FourFourTwo

Spurs are in limbo after the sacking of first-team head coach Thomas Frank last week.

The club have moved quickly to appoint Igor Tudor as interim boss ahead of the North London Derby versus Arsenal this weekend, but there is great uncertainty over the organisation's long-term direction.

Tottenham sit precariously close to the Premier League's relegation zone, especially for a club. of their stature and resource.

The club's £1 billion, almost 63,000-seater stadium would look somewhat out of place in the second tier and yet if results do not improve over the last dozen games this season, that is precisely where the club could find itself in 2026/27.

Relegated or not, a new report by the Daily Telegraph outlines the likely financial impact of Spurs' poor performance this term.

Due to the team's probable absence from European competition next season, Spurs are expected to face penalties 'into the tens of millions' from their commercial partners.

Additionally, the Telegraph report that some of Spurs' sponsors will be permitted to renegotiate the terms of their existing agreements, which could include early termination, if the club are relegated.

This would leave a significant hole in the club's finances given Tottenham's latest set of accounts revealed sponsorship earnings of £144.5 million for the 2023/24 season.

It is also claimed Spurs are not as attractive as a sponsorship opportunity to non-football brands now the likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min no longer represent the club.

To that end, the club are still on the lookout for a lucrative stadium sponsor, six years and 10 months after the arena opened.

Spurs are expected to lose key players this summer with club captain Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven among those who could be poached. Romero has previously voiced his frustration with the Tottenham hierarchy on social media platforms, for which he was not disciplined by recently-departed head coach Frank.

Van de Ven, meanwhile, is likely to be near the top of many teams' centre-back wishlists given Spurs' negotiating position will be weakened by their poor 2025/26 showing and the likely need to raise funds.

Spurs are also needing to plug a potential £30m sponsorship hole before the expiry of their front-of-shirt sponsorship with insurance company AIA. The Hong Kong–based multinational insurance and finance corporation will soon be into the final year of their long-standing sponsorship agreement, believed to be worth £40m per season, before transitioning to a training kit-only sponsor agreement until 2032, worth in the region of £10-15m, according to The Telegraph.

Industry insiders have expressed to the national newspaper the opinion that they do not foresee Spurs attracting a partner with pockets as deep as the Far Eastern company.

Tottenham Hotspur became the latest Premier League club to sack their manager this season when showing Thomas Frank the door in February, leaving fans wondering where the club will veer next in its quest for glory.

That question has been answered in the short term for now, with the hiring of Croatian Igor Tudor on an interim basis. The former Juventus centre-back, who has previously coached the Old Lady as well as Marseille and Lazio, has been hired until the end of the season, when the search for Frank’s long-term successor will also conclude.

Former Spurs striker Bobby Zamora is backing one of his former White Hart Lane team-mates to land the role when the latter decision is made.

‘It has been a frustrating time for Spurs fans’ Zamora is willing his old club to get things right this time

“Listen, we are talking about a huge club with so much going for it,” Zamora, who also played for sides including Brighton, West Ham, QPR and Fulham, tells FFT on behalf of Bet442. “They’ve got an incredible training ground and stadium. Probably everything bar the football has been incredible for a long, long time.

“So in that regard, it has been a frustrating time for Spurs fans. I’ve got a lot of pals that are Spurs fans and they’ve been pulling their hair out, trying to answer why this is always happening. That is the million dollar question for everyone. What is the final part of the jigsaw that needs to fall into place for them to have success in the Premier League?

“But even given all of that, there will be so many managers desperate to go to Spurs because they’re a project and so many of the foundations for success have already been laid. It really just needs a special person to come in and finish the job.”

Zamora feels former Spurs ace Robbie Keane would be an ideal fit for the club, given his long-term affiliation with the north Londoners, as well as own burgeoning coaching record at clubs including Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ferencvaros.

