Tottenham Hotspur

Pep Guardiola's side are aiming to win the trophy for a fourth consecutive season, returning to Wembley eight days after a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals.

The pain of that defeat was compounded by star midfielder De Bruyne hobbling off with an ankle injury, although the problem is not as bad as first feared.

De Bruyne sat out Wednesday's 2-1 win at Aston Villa but resumed work with Guardiola's first-team squad alongside Aguero.

City's all-time record goalscorer has endured a final campaign at the Etihad Stadium beset by knee and hamstring issues after meniscus surgery last June, while he also suffered the effects of coronavirus.

"Both [De Bruyne and Aguero] they are training today," Guardiola said, meaning each man appears to have better prospects than Harry Kane, who was unable to take part in Tottenham's Friday session.

"Today was the first training session after the last two weeks [for Aguero]. Tomorrow he will have the last training session and we are going to decide."

Final successes in the past three campaigns over Arsenal, Chelsea and Villa mean City can become the second team in history after Liverpool between 1981 and 1984 to lift the cup for a fourth season in a row.

However, as was the case in the Chelsea reverse, Guardiola hinted there might be wholesale changes as he casts an eye towards Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain.

"We've said many times. every game must be taken seriously. But the Premier League is the most important competition this season. After that it is the Champions League, the FA Cup and after the Carabao Cup," he said.

"When you play this competition at the beginning of the season when every player is fit, it is perfect to rotate and everybody can be involved.

"We have to play right now in the middle of the decisive part of the season. I would say the Premier League is the first title of the season and the second to qualify for the Champions League – ask all the teams who are fighting to qualify for next season.

"Once we are there and arrive in this position, normally the Carabao Cup is over, but now we are going to play [the final] in the middle part of the important part of the Premier League season. And three days before, like a dream come true at the end [of the season], we play the semi-final of the Champions League."

Guardiola added: "That’s why we have a mix of contradiction; that it's a final we have to win, but we have one eye on the Champions League and one eye on Crystal Palace [in the Premier League next weekend].

"Carabao Cup is nice - we want the four, we will play to win the fourth. But PSG and Palace are there and PSG [in the second leg] is there. We'll see what happens on Sunday."

Aubameyang had five months to run on his Emirates Stadium deal but was told he could join Barca on a free transfer, which is set to be announced by the LaLiga giants on Tuesday.

Despite some confirmed interest from at least one club in England, and the threat of not playing for the rest of the season, Dembele opted to stay put in Catalonia until at least the end of the season.

Those players were discussed heavily throughout deadline day, but arguably the most remarkable transfer happened early on Monday when Christian Eriksen officially joined Brentford.

It marks a return to the Premier League – and indeed a football pitch – for Eriksen, just seven months after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020 and subsequently being fitted with a heart-starting device.

Newcastle live up to big-spending billing

In their first transfer window under their new ownership, Newcastle United spent more than any side on the continent and rounded things off by bringing in some much-needed defensive options in Dan Burn and Matt Targett.

Boyhood Newcastle fan Burn joined from Brighton and Hove Albion in a reported £13million deal, while left-back Targett will spend the rest of the season at St James' Park on loan from Aston Villa.

But it was not all good news for the Magpies as they missed out on a deal for France Under-20s striker Hugo Ekitike, who is reported to have had second thoughts and decided to remain at Reims. There was also no move for Jesse Lingard.

Tottenham and Juventus the busiest clubs

Antonio Conte was backed by the Tottenham board on deadline day with the arrivals of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski as part of a double deal with Juventus.

Bentancur is reported to have cost Spurs an initial £15.9m (€19m) on a deal that will run through until the end of the 2025-26 season, and he will be joined in north London by Kulusevski on an initial 18-month loan with the option to buy.

It was not all about incoming activity for Tottenham in the final stages of the window, though, as club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele was returned to Lyon for the rest of the season and Bryan Gil and Giovanni Lo Celso were loaned out to LaLiga sides Valencia and Villarreal respectively.

And in a deal that went through more than an hour after the 23:00 GMT cut-off point, Dele Alli joined Everton in a transfer that could potentially earn Spurs £40m should various clauses be triggered.

Having offloaded Bentancur and Kulusevski, meanwhile, Juve further trimmed their squad by allowing Aaron Ramsey to sign for Rangers until the end of the campaign, with those deals offset by the arrival of Denis Zakaria from Borussia Monchengladbach.

Big boys quiet

Manchester City got a deal over the line for Argentina international Julian Alvarez before loaning the young forward straight back to River Plate, but it was otherwise a relatively quiet day for Europe's elite clubs.

Manchester United's only piece of business on Monday was allowing midfield outcast Donny van de Beek join Everton on loan, while Liverpool let Nat Phillips head to Bournemouth for the rest of 2021-22. The second-tier Cherries also signed Todd Cantwell, recently a target for Liverpool, to bolster their promotion ambitions.

Liverpool had hoped to bring in highly rated youngster Fabio Carvalho from Fulham, but a deal is reported to have fallen through shortly before the cut-off point after terms had already been agreed.

There was no such activity for fellow Premier League heavyweights Chelsea, as was the case for the likes of Paris Saint-Germain – despite links with Dembele – Bayern Munich, Inter, Milan and Real Madrid.

But reigning Spanish champions Atletico Madrid did manage to strengthen at left-back by bringing in Reinildo Mandava from French champions Lille.

Other notable deals...

Unsurprisingly, Premier League clubs flexed their financial muscles in a final attempt to strengthen before the deadline.

