Peak Pre-Season
I can't believe it has been over a month now (!) since the last issue of Spurs Across the Pond. A lot has happened since then! So today I will opt for a condensed version of the newsletter—a speed run through the pre-season, if you like.
In this issue: Transfer talk | Women's Super League 2024/25 fixtures | Kit room | Pre-season update| News from around the Lane
The actual season is right around the corner, so you can expect more regular issues again soon. Vibe check: does anyone actually feel ready for the season to begin? Hopefully the various Spurs squads are feeling more prepared than I am.
Transfer talk
The club's transfer business has run the gamut over the last few weeks (including a bonus manager contract update), so I'll break all the news down by category below.
Transfers in
• Ella Morris joins Spurs Women from Southampton on a contract until 2027. The defender is just 21 but already has lots of experience playing at the senior level, as well as with England's youth setup. She usually plays at the fullback position.
For more insight into our new signing, check out this piece from Veinte Football:
Veinte Futbol
• Archie Gray joins Spurs Men from Leeds United on a contract until 2030. The 18-year-old was named Championship Young Player of the Season for the 2023/24 campaign with Leeds. He primarily plays as a midfielder, but can also fill in at the fullback role (or even centerback in a pinch, as we saw in some of the pre-season friendlies so far).
• In another future-minded move, Spurs Men have signed Yang Min-hyeok from Gangwon FC. The 18-year-old winger will not join up with the squad until January and will spend the rest of the K League season on loan at Gangwon. His contract runs until 2030.
Transfers out
• Joe Rodon has made his move to Leeds United permanent after a successful loan campaign in the Championship.
• Troy Parrott departs the club for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie after playing on loan last season at Excelsior Rotterdam in the same league.
• Pierre-Emile Højbjerg is going on loan to Olympique de Marseille, but with an obligation for the Ligue 1 side to make the move permanent the following season.
• Yago Santiago made a permanent move to Elche in La Liga after impressing with our Academy U18 and U21 sides.
• Matthew Craig is going on loan to Barnsley in League One for the upcoming season.
• Bryan Gil is going on loan to Girona in La Liga. Although there were rumors that it would be a loan with an obligation, it appears to be just a straight loan after all.
Good luck to everyone!
Contract updates
• Amanda Nildén's previous loan contract was converted to a permanent signing that runs until 2027. She became a key part of the attack-minded defense as well as a consistent starter until picking up an injury on the penultimate matchday of last season. Luckily, that injury isn't going to prevent her from making the squad on opening matchday of the new campaign.
• Drew Spence extended her contract, keeping the experienced midfielder at the club until 2026. She was definitely an important player to lock down, and hopefully she will avoid any lengthy injury spells this season. Drew keeps the midfield ticking and can sometimes be overlooked when she's involved early in the goal buildup, but she also has a penchant for scoring a wonder goal to steal the show.
• After marking one year since Robert Vilahamn joined the club on July 7, the club extended his contract until 2027.
As Robert noted prior to the FA Cup final against Manchester United:
It doesn’t end if we don’t win.
Spurs Women are on a journey, and I'm glad we will still have Robert at the helm.
• Will Lankshear extended his contract until 2029 after a standout season with the Academy U21s. He's also had a successful pre-season so far with the senior team. He could go out on a loan this season or stick around to gain some minutes in the cup competitions. My preference is for the latter, because I think he's ready to gain some experience at the top level—though he still has some tidying up to do with his decision-making outside the box.
Spurs alumni updates
Several recently departed players have found new clubs, some of which they previously played at on loan:
• Asmita Ale - Leicester City
• Ellie Brazil - Charlton Athletic
• Gracie Pearse - Charlton Athletic
• Nikola Karczewska - AC Milan
• Japhet Tanganga - Millwall FC
• Ryan Sessegnon - Fulham FC
• Eric Dier - Bayern Munich
• Ivan Perišić - Hajduk Split
• Tanguy Ndombele - OGC Nice
Good luck to everyone at their new clubs!
Final transfer notes
Although the deadline for the men's transfer window is less than a month away, it feels like the women's window hasn't begun in earnest just yet, what with the ongoing Olympics involving many top players from around the globe. Expect to see transfer activity ramp up for Spurs Women after the conclusion of the tournament.
