Tottenham Hotspur are already lining up their next blockbuster signing after Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Tottenham and ENIC have gone into overdrive in the summer transfer window and have shocked their fans and Premier League opponents with the aggression they are showing in the market.
Having wrapped up bargain free transfer moves for Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka within the first couple of weeks of the window opening, Spurs have now started spending big money.
Jan Paul van Hecke cost just over £50m from Brighton and Hove Albion, while the north Londoners have just spent £185m combined on the double midfield swoop for Fernandes and Tonali.
Those two moving to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium means that a deal to sign Joao Palhinha on a permanent basis is now off, with the Portugal international saying his goodbyes on social media on Friday afternoon.
With the goalkeeping, defensive and midfield positions coming together nicely, attention is now expected to turn to strengthening De Zerbi’s attack as Tottenham look to make a huge impact next season.
Tottenham have been linked with Manchester City star Savinho, but now they have their eye on a Premier League winner too.
Romano: Tottenham Want Cody Gakpo
Annegret Hilse via Reuters
Tottenham have been linked with many left-sided attackers, including Savinho, Rafael Leao and West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville in recent weeks, but now they are said to have an interest in 2025 Premier League champion Cody Gakpo.
Rumours suggested that the £250,000-a-week Netherlands international was considering his future at Anfield following the dismissal of Arne Slot, but Romano claims that Liverpool have no intention of selling and hints it may take a big proposal to change their stance.
Issuing an update on his latest YouTube video, the Italian journalist said:
“Keep an eye on Tottenham for Cody Gakpo, because Tottenham have interest in the player. Then I can tell you that Liverpool, as of today, the beginning of July, are not opening doors to an exit. So, at the moment, Liverpool are not telling Gakpo, ‘Okay, you can leave’, they are not telling Tottenham, ‘Okay, let’s negotiate’. This is not happening now.
“So, at the moment, the door is closed from Liverpool, but we have to see later on this summer, in case Tottenham really open talks by sending a proposal. At the moment, it is interest. If they send a proposal, we have to see what’s going to happen there. So it’s a story to keep an eye on.”
You scored
out of 20
Tottenham Can Sign Gakpo Alternative for £51m
via Reuters
Gakpo is likely to cost Tottenham big money with Liverpool unlikely to want to sell to a Premier League rival for a smaller fee, but Spurs have been told they can sign an alternative to the Dutchman and Savinho for just over £50m.
According to Sky Sports journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, AC Milan could be willing to sell Rafael Leao for as little as €60m (£51m) this summer.
The player has already publicly confirmed his desire to move on from the San Siro this summer for a new opportunity, with suggestions that the Premier League would be his dream move.
Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham are all in the market for a left-sided forward, so it will be interesting to see who makes their move.
According to reports, the schedule for England’s game against Mexico is set to be changed. The game was supposed to take place at 6pm local time in Mexico City, but will be moved.
There were fears that thunderstorms could cause delays on the day of the last 16 fixture. According to the Met Office forecast, the storms are expected to begin an hour before kick-off and last one hour into the World Cup clash.
As such, the game is now set to be moved to Sunday at 12:00 PM, six hours earlier than the intended kick-off. As such, if the change goes through, viewers in the UK wiill now watch the game at 7pm (GMT).
Even England’s best player understands the task ahead.
England Set To Have New Kick-Off Time vs Mexico
Hannah Mckay via Reuters
A report from Mexican news outlet Claro Sports explained that FIFA will change the kick-off time ‘due to the risk of a thunderstorm. A post on social media noted:
Claro Sports has learned that the round-of-16 match between Mexico and England is changing its schedule due to the risk of a thunderstorm. The match will take place this Sunday at 12:00 PM, in a key adjustment for one of the most anticipated clashes of the World Cup.”
Tottenham have received an official offer to sell one of their players in the summer transfer window from one of the ‘big teams’ in Turkey.
We could see a host of players leave Spurs in the summer transfer window, with Roberto De Zerbi’s side looking to bring in a host of reinforcements.
Spurs have already confirmed the signings of Mateus Fernandes, Jan-Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, and Martin Dubravka, which could lead to a number of players leaving the club.
Midfielder Joao Palhinha has already confirmed that he won’t be remaining with Spurs next season after the North London club had an opportunity to sign him on a permanent deal following his loan spell.
Yves Bissouma also departs at the end of his contract, but further exits are likely.