“For me in terms of who I’d have liked to see long term, I think Robbie Keane deserves an opportunity,” continues Zamora. “In terms of how the fans would see that, he loves the club and they know that. He isn’t going to come in to mess about and take a payday.

“He has been on a coaching journey himself and has done very well at the two clubs he’s been at. So I would love to see Robbie given a chance and I think the fans and even the owners would respond to someone like Robbie. He wouldn’t get grief straight off the bat as fans would want to see him given time; see him succeed.”

With an interim boss in charge and question marks over the long-term future of a number of first-team players, struggling Tottenham Hotspur appear to be in something of a transition period.

Former Juventus boss Igor Tudor has been given the nod to lead Tottenham for the rest of the season following the sacking of Thomas Frank earlier this month, with his priority being to steer the club away from the relegation zone.

Following another disappointing Premier League campaign, Spurs currently sit 16th in the table, just five points ahead of 18th-place West Ham United who occupy the final relegation spot.

Destiny Udogie set for Italy return?

Should Tudor lead the club to safety this season, Spurs are likely to have a busy summer in terms of squad turnover, not least at the back, with another player being linked with an exit.

Left-back Destiny Udogie has turned out 20 times for Spurs in all competitions this season and has been a reliable contributor to the club since his arrival from Udinese in 2022.

But a move back to Serie A could be on the cards, as Italian outlet Calciomercato IT reports that Juventus have identified the 23-year-old as a potential replacement for the misfiring Andrea Cambiaso, whose recent performances have cast doubt on his future with the club.

A host of clubs in both Italy and abroad are said to be interested in Cambiaso, who has been valued at €40 million by Juve and should he depart, Udogie will be top of their shopping list.

Udogie - who Transfermarkt value at €40m - joined Spurs for €18m in 2022 and has a deal which runs until 2030, meaning the negotiation power lies with Spurs if Juventus do come knocking.

In FourFourTwo’s view, the likelihood of this deal rests on two factors, starting with the player himself and whether or not he wants to leave the club and return to Italy come the summer.

The other factor in play is whether or not Spurs are ready for a defensive clear-out in the summer.

Cristian Romero has been linked with a move away come the end of the season, with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid said to be interested in the Spurs skipper.

Micky van de Ven also has a growing list of admirers, with Liverpool and Real Madrid both linked with the defender, while goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is also being sounded out by Inter Milan and Juventus, according to reports.

With Spurs likely to miss out on European football next year, sales may be needed to balance the books, but the new manager - whoever that may be - is unlikely to want to start off with a defensive clear-out.

Igor Tudor looks set to take over as interim Tottenham Hotspur head coach until the end of the season.

The former Croatian international is reported to have agreed a deal with Tottenham to come in on a temporary basis following Thomas Frank's dismissal on Wednesday.

Tudor will take over a club still competing in the Champions League and yet growing increasingly nervous about their proximity to the relegation zone after the gap was cut to just five points over the midweek fixtures - but what do we know about the new interim gaffer?

What Tottenham can expect from Igor Tudor

A former centre-back for Hajduk Split (twice) and Juventus as well as a 55-cap international career with Croatia, Tudor moved into management with his hometown club Hajduk in 2013.

Less than a month after taking charge, he earned his first - and so far only - silverware in the form of the Croatian Cup, with Hajduk having already qualified for the final before his appointment.

From there Tudor has had an itinerant managerial career that has taken in spells in Greece with PAOK; Turkey with Karakbuskpor and Galatasaray; in Italy with two spells at Udinese and a term each at Hellas Verona, Lazio and Juventus; and in between times, another go-around at Hajduk Split and a year in charge of French side Marseille.

Most of Tudor's managerial appointments have come mid-season and have tended not to be lengthy: he has not lasted a full year in any of his jobs since his first spell in charge at Hajduk.

As often as not, that has been Tudor's decision: he cut short his first spell at Udinese, his second term at Hajduk, and his time at Hellas Verona and Marseille.

