But I do think they can benefit from getting the naming rights tied up with the opening of the stadium itself.”

“In terms of value, I think £20m-plus is realistic. That’s likely to be £200m over a 10-year deal.

“Everton are still a big hitter as far as interest in the Premier League is concerned and they will always point out that they are the senior club in the city of Liverpool.

“They have history and heritage and a passionate fanbase. All of those are appealing to sponsors, as is their relative closeness to John Lennon Airport and Manchester Airport.”

Soft loans and the impact of Man City’s legal victory over the Premier League for Everton

Last week’s big news was that Man City had at least partially succeeded in their challenge to the Premier League’s rules on associated party transactions.

The rules, which cover commercial deals, were introduced to ensure agreements struck with owner-linked entities represented fair market value, so as to prevent clubs artificially inflating commercial income to bypass PSR.

Everton, whose relationship with the Premier League has deteriorated significantly over the past two years, gave evidence in favour of City at the tribunal.

Showdown talks between Premier League clubs have scheduled for some time this week to iron out the direction that a new set of APT rules will take, with Everton one of the clubs known to be in attendance.

One other outcome of the APT hearing has been that soft loans – that is interest-free loans from shareholders – will now be treated as an APT and therefore be subject to fair market value rules.

Everton have over £450m in soft loans, and they could theoretically see a commercial interest rate applied to those loans for the purposes of PSR.

However, Maguire believes that Friedkin’s imminent takeover will ensure that Everton’s PSR quota is not strained any further by this development.

“Farhad Moshiri’s loans to Everton are being classified as equity in the accounts.

“This has caused a few raised eyebrows among certain members of the accounting community.

“If you are going to treat them as equity, why not just reclassify them as shares and be done with it?

“However, as far as the Friedkin deal is concerned, my understanding is that Moshiri is looking for something up to £50m for his part of the settlement.

“Effectively, he will be writing off the value of the shares he has bought and the £450m of loans in a combined payment of up to £50m.

“I presume he will be happy with this. The ultimate source of his funding has always attracted a lot of discussion.

“His non-appearance at Goodison and lack of communication at recent times shows he has already checked out mentally. He is probably ready to check out financially.

“It has been a very bruising experience for him because of his naivety and his lack of understanding of the nuances of the industry.

Friedkin assembling new Everton exeuctive team

In a telling update last week, Friedkin set up what appears to be the vehicle through which he will buy Everton.

Roundhouse Capital has been incorporated by Toffee Investments LLC and has named two Roma directors, Analaura Moreira-Dunkel and Marc Watts, on its board.

It is likely that the two executives will also take seats on the Everton boards in a move which Maguire thinks can only be positive for the Premier League club.

“Dan Friedkin will be keen to make the right decisions as quickly as possible if his plan to take over succeeds.

“Having people with experience in the industry on the board will be significantly beneficial.

“You only have to look at clubs who have had American owners come in an presumed that their knowledge of US franchise sport is sufficient to be successful in football only to have their fingers burnt.

“If you take a look at Ellis Short at Sunderland and Randy Lerner at Aston Villa, they both lost hundreds of millions.

“Friedkin will want to make sure he appoints the right people. I think the most important thing will be appointing a chief executive who understands football, the club, and the finances.”

Tottenham Hotspur have endured a pretty topsy-turvy season.

The North Londoners have won three from their opening seven Premier League games and sit in ninth place.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have played some scintillating football at times but often haven’t been rewarded due to wastefulness in front of goal.

So evidently, there’s plenty of room for improvement and behind the scenes, bosses are already plotting transfer business ahead of January.

With that said, a fresh link to a midfielder on the continent has just emerged.

Tottenham interested in Samuele Ricci

According to Inter Live, Tottenham Hotspur are interested in Torino midfielder Samuele Ricci ahead of the winter transfer window.

The Italian outlet claim Tottenham have been tracking Ricci for some time, though, they are facing stiff competition for his signature.

AC Milan and Premier League rivals Manchester City are also keen on signing Ricci – who is believed to be worth around £25m.