Crystal Palace turned striker Jean-Philippe Mateta's loan from Mainz into a permanent deal and Burnley signed Wout Weghorst from Wolfsburg, who moved quickly to bring in FC Copenhagen striker Jonas Wind as a replacement.

Elsewhere, Deniz Undav put pen to paper with Brighton before being loaned back to Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. The Seagulls also signed Benicio Baker-Boaitey on loan from Porto with a view to a permanent move.

Emerson Royal, Ilaix Moriba and Rey Manaj were allowed to leave Camp Nou on Tuesday.

Leicester City were also busy with one in and one out, while a young Frenchman (no, not that one) has joined Real Madrid.

Here is a round-up of some of the deadline-day deals, and what could be coming in the closing hours...
 

A new Royal rocks up in London

Talks had been ongoing over the past few days between Tottenham and Barca for full-back Emerson, who only arrived at Camp Nou earlier in the window after impressing at Real Betis.

The right-back has joined Spurs for a £21.5million (€25m) fee, with his arrival likely to push Serge Aurier closer to the exit door.

Could Aurier end up at a Premier League rival? Everton appear to be in need of a right-back with Ainsley Maitland-Niles set to stay at Arsenal.

Back at Barca, they have sold midfielder Ilaix Moriba to Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, who have paid €16m plus €6m in add-ons for the teenager. Manaj, meanwhile, has joined Italian side Spezia on loan.

Paris Saint-Germain have been at the centre of one of the biggest stories over recent days, but it looks like Kylian Mbappe will be staying put.

Indeed, the France star seems set to have a new team-mate in the capital, with Sporting CP full-back Nuno Mendes said to be nearing a €40m move. Pablo Sarabia may head the other way.

While they may have missed out on Mbappe, Madriddid complete a deal for another France international in Eduardo Camavinga, who has signed a six-year contract following a transfer from Rennes.

Better call Saul?

Chelsea have been chasing Sevilla defender Jules Kounde but the European champions have instead lined up another LaLiga player to boost their squad, with Atletico Madrid's Saul reportedly set to arrive on loan.

One outgoing at Chelsea was Ethan Ampadu, with the youngster signing a new contract before heading out on loan to newly promoted Serie A side Venezia.

Another Premier League club busy as the deadline approached were Leicester, drafting in Ademola Lookman on loan from Leipzig. The winger impressed with Fulham last term. Dennis Praet, meanwhile, has left to return to Serie A, joining Torino on loan for the season.

After the Cristiano Ronaldo deal was confirmed by Manchester United, the Red Devils decreased the logjam for starting spots in the forward line by allowing Dan James to depart for Leeds United - the club he so nearly joined previously, only for the deal to fall through.

Liverpool have been more focused on tying down current members of their squad than bringing in new faces; they have handed young defender Rhys Williams a new deal, with the centre-back then joining Swansea City on loan. Nathaniel Phillips has also extended his contract, though looks set to stay at Anfield for now.

Burnleyhave signed full-back Connor Roberts from the Swans, while Everton are expected to complete the signing of Salomon Rondon as a replacement for Moise Kean, whose move to Juventus was confirmed earlier in the day.

Arsenal have supposedly agreed a deal with Bologna for defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.The move would seemingly offset the loss of Hector Bellerin, who is said to be close to switching to Real Betis. Reiss Nelson has already left the Gunners, heading out to Feyenoordon loan. 

The transfer windows in Italy and Germany have already shut, meaning Juve, Inter, Milan, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have all concluded their business.

On February 9, Alli shared a video to his official Snapchat account, which showed him wearing a facemask in an airport departure lounge.

In the clip – captioned "Corona whattt [sic], please listen with volume" – Alli focused the camera on a man of Asian appearance before turning it on a bottle of antiseptic hand wash.

"This virus gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me," read the second caption.

Alli deleted the video and issued an apology on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Despite his contrition, Alli has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3.

The FA statement confirming the charge read: "It is alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder's post breaches FA Rule E3(1) as it was insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute.
 
"It is further alleged that the post constitutes an "Aggravated Breach", which is defined in FA Rule E3(2), as it included a reference, whether express or implied, to race and/or colour and/or ethnic origin and/or nationality."

Alli has until March 5 to respond to the charge.

Antonio Rudiger scored the only goal of the second leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday as the European champions secured a 3-0 aggregate win over their London rivals.

It was a frustrating night for Spurs, who were awarded a penalty in each half by Andre Marriner, but the decisions were both correctly overturned.

Marriner pointed the spot in the first half for a foul by Rudiger on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but the VAR informed the referee that contact was made outside the box.

The referee then realised he got it wrong again when he took a look on the pitchside monitor after ruling that Lucas Moura had been upended by Kepa Arrizabalaga, who clearly got the ball when he came out to deny the Spurs forward.

Harry Kane then had a goal disallowed for offside following another VAR check and Chelsea saw out another victory to set up a final against Arsenal or Liverpool on February 27. 

Yet Blues boss Tuchel was not impressed with the way his side went about booking another trip to Wembley.

The German told Sky Sports: "I think we started okay, started good. We created big chances, we were in the lead, but we played with fire.

"We allowed chances from easy and sloppy mistakes and we were lucky, almost gave a penalty away for absolutely no reason, from a bit of over-confidence. 

"We started again very well in the second half and the same happened for the last 20-25 minutes. There was a mixture of lack of focus, over-confidence, I don't know. Suddenly we need luck to not have another penalty [awarded against them], to have another VAR decision with a little offside. 

"We can play much better, we need to play much better if we want to really deserve results like this because we did play well over long phases of the match, but we need to do better."

