Ange Postecoglou has admitted his Tottenham Hotspur side still has ‘work to do’ in order to ‘improve in all areas’ ahead of the new Premier League season.

The Australian guided the Lilywhites to fifth in the Premier League in his debut campaign in charge, qualifying them for the Europa League in what was a marked improvement from their eighth-place return in 2022/23.

Spurs have also enjoyed a productive summer, winning five straight friendlies before only losing by a single goal in back-to-back matches against Bayern Munich (2-1 and 3-2), while they also completed the signing of Dominic Solanke on Saturday, finally replacing Harry Kane.

• READ: Harry Kane gives verdict on new Spurs signing Dominic Solanke

Nevertheless, Postecoglou believes there are still plenty of improvements needed from his squad if they’re to challenge the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool this season.

“Pre-season has been good in terms of the work we have done with the players,” Postecoglou told the Tottenham Hotspur official website following Saturday’s Visit Malta Cup loss to Bayern.

“It’s always a bit disjointed until you have everyone together and this is the first week we’ve had everyone in but, in general, they are all in good physical condition, which I think is the main thing and knock on wood, we don’t have any injuries. Hopefully, we got through today alright. Hopefully, we have a whole fit squad for that first game because once the games start, we’re going to need the full squad. So, from that point of view, it has been positive.

“We’ve still got 10 days of training. The games are part of that; they’re just part of pre-season. The idea is we use every game we have, whether it is a game or training, to be ready for the first game and that is the most important thing.

Action from our final pre-season friendly ?

Highlights: Spurs 2-3 FC Bayern ? pic.twitter.com/ATrfH4Cxa8

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 10, 2024

“And there always need to be an evolution. We need to be better than we were last year because the competition certainly doesn’t stand still, it’s not like the other teams are going to be where they were last year. We’ve got to improve in all of our areas. We’ve still got some work to do.

“I think the foundations we put in place last year gives us the opportunity to kick on and now we’ve just got to push the players and they have to push themselves to the next level because we had an okay season last year but we know we want to go to another level and bring success to this football club and that’s going to require us being better than we were.”

Spurs will now prepare for their first fixture of the 2024/25 Premier League season away to Leicester City a week on Monday.

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Tottenham record goalscorer Harry Kane has backed Dominic Solanke to be a hit for his former club.

The 26-year-old striker completed a £55m move to Spurs on Saturday following a 2023/24 season in which he netted 21 times across all competitions for Bournemouth — including 19 strikes in the Premier League to finish behind only Alexander Isak (21), Cole Palmer (22) and Erling Haaland (27) in the Golden Boot race.

Solanke will, of course, be seen by many as the long-awaited Kane replacement for Spurs, who sold England’s record goalscorer to Bayern Munich last summer.

Kane returned to his old stomping ground to play the final 10 minutes of Bayern’s 3-2 win over Tottenham in the Visit Malta Cup friendly competition.

Solanke wasn’t fit to feature in the match but was present at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, being unveiled to supporters ahead of kick-off. That also gave him the chance to bump into Kane and receive some encouragement from the Spurs legend.

“It should be great. Dom is a great player,” Kane said of one-time England international Solanke after Saturday’s match (via Sky Sports).

“He plays with high intensity, high speed. For sure he’ll get chances in this team with the way Ange plays.

“I think it’s a really good signing. I saw him in the dressing room and I wished him all the best and of course, I hope he has a great season.”

With their friendly schedule complete, Spurs will now prepare in training for their Premier League opener away at Leicester City a week on Monday.

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Tottenham attacking midfielder Giovani Lo Celso has reportedly been given the green light to complete a potential transfer to Aston Villa.

The Argentine was left out of the most recent Spurs squad, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that this is a clear signal that he’s set to leave the north London club.

Lo Celso is firmly on Villa’s radar this summer, though Real Betis are also keen, so it could be that we’re about to see an intriguing battle for his signature.

Lo Celso to Villa looks like one to watch as Unai Emery’s side continue their busy summer, though Joao Felix is another high-profile star they’re tracking at the moment.

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Villa may face competition for Felix’s signature after he spent last season on loan at Barcelona, who had seemingly not ruled out bringing him back, even if that hasn’t materialised yet.

The Portugal international has also spent time on loan at Chelsea, but will likely be a lot more expensive than someone like Lo Celso.

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Aston Villa have made Joao Felix one of their top transfer targets for this summer, with Unai Emery determined to add the Portuguese forward to his options.