I also wanted to highlight this interesting callout from Haley Carter (GM and VP for the Orlando Pride) via Claire Watkins:
Haley Carter made a point this week that some of the best talent in the NWSL this season wouldn’t necessarily even be able to play in WSL due to the Brexit visa rules
— Claire Watkins (@ScoutRipley) July 7, 2024
In other words, some of the most promising players in world football might have to take a pit stop in another league if they plan to compete in the WSL one day, simply in order to become eligible for a work visa in the UK. Leagues like the NWSL and Liga F are currently benefiting from the WSL's competitive disadvantage (for example, Barbra Banda joining the Pride from the Chinese WSL). And even one season in a top-five league is not enough for eligibility under the points-based system—see the case of West Ham United immediately loaning out Inès Belloumou to Lazio despite having signed her from Bayern Munich. Just some food for thought!
As for transfer priorities for both of our senior teams, the club has been open about seeking a striker for the Men's team and there appears to be some instability in the goalkeeper ranks on the Women's side—Barbora Votíková has been rumored to exit, while Becky Spencer's contract extension, or lack thereof, still hasn't been officially announced (though she has been pictured in training). Also on the Women's side, Grace Clinton posted a farewell message to the club and Spurs fans, so we can assume plans for a new #10 will be in the pipeline. With only a year left on her contract at Manchester United, there's still some hope she may return to Spurs down the line.
Women's Super League 2024/25 fixtures
It feels like the new WSL season is still so far away, but at least we have the fixture schedule now!
We get the treat of facing newly promoted Crystal Palace at home on the opening matchday, but close the season away at tricky Everton. Let's hope we don't need anything on the final day because that fixture always ends up being chaotic. Crystal Palace will also be our first fixture in the second half of the season, funnily enough.
I think we're already at the point in the WSL's evolution that there is no easy game, but I immediately zeroed in on the fixtures around the two NLDs as our toughest stretches. Honestly, the whole months of October and November are going to be tough, which could make the two December fixtures feel like must-wins for morale purposes—we know from past seasons how important it can be to enter the winter break with a couple of wins, lest we spend the break feeling pessimistic.
Fortunately, the second half of the season looks much more balanced, although our progression in the cup competitions could throw in some curveballs.
On a minor note, the WSL schedule is back to normal after a few seasons of being off-kilter due to the pandemic and the World Cup. This means we start the season earlier and also end it earlier than the previous campaign.
This season will be all about building on the progress of Robert Vilahamn's first season in charge, so we will be looking to match or better our results, especially against the top four teams. Mind the gap!
Kit room
The club officially released the new away kit, and it's already seen its first action during the Men's pre-season tour.
2024/25 Away
It's my understanding that Spurs fans who have been around for much longer than me (my COYS journey began in 2018, for anyone new here) are finding this kit to be a lovely nod to nostalgia, but since I don't have those references to bolster my opinion, all I see is Nike making a mess of another kit.
And although I complained about the home kit being a bit boring, at least it looks clean. The design elements in the away kit come across so messy—probably because of the asymmetry. I'm not opposed to a central crest in theory, but can't we put something on the other side of the chest to balance out the requisite Nike logo? Then there's the collar, which could have provided some balance but instead increased the sloppiness factor. I wouldn't mind the yellow trim on the sleeves that much if it had been echoed elsewhere in the design, but since it isn't, it just comes off like an afterthought.
The situation with the stripes-within-stripes that fade in and out is also suboptimal because it makes the overall effect look accidental rather than intentional—like streaky, unfinished lines of paint on a wall.
Sometimes a kit does look better on the players, on the pitch. Sadly, that's not the case with this one. If anything, it looks worse because of the light-colored shorts. I know they had to pick one of the shades of blue in the kit for the shorts, but I would have opted for the darker sky blue or, even better, the classic navy. You can never go wrong with navy! At least we got some reinforcement of the yellow piping, but it's still too little utilized amongst the sea of blue.
If I had to give Nike some credit for one thing, it would be that it's at least recognizable as a Tottenham kit. But that's about it when it comes to positives as far as I'm concerned.