Asked if he was unhappy with the performance, he replied: "Yes, we need to have the standards because that is why we work for Chelsea and we play for Chelsea and nothing else matters.

"It's about our standards and not about getting a result somehow. We can do much better, we can close spaces much better, we can do better defending individually, we can control the match better with less mistakes.

"In any part of the match we can do better and we have to do better."

Spurs suffered their first defeat of the Premier League campaign on Monday in a chaotic 4-1 home loss to Chelsea, which could have further consequences in the long term.

Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero were sent off during the London derby, while Micky van de Ven (hamstring) and James Maddison (ankle) suffered serious injuries that will rule them out until January.

Postecoglou, however, is no stranger to a challenge given Harry Kane’s departure on the eve of the new campaign.

“The first test? Losing the greatest ever player in this competition the day before the start of the season? Nah, piece of cake,” Postecoglou pointed out.

“We lost players to almost season-ending injuries. Nah, don’t worry about it. Mate, there are tests all the time.

“In my whole career, I figured out there are only two states of being as a manager: under siege, or it’s coming. I’m well aware that every day nothing runs smooth. There’s always challenges out there.

“I just try and make sure I don’t change my state of being. It is what it is.

“I try and focus on what’s important. We’re still building a team and an environment where people want to win. It’s not going to change from week to week.

“It’s fairly extreme even for a person of my experience to lose five players in one game, but that doesn’t mean it’s any worse than anything we faced so far and it’s being a bit disrespectful to this group of players to say that everything has gone their way because it hasn’t.

“From day one there’s been a real resilience and character in the group and they’re going to have to show it again.

“We’ve had plenty of reasons not to be where we are, plenty of excuses in terms of the disruptions we’ve had already and some of the challenges we’ve had to face.

“Fair to say we won’t be using any kind of reason for us not to perform at our best tomorrow.”

Two of Postecoglou’s key decisions at Molineux and over the next couple of months will be trying to fill the void left by both Van de Ven and Maddison.

Van de Ven’s injury on Monday resulted in Tottenham adopting an extremely high line and while Guglielmo Vicario impressed in the sweeper-keeper role, pundits questioned the tactic.

But Postecoglou said: “I don’t try and lose games purposefully, trust me. I’m very much for trying to win a game of football. I get it’s slightly unconventional, that I kind of understand, but you don’t get from Australia to the Premier League by being conventional.

“And trust me, this isn’t the first time people have questioned my madness. It’s got me to where I am and I continue to do it because I believe we can win that way, not because of any other reason.”

Eric Dier made his first appearance of the season off the bench on Monday but is set for a regular role with Van de Ven injured until January and Romero suspended until next month.

Postecoglou added: “Eric has been part of this football club for a very long time.

“Every day he’s another one who has trained hard. He hasn’t had a lot of opportunities, but that’s because we’ve been pretty settled in terms of our back four and we haven’t had the need to put him in there.

“He’s always been ready to be called up. Now he gets the opportunity. I thought he did well the other night.

“I thought he handled it really well. His experience will be important for us, particularly with Micky’s absence and Romero being out for three games.”

It was only the second time in the Premier League era that the top flight had witnessed three hat-tricks on the same day, following the efforts of Robbie Fowler, Alan Shearer and Tony Yeboah in September 1995.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the two treble-trebles.

Fowler in fact scored four goals in Liverpool’s 5-2 win over Bolton, starting when he crisply dispatched Jamie Redknapp’s through-ball with his trusty left foot.

Goalkeeper David James provided a route-one assist for his second and he completed a hat-trick just after half-time when Redknapp’s cross was not dealt with. Steve McManaman set up Fowler, sporting a distinctive blond-dyed hairstyle, to curl home his fourth.

Shearer scored a record five hat-tricks in the 1995-96 season, the first coming in a 5-1 win over Coventry and starting with a close-range left-footed finish from Tim Sherwood’s corner.

Strike partner Mike Newell laid on a simple second on the hour and also provided the flick-on for Shearer to complete his hat-trick with a first-time right-footed drive seven minutes later.

Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Bolton and Tottenham were Shearer’s other victims that season.

Leeds striker Yeboah had two to his name in the three minutes leading into half-time against Wimbledon, the first a tap-in but the second an unforgettable rocket off the crossbar which is regularly listed as one of the Premier League’s greatest goals.

An instinctive touch and volley after Phil Masinga’s run caused panic in the defence to complete his treble and Leeds’ 4-2 win.

Son was first off the mark on Saturday as Spurs hammered Burnley 5-2 at Turf Moor.

His first came in the 16th minute, cancelling out Lyle Foster’s early opener, as Son brought down Pedro Porro’s long pass and played a one-two with Manor Solomon before dinking over goalkeeper James Trafford.

The Spurs captain then stroked home Solomon’s cutback and fired home from Porro’s incisive pass in the space of four second-half minutes, by which time Haaland was up and running at the Etihad Stadium.

A crisp finish from Julian Alvarez’s deflected through-ball set the Norwegian on his way in City’s 5-1 win over Fulham and he then crashed home a penalty before Sergio Gomez laid on his third in stoppage time.

In the evening kick-off, Ferguson poached his first after keeper Nick Pope spilled Billy Gilmour’s thunderbolt and then curled home a sublime second from 25 yards.

A left-footed effort which deflected off defender Fabian Schar made it three for Ferguson, Brighton and the Premier League on a memorable day.

Lukaku and Immobile are two of the form front men in European football, and the duo have earned recognition following their latest goalscoring exploits.

Inter striker Lukaku grabbed both goals in a 2-0 away win at Udinese on Sunday.