Villa may find this a difficult deal to get done, however, with Atletico Madrid likely to ask for huge money to sell the former Chelsea and Barcelona loanee, with Villa planning an offer worth around €60m to test their resolve, CaughtOffside understands.

Emery could make Felix a star player in his Villa side, though the 24-year-old surely has no long-term future at Atletico, where he’s largely seen as having failed to live up to his potential.

Felix also struggled to make much of an impact in loan spells at Chelsea and Barca, so it remains to be seen if Villa would really be well advised to keep pursuing him so strongly.

Still, that is currently understood to be their plan, with the feeling being that Atletico may need to be flexible with their demands if they are realistically going to sell and finally get this unwanted player off their books.

Felix transfer may not be all Villa have planned

While Felix is one of Villa’s priorities, it seems the Midlands outfit also have one eye on Tottenham’s Giovani Lo Celso as a possible addition to come in as a squad player, sources have informed CaughtOffside.

The Argentine, who is also being tracked by Real Betis, is expected to be available for a cut-price fee of around €16m, and it remains to be seen if AVFC will step up their pursuit of him.

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Lo Celso has struggled to impress at Spurs, so it makes sense that he’s now available on the market.

If Villa could land Felix as a starter and Lo Celso as squad depth, that could be truly superb business by the club as they look to build on last season’s success of finishing in the top four.

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Barcelona have knocked on the doors of Tottenham to enquire about the availability of Sergio Reguilon.

Barcelona haven’t done much in the ongoing transfer window. Their financial struggles have restricted their movements. But, since they have successfully added Dani Olmo to their squad, the Catalan giants can now look at other areas that need reinforcement.

The Spanish giants want to reinforce their backline and according to Lyall Thomas, they have been making enquiries about Sergio Reguilon who seems to be surplus to requirements at Tottenham. The Spanish full-back has spent last the two seasons out on loan and Barcelona are exploring conditions to sign him in the ongoing transfer window.

Reguilon came up the ranks at Real Madrid. While he couldn’t establish himself in their first team, an impressive loan spell at Sevilla resulted in a permanent move to Tottenham in the summer of 2020. Spurs had a lot of expectations from him but the 27-year-old full-back has failed to live up to them. He spent the 2022/23 season out on loan at Atletico Madrid and last season, he was out on loan at Manchester United and Brentford.

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Barcelona keen on Sergio Reguilon

With just a year left on his deal at the North London club, Barcelona are looking to secure his services in a cut-price deal. The Catalan giants do not have enough depth in the full-back department. While the initial idea was to permanently sign Joao Cancelo, there hasn’t been much development on that front.

Alejandro Balde and Álex Valle are the two left-back options at Hansi Flick’s disposal. As a result, they are looking at Reguilon who has a lot of experience. They have already made inquiries about the Tottenham full-back and since he doesn’t seem to be a part of their plans moving ahead, Spurs might not have a problem offloading him.

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Tottenham confirmed the signing of Dominic Solanke from AFC Bournemouth on Saturday and the striker has already been welcomed to the club by some of his new teammates. 

The 26-year-old has joined Spurs as part of a £65m deal which will see the North London club pay the Cherries an initial £55m with £10m in add-ons for their goal scorer. Solanke has signed a six-year contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until 2030 as Ange Postecoglou hopes the Englishman provides him with the goals he has been looking for.

Following the announcement of Solanke, Tottenham put out some behind-the-scenes footage and there was a lovely moment showing James Maddison welcoming the striker to Spurs.

Once the midfielder left the room, the North London club’s new signing labelled the England star a “top guy”, with fans of the club likely to love the comradery already between the pair.

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Watch: James Maddison welcoming Dominic Solanke to Tottenham

Reunited ? pic.twitter.com/NQQXNlEJro

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 10, 2024

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The future of Giovani Lo Celso at Tottenham is still to be decided before the transfer window shuts and it is being reported that Aston Villa remain interested in the Argentina star.

The 28-year-old was left out of Spurs’ squad for their pre-season clash with Bayern Munich on Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which suggests that the North London club are working on the midfielder’s exit.

Tottenham are hoping to sell Lo Celso as the player’s contract expires in 2025, which makes this summer the ideal time to part ways.

There is not an abundance of concrete interest in the Argentina international, however, Real Betis and Aston Villa are still keen as other clubs are monitoring the situation, reports Fabrizio Romano.

Lo Celso joined Spurs permanently from Betis back in 2020 and a move back to Spain could benefit his career, while the midfielder played some of his best football at Villarreal under Unai Emery, who is now in charge at Villa.