That might be more of a concern for Spurs if they were looking for a long-term successor to Frank, but it would appear that Tudor is only being brought in as a short-term measure.

So the question, really, is whether or not Tudor is likely to have an instant impact on Tottenham's fortunes.

That means it is most instructive to look at how the 47 year old has fared after going into jobs mid-season and whether he has achieved the objectives that were put in front of him.

The good news for Tottenham is that for the most part, he has, particularly when he has gone in at struggling sides. He has earned a bit of a reputation as a firefighter manager as a result, particularly in Italy.

Tudor successfully helped Udinese to beat the drop with solid ends to the season twice over; took over a Hellas Verona towards the beginning of the 2021/22 season with no points from their first three games and led them to finishing an impressive 9th; and inspired both Lazio and Juventus out of lulls to ensure they achieved the European places they wanted in the past two seasons.

Igor Tudor's mid-season record

Galatasaray (2016/17)

Games left in season: 14

Objective: Title challenge/Champions League qualification

Points per game when appointed: 1.95

Points per game under Tudor: 1.79

Objective achieved?: No - finished 4th, only good enough for the Europa League

Udinese (2017/18)

Games left in season: 4

Objective: Survival

Points per game when appointed: 0.97

Points per game under Tudor: 1.75

Objective achieved?: Yes - finished 14th

Udinese (2018/19)

Games left in season: 11

Objective: Survival

Points per game when appointed: 0.93

Points per game under Tudor: 1.64

Objective achieved?: Yes - finished 12th

Hajduk Split (2019/20)

Games left in season: 17

Objective: Title challenge/European qualification

Points per game when appointed: 1.84

Points per game under Tudor: 1.47

Objective achieved?: No - finished 5th

Hellas Verona (2021/22)

Games left in season: 35

Objective: Survival

Points per game when appointed: 0.00

Points per game under Tudor: 1.51

Objective achieved?: Yes - finished 9th

Lazio (2023/24)

Games left in season: 9

Objective: European qualification

Points per game when appointed: 1.48

Points per game under Tudor: 2.00

Objective achieved?: Yes - finished 7th for a Europa League place

Juventus (2024/25)

Games left in season: 9

Objective: Champions League qualification

Points per game when appointed: 1.79

Points per game under Tudor: 2.00

Objective achieved?: Yes - finished 4th for a Champions League place

Tudor likes his sides to be aggressive and entertaining in attack, and when he is given a longer spell in charge his sides tend to have a good goalscoring record alongside a pretty regular defensive record. In the shorter term, though, Tudor has a positive record for improving things at both ends of the pitch.

Tudor's second spell at Udinese saw him take over a side that had scored less than a goal per game (0.89), but under his guidance they finished the season scoring 1.36 goals per game - all while improving their defensive record from 1.48 goals conceded per game to just 1.18. His time at Verona was even more dramatic than that, albeit over a much longer spell.

His challenge at Lazio and Juventus was about pushing for European qualification rather than keeping a side out of trouble, and that left less room for improving the attacking record: both sides had done alright on that score up that that point in the season.

Instead, Tudor appears to have focused his efforts in those jobs on shoring up the defence. Both sides conceded less than a goal per game in his end-of-season spells in charge, and Lazio were particularly improved: they went from conceding 1.14 goals per game to an extremely mean 0.67.

Tudor has generally preferred to line up in a 3-4-2-1 in recent years - that was his preferred shape at Verona, Marseille, Lazio and Juventus - but has previously deployed other variants on a 3-5-2 or a 4-2-3-1.

Frank had experimented with a 3-4-2-1 this season, but to generally poor results that meant he kept reverting to a four at the back soon after trying it out.

Spurs played that way to disastrous effect in a 4-1 defeat Arsenal in November, in a disappointing 2-2 draw with Burnley in January, and in the first half at home to Manchester City earlier this month, when they found themselves 2-0 down at the break only to come back to draw 2-2 after a change of shape at the break.