He won’t be a Tottenham Hotspur player next season
Tottenham Receive Official Offer
According to journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, Tottenham have received an official offer from one of the big sides in Turkey, likely meaning Fenerbahce, Besiktas or Galatasaray, for Brazilian forward Richarlison.
It’s unclear which team has submitted an offer for Richarlison or how much. Either way, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Spurs were willing to accept the deal.
Richarlison is unlikely to be the starting striker for Spurs heading into the new season. It wouldn’t be a surprise if De Zerbi’s men look to bring in a new centre-forward.
You scored
out of 20
Tottenham to Make Big Loss on Richarlison
Regardless of how much Tottenham have received in terms of the offer for Richarlison, they look set to make a huge loss on the Brazilian forward.
Considering he has hardly set the world alight during his time in North London, it is going to be difficult for Tottenham to even get near that in terms of a sale.
It would be a shock to see Tottenham receive even £30 million for Richarlison. They may have to accept that they are going to make a huge loss in order to get him off the books.
A former USMNT manager has gone viral this week after being called out for comments he made about Mauricio Pochettino following the USA’s 2-0 win over Bosnia in the World Cup Round of 32. The Stars and Stripes secured their first World Cup knockout victory since 2002 on Wednesday night.
Folarin Balogun – one of the standout performers at this summer’s tournament – played both hero and villain in Santa Clara. He scored the crucial opener to put his side in the driving seat, but then threw a spanner in the works for Pochettino and co. when he was shown a red card in the 64th minute. That left Mark Tillman to step up late on and double the co-hosts’ advantage.
After topping their group and recording back-to-back World Cup wins for the first time since 1930 with victories over Paraguay and Australia, the USA have well and truly caught football fever this summer. There’s a sense of optimism surrounding the team unlike anything seen before – but that doesn’t mean everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.
Ex-USMNT Manager Bizarrely Puts Pochettino on Blast After Bosnia Win
Phil Noble via Action Images via Reuters
Perhaps a little salty, Gregg Berhalter was unimpressed with Pochettino’s tactical set-up during the 2-0 victory over Bosnia, and believes superstar Christian Pulisic needs to be utilised more ahead of their Round of 16 tie vs Belgium.
Speaking on FanDuel’s Coaches Corner, which features Berhalter alongside fellow former coaches Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley, he was critical of the way the US was getting ‘Captain America’ involved. “I want to touch quickly on Christian, because I don’t know if you guys remember the first time he touched the ball in the game?” he asked the studio.
“It really came from us building in our shape, it was like a 3-1-6 (formation) almost. (Bosnia) are playing, as Bob, mentioned a 5-3-2. So they shifted over once to our three, but then on the next pass to our open center back, they’re released with a midfielder. When they did that, Antonee Robinson was high, Malik (Tillman) was high, Christian was wide and we played in the ball.
“Malik runs behind the back line and Christian cuts across the middle of the field like a knife – just accelerating across the field. That was a really dangerous attack.
I would have liked to see that more. Stay wide, get the ball, take the opponent on and have been have players running from there. I don’t think we did that enough. I don’t think there was enough intention to get Christian the ball in those positions to really set him loose.”
While Berhalter – who has sat in Pochettino’s seat on two separate occasions, between 2018 and 2022, and again between 2023 and 2024 – was just providing some analysis, as he was called upon to do, he has been destroyed by his former supporters after the video quickly went viral on social media.
⚽
World Cup History Quiz
You scored
out of 20
Gregg Berhalter looks on before the game between the United States and Bolivia in a 2024 Copa America match at AT&T Stadium on June 23, 2024.Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Pochettino’s tactics are superior to those of the fired coach. That’s the opinion of a majority of USA fans right now, and so scrutiny towards the current manager’s predecessor has been swift, with one X user remarking: “Yes, let’s ask the guy who was fired for being bad at his job what we should’ve done,” as others pointed out that he “failed” to do what his heir has managed to do.”
“He needs to stay in his lane,” a third added, as a fourth wrote: “His opinion is irrelevant.” Elsewhere, a fifth brutally concluded: “If I were Greg Berhalter watching what’s happening right now I think I would be spending 100% of my time trying to make sure people don’t remember that I exist.”
Opta’s Supercomputer claims Lionel Messi’s Argentina have a stronger chance than England
In his first spell in charge of the USA, Berhalter’s side reached the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and won the Concacaf Nations League Gold Cup in 2021, but his second spell lasted only 14 games. After a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay to knock them out of the Copa AMerica at the group-stage, he still claimed he was the right person to lead the team to the 2026 World Cup, but faced the axe instead.