It remains to be seen if one of the two clubs make a move for the 28-year-old before the window shuts, but they could get a good deal given Spurs’ eagerness to sell.

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Giovani Lo Celso’s time at Tottenham has been a failure

Lo Celso joined Tottenham on a permanent deal in 2020 as part of a €60m switch from Real Betis and it is a deal that has never worked out for the Premier League club or the player.

The Argentina star never cemented his place in the Spurs starting 11 under several managers the London club has seen come and go. Ange Postecoglu gave the 28-year-old a chance last season but it seems that the player has not done enough to convince the Australian coach.

A move is best for everyone during this current transfer window as Lo Celso deserves to be at a club that can get the most out of his talents.

The post Fabrizio Romano says Premier League club “still keen” on 28-year-old Tottenham talent appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Harry Kane ended his trophy drought at Bayern Munich as they beat Tottenham on Saturday to win the Visit Malta Cup.

Kane came off the bench as Bayern won 3-2 on his first return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following his departure last summer.

Dejan Kulusevski scored both of Spurs’ goal, including the opener the in the first minute whilst Dayot Upamecano, Serge Gnabry and Thomas Muller were all on target for the German giants.

However, when the time came to lift the trophy a clearly emotional Kane refused to lift it out of respect to his former club despite being urged to by one of his team-mates.

Before the game Kane along with ex-Spurs defender Eric Dier was presented with a special gift by Ledley King to commemorate his time at the club.

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Despite not winning any trophies in his debut season at Bayern the England international had a brilliant season on an individual level, scoring 44 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions.

Kane will be hoping next season he can get his hands on major silverware as Bayern look to win the Champions League and wrestle the Bundesliga title away from Bayer Leverkusen.

Watch Kane refuse to lift trophy

Harry Kane, who was captain of Bayern Munich, refused to lift the pre-season trophy against his former club Tottenham today ?? pic.twitter.com/I7uiGW0FRq

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 10, 2024

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Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of striker Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth. 

Per BBC Sport, Spurs will pay an initial £55m fee plus add-ons worth up to another £10m, with the 26-year-old signing a deal through the summer of 2030.

“We are delighted to announce the signing of Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth. Welcome to Tottenham, Dominic!” Spurs wrote on X.

Solanke joins off the back of an excellent 2023/24 campaign in which he scored 21 goals across all competitions, including 19 in the Premier League to help the Cherries finish 12th in the table.

A one-time England international with the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool on his CV, Solanke has been a late bloomer and has undoubtedly enjoyed his best form as a Bournemouth player across the last couple of seasons.

Solanke is Spurs! ? pic.twitter.com/inojhKYlu0

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 10, 2024

Tottenham’s search for a striker has been no secret, with the club never truly replacing Harry Kane, who left for Bayern Munich last summer following a 435-game stay in which he scored 280 goals.

Solanke is Tottenham’s fourth signing of the summer following the arrivals of Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Yang Min-hyuk — although he’s the first over-18 acquisition of the window.

Spurs begin their 2024/25 Premier League campaign away at Leicester City a week on Monday, although it remains to be seen whether or not Solanke will be available as he’s recently been nursing a foot injury.

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Tottenham outcast Emerson Royal is all set to complete his move to AC Milan.

Emerson Royal’s future has been the talk of the town throughout the summer. AC Milan have been working very hard to strike a deal with Tottenham for the Brazilian full-back and according to Gianluca Di Marzio, the transfer saga has finally come to an end as Spurs have completed the paperwork for his departure.

While Emerson was an important part of their first team following his arrival from Barcelona in the summer of 2021, he went down the pecking order under Ange Postecoglou. Last season, he could only manage 24 appearances and the majority of those came because of an injury crisis at the back.

He still has two years left on his deal at the North London club but they have been looking to cash in on him throughout the transfer window. AC Milan are well aware of his situation at Tottenham and they have been looking to strike a deal for a cut-price fee. Negotiations with the Premier League outfit were not easy as Daniel Levy was not ready to lower his demands.

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Emerson Royal would be a quality addition

But, in the end, the Italian giants have an agreement in place for Emerson’s transfer. They have agreed to pay €15 million plus bonuses to sign the South American utility man who can feature on both flanks as well as a centre-back when needed.

The 25-year-old is set to be a Milan player in the 2024/25 season with a deal now closed. Both clubs have signed the documents related to the transfer. Tottenham have given Emerson the green light to travel to Italy and undergo his medical before being officially presented as a new AC Milan player.

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