However, there is a strong argument to be made that Tottenham's big problem was less to do with shape than it was to do with Frank's strategy within that formation.

Tottenham were absurdly negative against Arsenal, in particular, and kept hitting aimless long balls forward to be gobbled up by a Gunners defence that was happy to deal with it all day long.

There is clearly a feeling at Spurs that the 3-4-2-1 has promise if it is used properly, and it's easy to see why on paper: they are not replete with traditional full-backs or centre-forwards.

But they do have personnel who can operate just off a lone striker, centre-backs who are happy to step out with the ball and wide players who should be at home at wing-back.

As with any shape, it's all about how you use it - and Spurs are banking on Tudor's track record for improving a side he has inherited without the ability to bring in new signings.

Tudor does not have much history of managing clubs over the long term, which is not helped by having managed in some infamously sack-happy countries.

But they do not need to be unduly concerned about that with Tudor only arriving on an interim basis...which, in turn, raises the question of who they might want longer-term.

The obvious candidate, of course, would be a returning Mauricio Pochettino, who is not available until after he has led the United States into a World Cup on their own turf. Oliver Glasner will be leaving Crystal Palace this summer, too.

It could be that Tudor's appointment in an interim capacity is less a trial run than an intentional short-term measure.

Tottenham Hotspur could be set to lose as many as three first-team starters in the summer transfer window.

It’s a turbulent time for the north London club, who have just sacked former boss Thomas Frank as they sit 16th in the league, only five points clear of the relegation zone.

Added to that, they’re dealing with an injury list that now runs into double figures.

Tottenham set to lose defensive trio in the summer

The last thing the new incoming boss needs is a further depleted squad, with rumours flying around about their current first-teamers.

Unfortunately, it looks like that is what will greet the next head coach.

Cristian Romero is one of the trio said to be ready to leave Tottenham this summer, according to Argentine journalist Gaston Edul, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid said to be interested.

However, with the 27-year-old currently club captain and under contract until 2029, Spurs hold all the cards when it comes to negotiating a fee.

Based on a report from TEAMtalk, Micky van de Ven may well follow his centre-back partner out of the door, with Liverpool and Los Blancos both keen. The Reds have just signed Jeremy Jacquet, but Ibrahima Konate has long been linked with an exit at Anfield and would need a headline replacement.

If that weren’t enough, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is also being linked with a move away by Calciomercato with Inter Milan and Juventus the two potential buyers in question.

It already looks like a season without European football for Spurs next season, along with acclimatising to a new head coach; ripping up their defensive core on top would be less than ideal.

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Spurs need to do everything they can to avoid losing all three players in the same window.

Given their current output and likely lack of European football next term, a departure or two is likely and may be required to balance the books.

But losing the club’s starting goalkeeper and two main defenders, following back-to-back low bottom-half finishes, could really put them in trouble.

Outsiders, however, will say this is merely the consequence of poor performance.

Spurs parted company with 'Big Ange' last summer following a topsy-turvy 2024/25 campaign in which the club won the UEFA Europa League, but also finished 17th in the Premier League table.

Postecoglou will contend that as the season progressed, European competition took priority, hence why the team finished in such an uncharacteristically lowly position. But, the Spurs hierarchy didn't quite see it that way, deciding to start afresh in the summer with Brentford's Thomas Frank.

The North Londoners spent £6.7 million to bring the Dane to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but sacked Frank earlier this week after a torrid run of two wins in 17 matches.

Ange Postecoglou: 'Sacking Frank is a fair decision'

There were certainly parallels between Frank's reign and Postecoglou's time at the club, performing well in Europe but failing to replicate that in the league, in addition to agonisingly lengthy injury lists.

The Australian, who most recently spent an ill-fated spell in charge at Nottingham Forest, didn't have much sympathy for his successor, or the board that sacked him eight months ago.

Speaking on the Stick To Football podcast, Postecoglou reacted to Frank's sacking: "It's a fair departure, for me. Anyone who studies the game will know that it wasn't a progression from me.