Man City are in the market for a Rodri replacement after his long-term injury and the Italian is believed to be flattered by the links to The Etihad.

Guardiola has four names on his transfer shortlist and Ricci is one of them.

Tottenham should allocate funds towards right winger

Spurs are pretty stocked in midfield, especially after the arrivals of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray over the summer.

So instead of outlaying £25m on Ricci, they should allocate those funds towards a right winger to compete with Brennan Johnson.

Southampton’s Tyler Dibling has been linked to Tottenham, so too has Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze.

Spurs should also place Bryan Mbuemo on their transfer shortlist after his productive start to the season.

Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed a productive summer transfer window.

The North Londoners signed four exciting teenagers and also outlaid £65m striker Dominic Solanke – who had a prolific season with Bournemouth last year.

One of the teenage arrivals Lucas Bergvall is already impressing for Tottenham and Archie Gray has looked promising in cameo appearances.

Wilson Odobert is still finding his feet having completed a £30m switch from Burnley and with that said, it’s just come to light that Tottenham remain interested in signing another winger ahead of the January transfer window.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Fabrizio Romano noted that Tottenham remain interested in Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze.

“Several clubs are keeping a close eye on Eberechi Eze,” Romano said.

“We know he’s always been appreciated by Tottenham. We know several other clubs have been scouting him, including Manchester United.

“Man United want to invest in a winger in 2025. They’ve not decided who that is going to be, so let’s wait. Let’s see what happens.

“But for sure, Eze is one of the players they have been scouting again, among many others. So, I’m not saying that he’s the only one, or he is the priority target. But for sure, Eze is a player appreciated around England. The release clause will still be there for summer 2025, in the region of £60 million.”

Tottenham should target Tyler Dibling instead

Tottenham need more depth on the right, so instead of Eze, they should go all in for Southampton’s exceptional talent Tyler Dibling.

Dibling has burst onto the scene this season after impressing for Saints’ under-21s and he’s already off the mark, netting against Ipswich Town last month.

The 18-year-old is a left-footed right winger, so he’d provide more balance in Tottenham’s wide areas – competing for Brennan Johnson’s starting spot.

Tottenham might have some inconsistencies about them under Ange Postecoglou but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a group of talented players who other clubs keep tabs on.

Spurs have spent big money over the last few windows and the likes of Heung-Min Son, Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro are among a few who would get into most teams.

Of course, we know Real Madrid are keen on Romero, while Saudi Arabian interest in Heung-Min Son has also been mentioned.

But while the interest from Saudi is always there nowadays, it is the interest from Madrid in Romero that will worry Tottenham the most.

And according to reports from The Mirror, it’s not just Romero who is on Madrid’s list from Spurs.

Real Madrid keen on Pedro Porro as well as Cristian Romero

According to the report from The Mirror, right-back Porro is very much a player who Madrid like.

Porro has impressed under Postecoglou and has become a key player in the attacking gung-ho system Spurs employ under the Aussie.

Tottenham paid around £40m to land Porro from Sporting Lisbon and it’s claimed that if Madrid do indeed come calling, then Daniel Levy will demand a huge fee.

Madrid are also fans of Arsenal defender William Saliba, while this past summer saw them bring in Kylian Mbappe on a mega-money contract.

Porro would surely be tempted by Madrid move

Any Spanish player will always see the chance of a Barcelona or Real Madrid move as the ideal circumstance and you’d imagine Porro feels the same.

With Dani Carvajal out injured, there might be a chance for a new right-back to stake a serious claim in Madrid.

If they do bid for Porro and are somehow successful, then there is little chance of the Tottenham man saying no.

For Tottenham, interest from Madrid in their key players is not ideal and should they miss out on the top four again, then players could just start looking elsewhere.

After helping to broker the £305m take over of Newcastle United back in 2021, Amanda Stavely could now be about to rock up at Tottenham Hotspur in the near future.

Tottenham have been open to new investment for some time now and Staveley sold her remaining stake in Newcastle earlier this year, along with husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi.