And Immobile matched that haul as Lazio thrashed SPAL 5-1, the Italy international's brace taking his 2019-20 league tally to 25 already.

The duo are far from the only big names in this week's selection, however, with Roberto Firmino, Jadon Sancho and Hugo Lloris also among the new in-form cards.

Find the full squad below.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

GK: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) - 89

CB:Matthijs de Ligt (Piemonte Calcio/Juventus) - 87

LB: Alex Telles (Porto) - 87

CB:Yerry Mina (Everton) - 84

CM: Daniel Parejo (Valencia) - 88

RM: Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain) - 88

CAM: Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) - 87

CM: Santi Cazorla (Villarreal) - 86

CF: Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) - 88

ST:Ciro Immobile (Lazio) - 90

ST: Romelu Lukaku (Inter) - 88

SUBSTITUTES

GK:Steve Mandanda (Marseille) - 83

CB:Kaan Ayhan (Fortuna Dusseldorf) - 81

RM:Robert Snodgrass (West Ham) - 81

ST:Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo) - 84

RW:Daniel Ginczek (Wolfsburg) - 82

ST:Kasper Dolberg (Nice) - 81

LW:Oussama Idrissi (AZ) - 81

RESERVES

CM:Alexandru Maxim (Gaziantep) - 79

CM: Alexandru Cicaldau (Universitatea Craiova) - 78

LM: Ahmet Engin (Duisburg) - 76

LM: Nathan Thomas (Carlisle United) - 74

LW: Said Benrahma (Brentford) - 80

The ex-Togo international also had spells with Real Madrid, Tottenham and Crystal Palace during a professional career that started in 2001 with Metz.

Adebayor departed Metz for Monaco in 2003 and it was there where he caught the eye of legendary Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who brought him to the Premier League in January 2006.

City forked out a reported £25million fee for his services in July 2009 and he famously sprinted the length of the pitch to celebrate a goal in front of the Gunners' supporters in September that year.

He joined Real Madrid for a short loan spell in January 2011 after falling out of favour under Roberto Mancini and then moved to Tottenham – initially on loan – in August that year.

After having his contract terminated by mutual consent in September 2015, Adebayor had a nomadic end to his career, featuring for Palace, Istanbul Basaksehir, Kayserispor and Olimpia before returning to Togo with Semassi in July 2021.

Announcing his retirement with a video on Instagram, Adebayor wrote: "SEA, from the highs to the lows, my career as a professional athlete has been an incredible journey. 

"Thank you to my fans for being there every step of the way. I'm feeling so grateful for everything, and excited for what's to come!"

Lloris made clear earlier this summer his desire for a new challenge after 11 years at Spurs and was not involved in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Brentford.

The World Cup winner is now closing in on a switch to Lazio after talks between the clubs started, but a final agreement on a fee is still to be reached, the PA news agency understands.

If Lloris does leave, as has always been expected in this transfer window, his final appearance for Tottenham would be the thumping 6-1 loss at Newcastle in April.

A thigh injury ruled Lloris out of the final weeks of the campaign and the French keeper revealed in June his desire “to do other things” in the future.

While no move was forthcoming during the early part of the transfer window, Spurs’ focus was on Bayern Munich’s public pursuit of Harry Kane and incomings with James Maddison able to sign.

Lloris was left out of the club’s pre-season tour of Perth, Bangkok and Singapore in July to explore transfer opportunities, but Kane moved on before the Frenchman with his switch to Bayern finalised on Saturday.

Spurs announced their new captain on the same day with Son Heung-min named as Lloris’ successor, while Cristian Romeo and Maddison were listed as vice-captains.

Lloris retained his number one shirt when Tottenham unveiled their squad numbers on Sunday, but he was left out of the squad at Brentford despite back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster injured with a back problem.

It meant academy graduate Brandon Austin was named on the bench as deputy to new number one Guglielmo Vicario, who endured some nervy moments on his Premier League debut.

Vicario will be able to move forward at Tottenham without the shadow of Lloris after talks between Lazio and the club stepped up this week.

With Lloris still having a year left on his contract, Spurs hope to get a fee for their former captain but it is now expected the 36-year-old will begin the next chapter of his career in Italy.

Lloris will leave Tottenham after 447 appearances and 151 clean sheets, having helped the club reach three finals during his 11 years, including the 2019 Champions League Final.

The Wales international completed a return to Tottenham last week on a season-long loan, seven years after swapping the two clubs for a world-record fee at the time.

He won 13 trophies during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, including four Champions League titles, but he struggled for appearances over the past couple of seasons.

Madrid paid little tribute to Bale following his departure and Ramos has suggested the 31-year-old deserves more respect.

"He is a player I like a lot," Ramos, who coached the forward at Tottenham and also managed Madrid for six months, told Radio Marca.

"I think he has given Real Madrid a lot too. He has enormous power and a magical left foot. He is a very usable footballer and one of the few with world-class talent."

Bale scored 105 goals and contributed 57 assists in 251 appearances for Madrid but was restricted to 20 outings last season after falling out of favour with boss Zinedine Zidane.

"Inside Madrid they will know the problems he may have had with Zidane," Ramos said. "But I am sure he has his own side of the story."

Tottenham also signed Sergio Reguilon from Madrid in a permanent deal last week and Ramos has tipped the left-back to be a success in north London.

"For now it is a populated position with [Ferland] Mendy and Marcelo. If they have made a decision to let Sergio go it's because they received a good amount of money," he said.

"Reguilon had less chance of minutes with Real Madrid than the other two and I think he will adapt well to Spurs. He is a player with a lot of potential."

