Poised for Pre-season
It was a bit of a sleepy week for Spurs—not helped by Spurs Men's lackluster doubleheader of friendlies. Transfer business has slowed to a trickle with mostly Academy contract updates and loan moves. But preseason preparations continue apace for both senior teams as Spurs Women's international contingent finally joined up in training and the lads are headed off for a quick tour of Asia.
In this issue: Friendly roundup | Transfer talk | News from around the Lane | Pub chat
Read on to catch up on the latest news and happenings from Hotspur Way and beyond.
Spurs Men friendly roundup
We got a surprise extra friendly against Wycombe Wanderers on Sunday, mere hours before the team was already scheduled to play Luton Town. It wasn't technically a doubleheader in the sense that the matches took place at two different grounds: the first at the club's training pitch at Hotspur Way, then the second at Kenilworth Road. I will candidly admit that I didn't wake up to watch the Wycombe game since it was at 5 am CT, and hardly remember anything significant from the Luton game. But here are a few quick takeaways from the last League One opposition tune-ups ahead of much more difficult friendlies against fellow Premier League clubs and our old friends Bayern Munich.
Friendly #2 | Tottenham 2 - 2 Wycombe Wanderers
• Pape Sarr was the clear highlight from the, well, highlights—which is all I saw of this game. He was making runs reminiscent of what we've seen James Maddison do from the #10 position, finishing his goals with a poaching striker's touch. Will we see this kind of performance replicated from him in any competitive match this season? Only time will tell. There's definitely room for him to stake a place in the new-look midfield under Thomas Frank.
• Wilson Odobert was another bright spot from the highlight clips, also showcasing his crafty knack for movement in the box and blistering shot technique. Odobert forced the save by Wycombe's keeper that Sarr was able to rebound for one of his goals.
• Out of the young players who featured, Tynan Thompson impressed with an assist for Sarr's second goal.
• The "loser" of this friendly draw was probably Brandon Austin, who fumbled an easy save to let in Wycombe's first goal and reacted too late to have any chance of keeping out their second goal.
Friendly #3 | Luton Town 0 - 0 Tottenham
• Brennan Johnson and Will Lankshear came the closest to scoring, with the former seeing his shot saved and the latter sending his just wide of the goal.
• There's honestly not too much else to remark on from this game, other than the positive energy of the youth players who featured late in the second half. Rio Kyerematen and Callum Olusesi, two familiar names from pre-seasons and cup game benches past, both put in some quality passes and did their best to help the team get a toehold in the game, only for it to end scoreless.
Injury updates
• Dominic Solanke and Destiny Udogie both missed the Sunday friendlies. Solanke had a minor ankle issue but isn't expected to miss much time, while Udogie was kept out of the Asia tour squad with a knee injury that is rumored but not yet confirmed to be a meniscus tear.
•Unfortunately, new signing Kōta Takai is also not traveling with the team due to plantar fasciitis.
• Rodrigo Bentancur also missed the past weekend's matches with illness, but is good to go for the Hong Kong NLD.
• James Maddison has been back in full training with the team, but may not feature in the NLD.
Traveling squad
• The full squad list for the two games in Asia (Arsenal in Hong Kong, Newcastle United in Seoul) can be found here.
• The contigent of Academy players (including a few who have already had a senior loan stint) includes George Abbott, Jun'ai Byfield, Jamie Donley, Luca Gunter, and Will Lankshear.
• Other injury absences (besides Udogie and Takai mentioned above) include Manor Solomon, Radu Drăgușin, Dejan Kulusevski, and Bryan Gil.
• Mikey Moore, Alfie Devine, and Dane Scarlett have stayed behind to pursue loan opportunities.
Transfer talk
• Ashley Phillips is returning to Stoke City for another loan, having played there last season as well.
• The club picked up the option to extend Luana Bühler's contract until 2026, but she will miss the start of the season after having knee surgery. There is no timetable yet for her return.
• In the Men's Academy, both Rio Kyerematen and George Abbott signed new deals. Neither announcement mentioned a specific contract length, but Abbott's was described as "long-term."
• The full Women's Academy U19s squad list has been announced. Several players, including Sophie Jackson and Eloise Summers-Mee, are stepping up from the U16 level after a successful PGA Trophy-winning season.
News from around the Lane
• The WSL 2025/26 fixtures have been released, and the schedule is fairly favorable for Spurs Women! With the exception of a tough three-game stretch near the end of the season (Arsenal bookended by the two Manchester teams, with a potential FA Cup quarter-final thrown into the mix), there's a good balance of tough games interspersed with more winnable games. We begin the season at home to West Ham United (the true derby match for the Women's side) and end away to Brighton & Hove Albion. No word yet on which fixtures will be held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, though I'm personally hoping for the London City Lionesses game (a challenging prospect considering their transfer moves so far, but a good marketing draw for sure).
• There have been two fixture changes for Spurs Men: a later kickoff time for the West Ham game and a move from Saturday to Sunday for the Wolves game.
• The historic Bill Nicholson Gates have been restored to the stadium grounds. They were formally reopend by Daniel Levy and Nicholson's daughter, Jean Bell. The gates will now be part of the club's Heritage Tour.
Pub chat: Bonus bookmarks
• Y'all know I love the player scrapbook series from Spurs Women, and the latest edition from Jess Naz has some really interesting stories!
Firstly, it's wild that Jess joining Spurs was total happenstance.
Secondly, I would love to know if any of the youngsters that she coached are names we would recognize now from the Academy...
• My favorite part of any Spurs pre-season tour is seeing Ledley King have the time of his life as club ambassador. Enjoy this photo of him posing with the Bruce Lee statue in Hong Kong, then watch this video of him volunteering to teach kids about responsible pet care. There are some extremely good doggos in that clip.
That's all for this week! I'll be back next week with recaps of the next two Spurs Men friendlies (still no news on friendly fixtures for Spurs Women, much to my chagrin). Hopefully there will be more transfer news by then, too.
COYS
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