Tottenham are braced for a busy end to the summer transfer window with Ange Postecoglou eager to bring in reinforcements.
Spurs made nine changes for their Carabao Cup second-round tie at Fulham on Tuesday, but Hugo Lloris, Djed Spence, Eric Dier, Japhet Tanganga, Sergio Reguilon and Tanguy Ndombele were all absent from the matchday squad.
A much-changed starting line-up suffered a 5-3 penalty shoot-out defeat and while the club will attempt to shift the absent six players before 11pm on Friday, Postecoglou has not ruled out further incomings.
He said: “Well, I think my view around that hasn’t really changed. We need to trim the squad and get it to a more manageable state.
“Then see what is available for us to then bring in players to strengthen the squad in a couple of areas that we may need.”
Developments around right-back Spence gathered pace this week and he will join Leeds on a season-long loan with no obligation to buy, while Serie A outfit Torino could offer Tanganga regular football after they registered an interest in signing the centre-back on loan.
Ex-Spurs captain Lloris has been linked with Roma in recent days and Genoa were reported as an option for Ndombele on Tuesday but Manchester United no longer appear to be a viable suitor for Reguilon.
Reports in Germany have suggested Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are interested in Dier, who has a year left on his deal at Tottenham.
Davinson Sanchez and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg started at Fulham but could depart before Friday’s deadline with Tottenham looking to trim their bloated squad ahead of September 13 when a 25-man list will be submitted to the Premier League.
Incomings have not been ruled out and Spurs appear to have no direct competition for Nottingham Forest attacker Brennan Johnson, who had attracted interest from Brentford but they have turned their attention elsewhere.
It opens the door for Tottenham to move for the Welsh international with Forest ready to listen to offers around the £50million mark.
Any potential arrival of Johnson, who can play across the front three, would ease the burden on Richarlison following Harry Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich earlier this month.
Richarlison opened his account for the season with a second-half header at Fulham, but Postecoglou said of the £60million forward: “I guess because everyone has been talking about it, it is great for him to score a goal.
“I think he has played better for us in the other games. I get why other people look at it (the goals) and I understand it, but for me it is about contributing to our football and how we want to play.
“I think the goals will come. The way we play, our strikers, our attacking players, all our players will all have an opportunity to score.”
Meanwhile, Fulham boss Marco Silva was able to laugh about his old forward scoring against him after his team progressed into the third round.
Silva admitted: “It is life but Richarlison is a top guy, a top professional.
“I know and Richarlison knows as well how he has been working so, so hard to achieve and reach what he already reach in his football career.
“Of course all strikers they need goals. A striker that is replacing a player like Harry Kane probably needs to score quick to start to be more confident as well but Richarlison is already the number nine of the national team.
“He is a hard worker, a top quality player and I wish the best for him in the future.”
Europa Conference League: Aston Villa stunned by Olympiacos
Aston Villa were stunned by Olympiacos as they suffered a 4-2 home defeat in the Europa Conference League.
On what the Villa faithful hoped would be a famous night at Villa Park, they instead saw their team dispatched by their Greek opponents in the first leg of their semi-final encounter.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for the visitors, who were 2-0 up inside 30 minutes on Thursday.
Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby struck either side of the interval to restore parity, but El Kaabi sealed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Santiago Hezze added further gloss with a sensational finish. To add to Villa's misery, Douglas Luiz then missed a penalty late on.
In the other semi-final tie, Fiorentina took a 3-2 aggregate lead against Club Brugge.
M'Bala Nzola was Fiorentina's hero in stoppage time, scoring in the 91st minute to nudge the Serie A team ahead.
Hans Vanaken had scored from a penalty following a VAR check for handball in the 17th minute, cancelling out Riccardo Sottil's early opener, though Fiorentina restored their lead through Andrea Belotti before half-time in a frantic first half.
Thiago equalised for Brugge, but it was ultimately not enough.
Europa League: Wirtz and Andrich goals put Leverkusen on the brink, Marseille hold Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen put one foot in the Europa League final as Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in Thursday's 2-0 semi-final first-leg win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma were masters of their own downfall as Wirtz opened the scoring after 28 minutes, Rick Karsdorp's horrible error allowing Alex Grimaldo to race into the area and tee up Wirtz to finish into an unguarded net.
Though Daniele De Rossi's hosts improved after the break, Andrich added a spectacular second with 73 minutes on the clock, the midfielder giving Mile Svilar no chance as he side-footed into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.
Roma should have pulled one back four minutes into stoppage time, but Tammy Abraham could only nod over from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble, and they now have it all to do in next week's second leg.
Leverkusen's unbeaten run for 2023-24 stands at 47 games across all competitions (39 wins, eight draws), and they are now overwhelming favourites to stamp their ticket to the final in Dublin.
The other semi-final tie remains in the balance at the halfway stage, with Atalanta being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Having scored twice in La Dea's memorable win at Anfield in the last round, Gianluca Scamacca took in Teun Koopmeiners' pass before finishing low across goal 11 minutes in, but Gian Piero Gasperini's team couldn't hold on.
Chancel Mbemba was the unlikely goalscorer for Marseille, stepping out of defence to clip a 25-yard effort against the far post and in after 20 minutes.
Neither side could find a winner from there, meaning it's all to play for ahead of next week's return fixture at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.
Orlando City v FC Cincinnati: Acosta hails visitors for absorbing punches
Luciano Acosta has hailed FC Cincinnati for coming through a testing period as they look to make it three straight wins in MLS play at Orlando City on Saturday.
After going unbeaten through their first six games of the season, Cincinnati suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal.
However, they have since bounced back with two wins over difficult opponents, seeing off Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids by the same scoreline.
Acosta scored his 44th goal for Cincinnati – the most of any player in franchise history – in that latter game, and he believes their resilience has been key.
"I think it's just about our mentality," Acosta said. "We lost those two games and it was a bit of a punch that woke us up. But now it's about the mentality and getting back to it."
Head coach Pat Noonan said of Acosta: "I think what makes it more impressive is teams are going to try to prevent him from having an impact.
"When you're a key player and you're able to do what he's doing with the focus on stopping you in a lot of ways, that's what is unique."
Orlando, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by Toronto FC last week, halting their four-game unbeaten streak and dropping them to 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Forward Duncan McGuire felt the Lions should have taken maximum points from that game and is desperate to atone at Inter&Co Stadium.
"I definitely think we should've won," he said.
"I think how difficult this felt and how this feels for us right now is going to push us and motivate us to train hard all week, to get a win for the fans at home and get the job done."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Duncan McGuire
Maguire scored his fourth goal of the MLS season against Toronto last week – no other Orlando player has netted more than once in 2024.
Those goals have come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.7, with the United States international also attempting a team-high 27 shots this campaign.
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in four straight MLS matches (one goal, three assists).
It is Acosta's fifth streak of four or more straight regular-season games with a goal contribution for Cincinnati, with Brandon Vazquez the only other player to achieve that feat for the team.
MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando earned a win and a draw against Supporters' Shield winners Cincinnati last season, making them one of two teams (also the New England Revolution) to play Cincinnati twice in the 2023 regular season and not lose either match.
The Lions may just fancy their chances of another positive result against Noonan's men, who have only won one of their last three away games (one draw, one defeat).
Orlando have only lost two of their last 17 regular-season home matches dating back to last April, winning nine and drawing six, so viewers should expect a response to their loss last time out.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 49.3%
FC Cincinnati – 23.6%
Draw – 27.1%
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