Southampton product Bale made a name for himself at Tottenham, but it was in nine years at Real Madrid he truly rose to stardom – although he had a turbulent time in the Spanish capital.

Despite playing starring roles in two Champions League finals and winning 16 trophies, Bale's time in Madrid turned sour long before he departed last June.

The versatile attacker famously paraded with a banner that read "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order" in 2019 and that understandably did not go down well with Los Blancos fans.

Playing time continued to be limited at Los Angeles FC, but Bale scored an extra-time leveller in the MLS Cup final against Philadelphia Union, which his side won on penalties.

Yet for all his success at club level, it was arguably with Wales that Bale enjoyed his proudest moments, not least reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016.

Bale also played a huge part in ending Wales' 64-year wait to qualify for the World Cup last year, with their group defeat to England proving to be his final game as a professional.

As the curtain comes down on Bale's playing days at the age of just 33, Stats Perform breaks down the numbers from a remarkable career.

Bale played 664 matches for club and country and scored 226 goals, the majority of those unsurprisingly coming for Madrid (106).

He also netted 41 times in 111 games for Wales, becoming his country's record goalscorer and cap holder in the process.

The Cardiff-born forward also netted five goals for Southampton and three for LAFC at either end of his career, while bagging 71 in 237 matches for Tottenham.

It was his superb form for Spurs, particularly in the 2012-13 season, that saw Bale make a then-record €100.8million (£85.1m) switch to Madrid.

That would prove to be Bale's best season in terms of goals as he netted 21, nine of those from outside the box in the Premier League – a single-season record that still stands.

Add his four assists into the mix and only Robin van Persie (35) and Luis Suarez (28) played a direct part in more goals than Bale's 25 during that campaign.

As impressive as Bale was for Spurs, though, he did not have any silverware to show for it. That would all soon change at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He is the only player to score a match-winning goal in two Champions League finals, doing so in 2013-14 against Atletico Madrid and in 2017-18 to break Liverpool's hearts.

Bale scored twice against Liverpool, aided by a horror shown from Loris Karius, making him the first substitute to score more than once in a single Champions League final.

Those three combined final goals are second only to Cristiano Ronaldo (four), who it is fair to say will be far better remembered by Madrid supporters than Bale.

While his part in some of Madrid's triumphs in more recent seasons was limited, Bale does at least deserve his place in club folklore.

His 258 appearances for Los Blancos are more than the likes of Luis Figo (245) and Zinedine Zidane (227) made, and just short of the great Ferenc Puskas' tally of 262.

Furthermore, Bale is one of only 22 players in Madrid's esteemed history to have reach the 100-goal mark, his 106 strikes more than Brazil legend Ronaldo (104) managed.

Lo Celso and Ndombele both signed for Spurs in big-money moves during the summer of 2019, but have spent the majority of the last four years out on loan.

Postecoglou’s June arrival provided everyone with a clean slate and, while Lo Celso came off the bench at Bournemouth on Saturday to make his first competitive Tottenham appearance in 18 months, Ndombele is in a different boat.

Ndombele is part of a group alongside five other first-teamers who have not featured in any of the Australian’s three matchday squads and they could all leave the club before the summer transfer window shuts at 11pm on Friday.

“Gio’s been a bit unlucky. He did well when he came on for us. I thought all the subs did really well just to help us control the game,” Postecoglou reflected.

“We’ve got a game Tuesday night and he’ll play. It will be, for want of a better word, a fun week. We’ve got plenty going on for sure.

“I’m just dealing with what’s in front of me. Unless I get told otherwise, I’ll work with the group I’ve got and focus on Tuesday night.”

Ex-Spurs captain Hugo Lloris, Djed Spence, Eric Dier, Japhet Tanganga and Sergio Reguilon are the players alongside Ndombele who have yet to be involved this season.

Tottenham are eager to find new homes either permanently or temporarily for the six players given the club currently have a squad of 31 aged 21 or over.

Spurs must submit a list of 25 players to the Premier League on September 13 for the first half of the season and everything points towards Ndombele being elsewhere by that point.

Asked specifically about Ndombele, Postecoglou admitted: “Tanguy is in a boat with a few other guys. I said the other day that we’ve got five or six players more than we can name on a list.

“All these things come down to decisions that people make, whether it’s individual players, whether it’s myself.

“I’m sure this week those kind of things will work themselves out. Tanguy’s still training, he’s working hard at training, but that midfield area, we’re going really well at the minute.

“You saw the guys who started, (Oliver) Skippy’s been really good, Pierre (Hojbjerg) and Gio have been training well.

“It’s been pretty competitive in that area. I think this week a lot of those things I expect to get resolved.”

Postecoglou could line-up with a midfield three of Skipp, Hojbjerg and Lo Celso at Fulham, but he is not expected to make wholesale changes.

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Guglielmo Vicario may still feature in goal while captain Son Heung-min and Richarlison are likely to play up front.

Richarlison will be desperate to score after three games without a goal and will face old boss Marco Silva but Postecoglou scoffed at the notion of trying to play the Brazilian into form.

“No, I pick teams that I think will win games,” he said.

“I will put Richy in the team because I think we can win the game with him in the team, not because I am trying to get him into a certain space.

“We want to win games of football and we want to play the game a certain way. Every time I pick a team that is all that’s in my head.

“I love winning. I don’t care if it is a cup competition, playing in the car park or on a rooftop. We just need to go out there and try to win.”

Having hit the 12-goal mark across all competitions already, Haaland may well have the record books in his sights and, unlike many others, will have a break midway through the season during the World Cup in Qatar.