My grade: D-
Pre-season update
With the eternal caveat that this is only focused on the Men's team (because we never get to watch the Women's team pre-season friendlies), I must also add a further caveat that I have watched the friendlies with varying degrees of interest—and the match against Vissel Kobe not at all. So here are just a few important takeaways:
• The club shared a full list of the players going on the tour to Asia—with Sergio Reguilón and Bryan Gil left at home to secure transfers, which Gil succeeded in already. Only Fraser Forster missed out with injury, while Radu Drăgușin met up with the team in South Korea and skipped the friendly in Japan. Rodrigo Bentancur, Giovani Lo Celso, Cristian Romero, and Micky van de Ven did not attend the tour because they are resting after they participated in tournaments with their national teams.
• Djed Spence has been the big winner from pre-season, transforming his fortunes from player-on-the-outs to almost being guaranteed a spot in the squad. There is still a small chance he will complete a move away from the club, but Ange Postecoglou seems content to work with him in the season ahead.
I think with Djed, for me, we got him back into pre-season and we’re judging him on his merits. He's a Tottenham player. To be fair to him, I think he's been very, very good for us this pre-season, in terms of the way he's trained and his general attitude.
This is a big boost to the team in terms of reducing the need for homegrown incoming transfers. It will also be nice to see Pedro Porro get some rest on occasion! Spence has looked very bright in the friendlies so far and also seems to be vibing well with his teammates despite spending multiple seasons away on loan.
• I've been impressed by the young players getting their first minutes in a Spurs shirt, including Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray. They've both showcased their versatility by playing in different positions at times. Academy players Jamie Donley, Mikey Moore, and Will Lankshear have also made big impacts, rarely looking out of place amongst the older players.
• Brandon Austin may have played his way into the 2nd keeper role with Fraser Forster injured. But Academy keeper Luca Gunter also made some respectable saves as well. Both of them and Alfie Whiteman conceded a few goals apiece, but several of the concessions were more down to a lack of defensive cohesion (players out of their preferred position, lack of familiarity, etc.) than errors from the keepers themselves.
• We also got a glimpse of our newest signing, Yang Min-hyeok, who suited up for the K League All-Stars in the most recent friendly. He provided a great spark in the attack for the opponents and didn't seem daunted by the pressure of performing against his soon-to-be new club. I liked his willingness to take difficult shots!
News from around the Lane
And finally, a quick grab bag of Spurs-related news.
• Jan Vertonghen announced his retirement from international football after helping Belgium reach the quarter-finals in the latest Euro tournament. Congrats to Jan!
• Jess Naz did the opposite, making her senior debut for the Lionesses.
• Spurs Women will have a new content partnership with DAZN for the upcoming season.
• We will be seeing a lot less of the FA Player in general, as all non-broadcasted WSL fixtures will be streaming on YouTube instead. FA Cup games will continue to stream on the FA Player, but no updates on the Conti Cup yet.
• Spurs Women's FA Cup campaign will begin with the 4th round on January 12.
• The Men's team had two squad number updates: Guglielmo Vicario will be wearing #1, while Destiny Udogie has switched to #13.
• The club shared the PL2 fixture schedule for the U21s team.
• If you'd like to hear my thoughts on the Argentina Men's National Team racist incident after their Copa América win, I will direct you to this recent episode of the Tottenham Depot. But I also wanted to share former Spurs captain Hugo Lloris' comments, which I thought were very well put.
Simon StoneChief football news reporter
It doesn't matter if you are in a moment of euphoria because you have won an important trophy. It demands even more responsibility when you are a winner.
They [Argentina] are the face of football right now, in South America, in the world. They deserve a lot of credit for what they have done on the field for the last four or five years. But when you win, you are an example for others, especially kids.
It was a proper attack about the French people, especially for the French people who have some African origin and family.
I do not know how I am going to find time to do my traditional Premier League season preview amid my interstate move, but I will pull it off somehow. Luckily, there's a much longer runway for the Women's Super League season preview.
I hope y'all are enjoying the Olympics as much as I am! I will close out this issue with my new favorite video, featuring the incredible "Rave Horse":
COYS
Thank you for reading!
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