"I built that squad to play a certain way over the last couple of years.

"You walk into the Tottenham, what you see everywhere is 'To dare is to do'. It's everywhere. And yet their actions are almost the antithesis of that. It's real curious in terms of understanding, 'What are they trying to build?'

"Obviously they've built an unbelievable stadium, unbelievable training facilities, but when you look at the expenditure, particularly in their wage structure, they're not a big club."

Postecoglou enjoyed success in Japan with Yokohama F. Marinos and in the Scottish Premiership at Celtic but has so far been unable to crack the Premier League with Spurs and Forest.

The head coach believes his second season at Tottenham was impacted by the club's reluctance to spend heavily on proven Premier League quality.

"At the end of my first year, when we finished fifth, for me, [it's] how do you go from fifth to really challenging? Well, we had to sign Premier League ready players, but finishing fifth that year didn't get us Champions League. We didn't have the money, so we ended up signing Dom Solanke, absolutely I was really keen, I really like him - and three teenagers.

Madonna swapped the stage for the stands this weekend as she was spotted at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, admitting to taking just her “second ever Uber” to get there.

The 67-year-old watched Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Women’s Super League on Sunday 8 February, after watching her children playing an academy match earlier that day.

The 'Queen of Pop' has links to Spurs through her twin daughters in the club’s U14 set-up, having previously described herself as a 'soccer mom'.

'Soccer Mom' Madonna spotted at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

The singer kept a low profile in the stands in north London, wearing sunglasses and sitting alongside 29-year-old partner Akeem Morris and her daughters, who were dressed in Spurs attire.

While the headline fixture saw Chelsea claim a comfortable win, Madonna’s day had started hours earlier on the academy pitches, where 13-year-old twins Stella and Estere featured for Tottenham’s U14 side.

Tottenham Women manager Martin Ho welcomed the added spotlight and praised her support for the women’s game.

“Her daughters are in the academy, she’s been down to watch a lot of games,” he said. “Having people like that at the game is unique for us as a team and having someone like her who can support the women’s team is vital for us as a club.”

Madonna has long been open about backing her children’s footballing ambitions. In 2017, she moved to Lisbon to help her son David Banda pursue a football career after he joined Benfica’s academy aged 12.

He did not go on to make it professionally and has since moved into music composition.

It never rains but it pours for Spurs.

After parting company with first-team boss Thomas Frank and being dragged into a relegation battle, there is no let up in the negativity for Tottenham supporters.

The club have struggled with injuries throughout this season. In what proved to be Frank's last game at the helm, Spurs were without 10 first-team players due to injury and suspension.

Wilson Odobert suffers suspected long-term injury

That list looks to be growing rather than shrinking ahead of the North London Derby against Arsenal next weekend, following Wilson Odobert's withdrawal against the Magpies.

The Frenchman sustained an injury during a coming together with Newcastle's Harvey Barnes, landing awkwardly and immediately signalling for assistance from the bench.

He was promptly replaced after undergoing an assessment on the turf but it is now feared the winger may have suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

According to football injury analyst 'Physio Scout', Odobert exhibited tell-tale signs of suffering an ACL tear in midweek.

If that is the case, he will join an absentee list that includes Ben Davies (ankle), Cristian Romero (suspension), Kevin Danso (toe), Pedro Porro (hamstring), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), James Maddison (ACL), Lucas Bergvall (leg), Rodrigo Bentancur (hamstring), Richarlison (hamstring), Mohammed Kudus and Destiny Udogie.

"After contact, his knee dropped into a valgus position," Physio Scout wrote. "That kind of pivoting mechanism, along with a visible “calf ripple”, is usually quite consistent with an ACL tear.

"There is a small chance that he's only suffered a meniscus [tear], isolated MCL injury or just a bone bruise. However, this is usually unlikely."

The recovery timeline for an ACL tear is usually upwards of nine months as it is an injury which usually requires surgery.