That is a frightening prospect for any defender and Tottenham are next for the former Borussia Dortmund man in a match that already throws up plenty of talking points.

Last year, City were aggressive in their push to land England captain Harry Kane but were unable to conclude a deal, with Pep Guardiola instead opting to largely play without a recognised centre forward during the title-winning campaign that followed.

Kane, after a slow start, was at his brilliant best yet again for Spurs, firing in 17 goals to help the club pip north London rivals Arsenal to Champions League football – though the talk around the striker continues to be his lack of trophies.

Even Antonio Conte himself has spoken on the matter, saying it's a "real pity" he remains without major honours, and Kane may be forgiven for wondering what might had been if a move to City had played out.

Kane's Premier League experience may well have led to a lightning-quick start to life at City, like Haaland, but the two players are considerably different – Haaland having few touches of the ball other than striking into the back of the net, while Kane is more involved in Spurs' approach play.

Haaland has touched the ball just 132 times in the Premier League this season which, considering his 10 goals, means he averages a goal nearly every 13 times he touches the ball. In reality, he can be much more deadly.

Hitting a hat-trick in the 6-0 demolition of Nottingham Forest last month, Haaland touched the ball just 16 times and had the same number of touches a few days prior against Crystal Palace, where he also scored a hat-trick.

In comparison, Kane has touched the ball 255 times in the Premier League this season, almost double the amount of Haaland, and has scored five goals in six games – a phenomenal return but one that barely stands out given Haaland's form.

Not just a natural scorer, Kane plays a big part in Spurs' build-up play. In the Premier League this term, the England skipper has 115 successful passes, 36 unsuccessful attempts and 76 per cent accuracy.

Haaland, meanwhile, has 62 successful passes, almost half the amount of Kane, with 15 unsuccessful attempts and 81 per cent accuracy.

In the final third, the differences become even more clearer; Haaland with three chances created and a single assist, while Kane has 13 chances created – though he's yet to secure an assist, with those around him underperforming.

Son Heung-Min, in particular, has had a disappointing campaign thus far. The South Korean has a total of 17 attempts in the Premier League this season without finding the back of net – with four more chances going begging in the recent win over Fulham.

Last season, Son had a conversion rate of 26.7 per cent, higher than any other player with more than 20 attempts on goal, and won the Golden Boot with a total of 23 goals – tied with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.

While those stats may seem alarming, it's not quite time to call for change as Son's 17 attempts have an Expected Goals (xG) tally of just 1.7 and a total of 0.1 xG per attempt.

Last season, Son's xG was 15.8 and he outscored that by seven goals, while the xG per attempt stood at a higher value than the current campaign at 0.18.

Fortunately, Son's blip in form has not affected Spurs' return at the start of the Premier League season as Antonio Conte's side stand alongside City as the only two clubs in the division not tasting defeat in the opening six matches.

While Spurs have performed at the level the statistics would expect, scoring 10 goals with an xG of 10.3 and an xG per attempt of 0.11, City, aided by Haaland, have outperformed their expected returns.

Pep Guardiola's side have scored 19 goals from an xG of 13.9 and hold an xG per attempt of 0.14, with their attacking contingent in their prime while Spurs need some of their major players to get going.

Tottenham’s record goalscorer landed in Munich on Friday night for a medical ahead of his transfer to the Bundesliga giants.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou had revealed earlier in the day that the move was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night.

It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands.

Reports on Friday morning initially suggested Spurs had refused to give Kane permission to travel to Germany, but they were squashed by Tottenham and hours later he set off for Munich via a private jet from London Stansted airport.

Postecoglou, speaking before Spurs’ trip to Brentford on Sunday, said: “Fair to say I don’t have a blow-by-blow account, but my understanding is it has progressed to the point where it looks like it will happen.

“From that perspective, at least it gives us some clarity and we move forward without Harry.

“From my perspective it is just about understanding where we are at and the information I have at the moment is the deal is imminent but, like with all these things, you leave yourself some leeway.

“But moving forward and training today preparing for Brentford, we are doing it without Harry.

“It is best Harry speaks for himself in terms of the decision, but no doubt he is one of the greats of this football club and that never changes.

“I am only new in the building, but (it is) fairly evident Harry Kane will always be one of the greats for this football club.”

It remains to be seen whether the deal will be done in time for Kane to play any part in Bayern’s DFB Super Cup match with RB Leipzig on Saturday night.

However, with the clash taking place at Bayern’s Allianz Arena home, the England captain could well be unveiled to supporters before kick-off.

Bayern saw bids for Kane, who is in the last 12 months of his contract at Spurs, reportedly turned down in June and July but they made their intentions clear, with honorary president Uli Hoeness and president Herbert Hainer speaking openly in the media about the player’s desire to join the Bundesliga champions.

A third bid was submitted last Friday and Spurs spent all weekend deliberating before chairman Daniel Levy rejected the offer on Monday.

With noises coming out that Kane, who scored four goals in a friendly win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday, had enjoyed working with Postecoglou, confidence started to grow that he could spend the season with his boyhood team.

But Bayern’s latest bid proved enough for an agreement to be reached and, after taking his time to weigh up the decision, Kane decided to end his 19-year stay at Spurs.

It means his pursuit of Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record will be put on hold, with the Tottenham forward still 47 goals off equalling Shearer’s tally of 260.

However, the move will almost guarantee him the first major trophies of his career, as well as giving him a shot at Champions League glory.

Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel has been a long-term admirer of Kane but was coy when asked about the forward ahead of Saturday’s match with Leipzig.

