Tottenham Hotspur are working to complete seven signings this summer as ENIC go into overdrive in the transfer window.

Tottenham know that they got away with one after only avoiding relegation to the Championship on the final day of the Premier League season, and club chiefs know they now need to back manager Roberto De Zerbi in the market to ensure it never happens again.

One of Spurs’ big weakness in recent seasons has been their defence, with the club conceding 183 Premier League goals across the previous three seasons.

The North Londoners have already moved decisively to try and fix their defensive issues, bringing in the experienced Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi on free transfers, while they have also reached a full agreement to sign another centre-back in Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton and Hove Albion in a deal worth £52m.

Tottenham are not done there though, with top sources reporting talks for Manchester City’s Savinho, Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali, West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes, as well as trying to sort a permanent deal for Joao Palhinha following his successful season-long loan spell from Bayern Munich.

Spurs have spent just over £50m so far, and that number could soon go up significantly.

Tottenham Working to Complete Seven Signings

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According to renowned Tottenham source Paul O’Keefe on X, Spurs are far from done with their summer business after already completing three agreements.

O’Keefe believes that the club will look to bring in four more signings in the remainder of the window, with four key positions identified.

Those include central midfield, where Spurs are already said to be holding talks over Palhinha, Tonali and Fernandes, with the suggestion that perhaps only one of those will join unless there is another major player exit from the engine room.

Then, De Zerbi also wants to strengthen his frontline, with a new left-winger, right-winger and a centre-forward wanted.

Who Could Still Leave Tottenham?

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Tottenham will surely need to make some more room in their squad if further new players are to arrive, with major doubts over the future of captain Cristian Romero.

The Spurs skipper has been linked with a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for months now, and the arrival of two new centre-backs only hints more that he could be on his way, at a time when the club really wants to keep Micky van de Ven.

In midfield, it has been claimed by David Ornstein that De Zerbi wants to sign both Tonali and Fernandes for his midfield, and if that was to happen then surely there would be one or two exits in midfield as well.

There could be doubts raised over the likes of Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall, who has attracted interest from other Premier League clubs in the past.

In attack, Mathys Tel has been linked with a move away from the club but De Zerbi is said to have blocked any transfer for the Frenchman, while Richarlison is linked with a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in most transfer windows.

USA fans have been left baffled after noticing their national anthem was tweaked ahead of their World Cup game against Australia on Friday night. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been proving everyone wrong so far this summer, with a 4-1 win over Paraguay last week setting the tone for a host nation determined to show its passion for the beautiful game.

But while the football has done much of the heavy lifting – they are 2-0 up against the Socceroos at the time of writing – the atmosphere in the stands has also underlined how far the beautiful game has come in the United States in recent years. However, there was confusion ahead of their second match, which took place at Seattle’s Lumen Field.

Their iconic ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ anthem rang out at full volume around the stadium, but something was noticeably missing, and FIFA protocol meant many supporters were hearing a version they had never encountered before.

USA Fans Baffled As National Anthem Was Sped Up Before Australia Game

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Many viewers noticed that the anthem was sped up, with one X user remarking: “WOW I have never heard the US National Anthem played at that pace. The crowd couldn’t even keep up!” But the reaction to the slight tweak wasn’t all positive, with another commenting (watch the sped-up version below):

Elsewhere, a third wrote: “The tempo was 2x normal speed for the song. It was amazing. Normalize this,” as a fourth concluded: “Speeding up the national anthem was a mistake, it ruined a beautiful moment.”

Why FIFA Protocol is at Fault for ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ Change

Ahead of the USMNT’s opening World Cup game against Paraguay in Los Angeles last week, stars including Katy Perry, Lisa and Future headlined the third of the tournament’s three opening ceremonies before country music duo Dan + Shay performed “The Star Spangled Banner” before kickoff.

Before the second group-stage game against Australia in Seattle, however, no performers were booked to sing either national anthem. That is the standard format for most World Cup matches and international games in general. Exceptions were made only for the opening matches involving the tournament’s three host nations: the United States, Mexico and Canada. Instead, a band played both national anthems, with fans at Lumen Field invited to sing along.

As one fan explained, it made a welcome change from other sports, as they wrote: Wonderful to hear @USMNT fans belt out the national anthem at the @FIFAWorldCup. Been to many @NFL and @NBA games, where there is a dragged-out anthem sung by someone always putting a twist on it, so no one dare join in. People love to sing!”

Tottenham Hotspur have suffered a blow with the news that one of their top transfer targets is ready to reject them to join Arsenal instead.

Tottenham are showing no signs of slowing down or minimising their ambition as they go all out in the summer transfer window, with three deals already completed.

Spurs have already announced the signings of Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi on free transfers, with the duo bringing a wealth of Premier League experience with them to boost a backline that has struggled in recent seasons.

The pair will be joined at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium by Jan Paul van Hecke after a deal worth £52m was agreed with Brighton and Hove Albion, who have made two bid to sign Spurs sensation Luka Vuskovic.

Now, after bolstering the defence and also tying Pedro Porro down to a new long-term contract, it appears as though attention is turning to make changes to De Zerbi’s midfield.

The Italian has a plethora of options to choose from in the centre of the park with Rodrigo Bentancur, Conor Gallagher, Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray available to him, but there have been talks over potential moves for three central midfielders in recent weeks – Joao Palhinha, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.

Sandro Tonali Makes Decision on Next Club

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While Tottenham have been in talks over a deal to sign Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich on a permanent deal following his loan spell in north London, Spurs have also made attempts to bring Tonali and Fernandes to the club as well.

According to David Ornstein, De Zerbi wants to land both Tonali and Fernandes as he looks to significantly strengthen his squad for next season, but whether that is achievable is another question.

SportsBoom have delivered some bad news for the Italian though, as they claim that despite the 47-year-old holding positive talks with Tonali about working together at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the £55m Newcastle signing’s preference would be to join Arsenal if both clubs had offers accepted by Newcastle.

Tottenham’s Chances Remain Alive

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While Tonali has made his stance clear on his preferred next move, it means nothing if Arsenal don’t firm up their interest in the player.

Reports emanated at the end of the January transfer window from the player’s side that the Gunners had been in contact over a move for Tonali, but nothing materialised at the time.

Given they are now the Premier League champions and the player has huge respect for Mikel Arteta, it isn’t too surprising that he would prefer a move to the Emirates. After all, the Gunners will compete in the Champions League next term and Spurs have no European football on offer.

Another big hurdle for Tottenham in their bid to sign Tonali is Newcastle’s price tag, with SportsBroom claiming that they are demanding up to £120m to sell their star midfielder this summer.

Spurs would need to obliterate their transfer record to land the Italy international, and now it is up to ENIC how far they are willing to go to land a player De Zerbi really wants.