As a result, Staveley is looking to invest in Spurs and is reportedly overseeing a consortium who have £500m set aside to invest in a new football project.

Daniel Levy recently confirmed that Tottenham were open to new investment, something that has been well known in the industry circles since April.

Staveley’s Tottenham part-takeover masterplan recently hit a hurdle, but there is seemingly still sufficient hope that a deal can be agreed.

Amanda Staveley already thinking of replacing Ange Postecoglou with Eddie Howe

In fact, The Sun are now reporting that Eddie Howe could be top of Tottenham’s managerial shortlist if Staveley and her investors broker a deal in north London.

Howe is also being eyed by the FA to take over as new England manager right now if reports are to be believed.

However, it would simply cost too much for the FA in compensation payments in order to prize the Newcastle manager away from a contract on Tyneside that is believed to run until 2027.

That being said, if Staveley and co rock up in N17, they might not have any such issue should things not improve under Ange Postecoglou.

The report states that Staveley is a ‘massive fan’ of Howe who has been labelled as a ‘genius’ by Pep Guardiola in the past.

And if things do not improve for Postecoglou after a inconsistent start to life at Tottenham, then the change might be pursued.

That being said, the report recognises that any part-takeover could still be weeks away from completion.

Ange Postecoglou deserves to be the star of Tottenham’s new era, not axed from it

Of course, any idea to replace Postecoglou in the near future would be incredibly harsh, a manager who is working so hard to change the status quo in north London.

Spurs’ squad still needs heavy investment if it’s going to be up to Postecoglou’s high standards, a manager who certainly doesn’t lack ambition.

And given Tottenham are on a quest to regularly win trophies, it wouldn’t necessarily make sense to rush to bring Howe in.

The Englishman has done a fine job at Newcastle, steadily improving his side during an influx of capital.

However, he is yet to deliver a trophy, and it would be very surprising if Postecoglou were ousted at his expense.

Tottenham Hotspur forward Brennan Johnson made it seven goals in seven games on Friday night.

The Tottenham star, who’s been in red-hot form in recent weeks, opened the scoring for Wales in their Nations League game away against Iceland.

Johnson struck in the 11th minute when he pounced from close range to fire home after Harry Wilson’s initial shot was saved.

Wilson then got on the scoresheet himself in the 29th minute, netting with a composed finish after a great ball over the top from Neco Williams.

Johnson was booked for a spat with Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson – who also received a yellow card – two minutes later.

The Tottenham ace was then subbed off at the break after taking a knock in the first half.

Despite Wales leading 2-0 at the break, Iceland mounted a fightback and managed to secure a draw as the visitors capitulated.

Iceland were piling on the pressure before Logi Tomasson halved their deficit with a low strike in the 69th minute.

Just three minutes later, Tomasson surged into the Wales penalty area and sent in a cross which Danny Ward turned into his own net.

Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson gets 7s from the Welsh media

It was a disappointing day for Wales, but Johnson did well and earned praise from his nation’s media, albeit with some criticism over his yellow card.

Here is what the Welsh media said about the Tottenham man’s display in Reykjavik.

Wales Online gave Johnson a 7 out of 10 rating and wrote: “In the right place at the right time for his goal.

“However, he picked up a rather silly booking that will rule him out of Monday’s clash with Montenegro.”

Likewise, Clwb Peldroed also gave Johnson a 7 out of 10 for his efforts on the night.

“Johnson continued his fine form in front of goal as he made it seven in seven,” they wrote.

“You can see he’s playing with real confidence at the moment and it’s great to see it shine through in a Wales shirt.”

What next for Johnson?

Johnson is suspended for Monday’s Nations League meeting with Montenegro at the Cardiff City Stadium, so he’ll play no further part in the October international break.

Tottenham are next in action on Saturday 19 October when they host West Ham United in a 12:30pm kick-off in the Premier League.

Tottenham have been open to new investment for some time now, with Daniel Levy confirming what was already well known in industry circles in April.