Tuchel told a press conference: “We are working with full pressure on this deal.

“I understand there are a lot of ifs and whens. All options are open. The first is to have him as a player and at the moment he is not yet that.

“This is a big deal. We are trying to take the England captain away from the Premier League.”

Kane has been the subject of interest from Bayern Munich all summer and the German club are reported to have lodged their latest bid for the forward on Friday.

An apparent self-imposed deadline of midnight was also set by Bayern, but there has been no further news on the outcome of that bid and Kane showed no signs that he was distracted by grabbing a hat-trick in 55 minutes against Shakhtar while being continuously serenaded by the home crowd.

Sunday’s fixture was new boss Ange Postecoglou’s first match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and he was introduced before kick-off to strong applause.

The decibel level were raised even more when Kane’s name was announced after he was included in the starting line-up and given the captain’s armband in the absence of Hugo Lloris.

After Kane had two early shots saved, he scored the first of his four-goal salvo in the 38th-minute when he fired home from the penalty spot after James Maddison had been brought down in the area.

Shakhtar did level on the verge of half-time when Kevin Kelsy headed in from close-range, but it was soon back to the Kane show.

Maddison again combined with his England team-mate in the 50th-minute when his floated crossed was nodded in at the back post by Kane.

The hat-trick was completed five minutes later when Son passed into Dejan Kulusevski, who slipped the ball between Mykola Matviyenko’s legs and Kane drilled into the bottom corner.

Spurs’ record goal-scorer had already heard several renditions of ‘he’s one of our own’ before his treble but a section of the South Stand chanted ‘we want you to stay’ after his third goal.

There was still time for one more Kane goal when substitute Manor Solomon saw his curled shot saved and Kane was there to tap in from close-range in the 79th-minute.

Postecoglou replaced the forward a minute later and Kane left the pitch to a standing ovation before he responded with applause to all four corners of the ground.

Academy graduate Dane Scarlett replaced Kane and scored with the last kick of the game with a fine left-footed effort from Kulusevski’s cross.

The full-time whistle followed and Kane walked over on his own to each side of the stadium to clap the fans still in attendance in what Tottenham supporters’ will hope is not the last time they have seen their all-time leading goal-scorer.

The forward first joined Spurs as an 11-year-old and would go on to make 435 appearances for his boyhood team, scoring 280 goals to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the highs and lows of Kane’s career at Tottenham.

High – An early high for Kane in the infancy of his Spurs career came at Villa Park in November 2014. Trailing to an Aston Villa side that had lost five matches in a row, under-pressure Mauricio Pochettino introduced Kane, who had scored regularly in cup competitions but not yet won the faith of the new Tottenham boss. A last-minute deflected free-kick winner arguably proved a sliding doors moment for not only the forward but Pochettino.

Low – Kane scored in three consecutive rounds to help book a League Cup final showdown with rivals Chelsea in February 2015. But they were beaten 2-0 by Jose Mourinho’s serial-winners. Kane later described the defeat as “the worst feeling in the world”.

A post shared by Harry Kane (@harrykane)

High –Kane would go on to create better memories at Wembley and a hat-trick against Southampton on Boxing Day in 2017 sealed a number of individual achievements. After a first-half brace at Tottenham’s temporary Wembley home ensured Kane broke the record for most Premier League goals in a year, he sealed his treble in the 67th minute. It was Kane’s 39th top-flight goal of 2017 and took his overall tally for club and country over the 12-month period to 56, beating Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to most goals in Europe in a calendar year. This sixth Premier League hat-trick of 2017 set a new record.

Low –Kane and Tottenham’s journey reached its peak in the summer of 2019 when a remarkable European run took them to the Champions League final. Kane missed the stunning semi-final comeback against Ajax due to an ankle injury, which almost ruled him out of the showpiece in Madrid. While Kane recovered in time to face Liverpool, it proved a bittersweet occasion with the forward unable to influence the match on his first start in seven weeks as they lost 2-0.

Low –Two years later Spurs made another cup final, but it was further pain for Kane. Pochettino’s successor Mourinho was dismissed days before Tottenham faced Manchester City at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final and Kane’s former team-mate Ryan Mason was placed in caretaker charge. With the fixture taking place during the coronavirus pandemic, only 7,773 supporters were allowed into Wembley and they witnessed Kane – again only just back from an ankle injury – and Spurs produce a toothless display as another chance to win silverware disappeared.

High –After Man City were unable to secure the services of Kane in the summer of 2021, the England captain broke Tottenham’s all-time scoring record in February 2022. A January goal at Fulham allowed Kane to draw level with Jimmy Greaves on 266 before he broke the record in a 1-0 win against City in the Premier League. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg teed up Kane inside the area and his scuffed 12-yard finish beat Ederson to take his tally to 267.

Son cancelled out Lyle Foster’s early opener in the 16th minute and then, after goals from Cristian Romero and James Maddison had put Tottenham in control, he scored two in the space of four minutes just after the hour as Spurs made it 10 points from Ange Postecoglou’s first four league games in charge.

Spurs have boosted their attacking options with Friday’s signing of Brennan Johnson, not registered in time to make his debut here, but Son will carry much of the scoring burden after Harry Kane’s exit and his first goals since April will add to the sense of optimism amongst the travelling fans.

There was a stoppage-time consolation goal from Josh Brownhill but this was another chastening afternoon for Burnley.

There was no shyness in their play after opening defeats to Manchester City and Aston Villa and their positive early approach was rewarded by Foster’s goal just four minutes in, but their high-risk possession game was then ruthlessly punished by Spurs.