If Odobert has instead suffered a meniscus injury, that will still sideline him for the remainder of the season.

Spurs' best case scenario is a bone bruise, however, Physio Scout deem that unlikely given the specialised tests which appeared to have been conducted to 'assess for ACL involvement'.

Tottenham Hotspur have sacked manager Thomas Frank following the team's eighth straight fixture without a win.

Spurs were plunged into a relegation battle in midweek as the club were beaten by Newcastle United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Eddie Howe's side have been notoriously poor travellers this season but managed to leave north London with all three points, spelling the end for his Danish counterpart.

Spurs plan interim appointment after Frank sacking

Frank expressed in his post-match media interviews that he still believed he was the right man to take Tottenham forward, a view not shared by the club's hierarchy. Twelve hours after the final whistle, Frank had been relieved of his duties.

Spurs are now looking for a new manager and are expected to hold exploratory talks with the newly-jobless Roberto De Zerbi.

The Italian coach left Olympique Marseille earlier this week after their defeat by Paris Saint-Germain. It followed the team's elimination from the Champions League at the league phase stage of the competition late last month.

De Zerbi has previously managed in England, representing Brighton and Hove Albion between 2022 and 2024.

The 46-year-old has subsequently been linked with a Premier League return, to take charge at Spurs who sit just five points above the drop zone.

Tottenham have 11 days before the North London Derby against Arsenal, in what will be their next competitive outing, and it is thought this break in the schedule has motivated the Spurs board to make the change in the dugout.

According to the Daily Telegraph, no decision has been taken on an interim boss yet, although De Zerbi is likely to be on the shortlist of potential long-term replacements given he will not need to be bought out of his Marseille contract any longer.

De Zerbi won 39 of his 69 matches in charge of the French club, but had reportedly fallen out with the dressing room by the end of his tenure.

Spurs are likely to appoint an interim coach ahead of their fixture with Arsenal, while the board work on a more permanent replacement.

Tottenham Hotspur face another extended spell without Cristian Romero following the captain's red card in the 2-0 defeat by Manchester United on Saturday.

The centre back was sent off for a high challenge on Casemiro with the score 0-0 at Old Trafford and will miss the next four games, after his three-match ban for serious foul play was upgraded by one because it was his second red card of the Premier League season.

It means Romero will miss Tottenham's home game against Newcastle United, as well as the north London derby with Arsenal, a trip to Fulham and the visit of Crystal Palace in the coming weeks.

Worrying Cristian Romero stat will give Thomas Frank cause for concern

Romero's disciplinary record is not pretty, with the Argentina defender racking up nine bookings and two red cards across all competitions for his club this season, and six dismissals in total since joining Spurs in 2021.

Manager Thomas Frank has defended the 27-year-old, but admitted ahead of the clash with Newcastle: "When you have a player playing with so much passion and aggression, sometimes, things like that can happen. That's not to say he should not learn from it. Of course he needs to learn from it going forward."

Frank has good reason not to hang his skipper out to dry, particularly with Spurs currently without a win in seven matches in the Premier League, which has left them 15th in the table.

Tottenham have underperformed domestically again this season after last term's 17th-place finish and their record when Romero doesn't play makes for grim reading.

Spurs have won just three of the nine matches in 2025/26 in which their captain wasn't involved: a 3-0 victory against League One Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup, plus away triumphs at Everton and Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

They have drawn two and lost four of the other six games, which will give Frank extra cause for concern ahead of a crucial run of fixtures.

Tottenham's poor form has left them just six points above the Premier League relegation zone, after the teams immediately below them picked up crucial wins in recent weeks.

If Spurs don't start to turn their fortunes around soon, that gap will narrow even further and the club could be facing a shock relegation to the Championship.

Frank is under serious pressure and will need as many key players fit as possible, so losing Romero for four games is a problem he could certainly do without.

And Spurs will have to improve their record without their captain in the coming weeks if they are to pull away from danger.