Amanda Staveley is looking to invest in Spurs and is reportedly overseeing a consortium with £500m set aside for a new football project.

The likes of MSP Sports Capital and – slightly more tenuously – Liberty Media have also been linked with acquiring equity in the North London club in the past, as have Qatar Sports Investment.

Levy‘s infamous negotiating style means that he will drive a hard bargain, especially given that he is believed to value Spurs at £3.75bn all in.

But it is said that there is interest in the club thanks to their impressive financial performance and slick commercial operation in recent years.

To explore why Spurs are so attractive to investors, TBR Football spoke exclusively to Liverpool University football finance lecturer, Price of Football author and industry insider Kieran Maguire.

Spurs’ commercial income: An investor’s dream?

Since the move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019, commercial income has soared.

As well as generating more money through the turnstiles on matchdays, Spurs’ new home ground has been a magnate for sponsors.

In 2022-23, the last financial year on record, commercial income hit £228m. And Maguire projects that they will exceed that figure this time around.

“The stadium is now a multi-function venue that happens to host a football team. It has to be seen in that light because there is more non-football activity taking place there than there is football itself,” he said.

“So you have got to give the club a lot of credit in terms of its ability to generate relationships with a variety of partners.

“They will be targeting £250m this year. That is further vindication of the decision to move out of the old stadium.

“In the old stadium, commercial income in the final season was £73m. That means they will have multiplied that by three-and-a-half times in seven or eight years. That is magnificent.

Todd Kline and the search for a new chief commercial officer

As an aside, Maguire also touched on the continued absence of a chief commercial officer at Spurs.

Todd Kline is on gardening leave following his decision to join Chelsea and Tottenham are yet to announce his replacement.

Maguire suggested: “Kline will be aware of partners that Spurs have lined up and they will want to get those over the line before he can nip in behind the scenes and get them for Chelsea.

“Also, there is no love lost between Spurs and Chelsea.

The latest from Amanda Staveley HQ

Returning to Spurs’ search for minority investment, there have been a handful of updates from Staveley‘s camp in recent weeks.

For one, her company PCP Capital Partners has gone into liquidation. PCP Capital Partners was the firm she invested in Newcastle via and was reportedly ready to do the same with Spurs.

On the flip side, however, another Staveley-owned company through which she has carried out investments in football remains active and recently changed its name, from Cantervale to Redstart Leisure.

Maguire said the news that PCP had been liquidated would not impact Staveley’s hopes of buying into Spurs, in whom there is interest from multiple different groups and individuals.

“I don’t think this will have any significance in terms of minority investment.

“Staveley is an intermediary. She is almost like an agent figure. Her role is to bring parties together, using her very large and extensive book of contacts.

“That will be the focus here. I understand that there is certainly a lot of interest in Spurs from both the US and the Middle East.

“They are probably the most attractive club in play in the market at present, so you can see why that might be the case. There are no infrastructure costs required because they are class leaders in both departments.

“They are in London, so they have a fanbase that is used to paying premium prices.

“Matchday revenue last season was £118m. In a good season, you could expect them to potentially overtake Man United.

“So there is a lot of upside with Spurs. Staveley is someone who has a lot of experience at executive level and a contact list to get a deal over the line.”

Tottenham’s NFL connection

Staveley was in attendance as Spurs hosted the NFL London Games last weekend, which they will bank around £8m from.

That partnership is proving enormously successful for Spurs, and Maguire forecasts that the two parties could tighten the links between them in the near future.

“There is certainly scope to deepen that connection.

“The relationship the NFL have with Spurs is very strong. When the NFL is in town, Spurs effectively clear out their merchandise and it becomes an NFL store, with NFL prices.

“If you look at the prices for tickets, they are much, much higher than the Premier League.

“The NFL are delighted with the link. They have a much broader aim of expanding to the sport’s global appeal and having more ties with London is something they are very keen.

“So I think both parties would like to broaden the deal. One thing that is to their benefit is that the stadium is multi-function stadium and you can wheel the pitch in and out so you don’t upset the groundsman.”