The opening 15 minutes offered much encouragement. Just four minutes in Burnley won the ball inside their own half and quickly shuffled it left, where the impressive Luca Koleosho beat Pedro Porro to a through-ball and played in Foster for his second goal in as many league appearances.

The mood inside Turf Moor was buoyant as Burnley bossed possession and kept Tottenham pegged back, but it all changed in the 16th minute with the help of a simple ball over the top from Porro.

Son sprang forward to beat Dara O’Shea to the ball, then exchanged passes with Manor Solomon before clipping the ball over the advancing James Trafford.

Tottenham were growing into the game, with Maddison pulling the strings and Burnley too often getting themselves in trouble with their attempts to play out from the back.

Pape Sarr saw a shot unconventionally blocked by Ameen Al-Dakhil, with the chance coming after Trafford’s clearance went straight to Dejan Kulusevski. Trafford then had to dive to his left to keep out a bending effort from Maddison before Porro sent an inviting chance wide.

The pressure told in first-half stoppage time as Burnley failed to clear a corner and the ball came for Romero to fire in from the edge of the area via the inside of the left-hand post, with the goal surviving a lengthy VAR check for offside.

Kompany made two changes at the break as Hannes Delcroix and Brownhill replaced Sander Berge and Johann Berg Gudmundsson, with Brownhill quickly bending a shot narrowly over, but more sloppy play at the back from the Clarets was soon punished.

The under-pressure Al-Dhakil gave the ball away on the right and it was all too easy for Spurs to find Maddison in space on the edge of the box, his curling finish leaving Trafford with no chance.

At the other end Foster raced on to a through-ball but Romero got a touch to his shot before Guglielmo Vicario touched it over.

Within minutes, Son put the game beyond Burnley. Solomon squared an inviting ball for him to fire in his second in the 63rd minute, and moments later he had the pace to get in behind the Burnley defence and collect Porro’s ball forward, beating Trafford to seal his hat-trick.

Brownhill slid in to get one back for Burnley in stoppage time but by then there was only half the Turf Moor crowd still on hand to see it.

The club’s record goalscorer, who left to join Bayern Munich in the summer, is enjoying watching Ange Postecoglou turn things around at Spurs in the early part of the campaign.

They currently top the Premier League and look like they could challenge Manchester City and Arsenal for the title, albeit with only eight games played.

The England captain, who has started life with a bang at his new club, would love to see his former side end their trophy drought.

A post shared by Harry Kane (@harrykane)

“I have made it clear my whole career I am a Tottenham fan and I would love to see Tottenham do well,” he said.

“Spurs are doing pretty well. It’s great to see. I think I’ve said before, the manager is doing great for them with the way they’re playing.

“The fans are right behind the team and it’s definitely what they needed after the last few years. I’ll always keep an eye on Spurs and the Premier League.

“Of course, there’s still a long way to go, but like the manager said, there’s no reason why the fans shouldn’t be excited and happy with the way things are going. Hopefully they can continue.

“There is no other team in the Premier League I would want to win than Tottenham.

“Also, I have to be respectful to Bayern Munich and of course, the fans know I will always have a soft spot for Spurs – there is no question about that – but I have got to put all my attention on Bayern Munich and to make us as successful as possible.

“So, I know there will be questions, for sure, particularly when Tottenham are doing well.

“Of course, I hope they do as well as possible but my main attention is where I am now and trying to perform for Bayern.”

Kane has already proven his head is firmly in Munich after a scintillating start where he has nine goals and five assists in nine games.

“In terms of the start I’ve been really happy,” he said.

“There’s always a bit of added pressure when you go to a new club, the expectation, you’ve been bought for a lot of money and people just expect you to hit the ground running and start scoring and start winning but it’s not always the case.

“There’s a lot of other stuff that goes into a transfer – like I’ve touched on already, just the personal stuff as well, trying to find houses, living in hotels, not having my family with me.

“It’s all stuff I’m not used to. So to be able to have started the way I have, I’m really proud of.

“Of course I always feel like I probably could have scored a few more goals, I’ve had quite a few chances.

“But in general, if you’d have told me before the transfer this is what I’d be on, the amount of goals and assists and wins, I’d have taken that so definitely happy with that.”

The 40-year-old, now a television pundit and presenter, took to social media during the thrilling 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium after the Gunners were awarded a controversial penalty, prompting a backlash from other users.

Responding to the criticism on Monday, Jenas wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “I hold my hands up, I got it wrong yesterday.

“I should know, more than most, the responsibility we have as fans, players and pundits and the impact our words online can have as it’s an area I’ve been vocal in.

“My emotions got the better of me and I apologise to The FA and to all match officials.”

Jenas’ initial post came after Jones had been advised by the Video Assistant Referee to take another look at an incident in which the ball had hit the arm of Spurs defender Cristian Romero from close range.

The referee had not initially awarded a penalty, but did so after the review and Bukayo Saka promptly dispatched the spot-kick to make it 2-1 to the home side, although Son Heung-min levelled almost immediately to ensure the game finished all square.

Jenas, who was part of the Football Association, Premier League and EFL’s Love Football, Protect the Game campaign ahead of the new season, wrote: “Complete sh**house off a referee! They’re all ruining the our game!”

The charity Ref Support UK accused Jenas of encouraging the abuse of match officials.

The organisation said on X: “This is a disgraceful tweet and you should be ashamed. Your tweet encourages online abuse of referees and considering your role on TV your employers need to give their head a wobble.

“Remember Anthony Taylor and his family were attacked at an airport because of antics such as yours.”