Wales manager Rob Page has promised not to jeopardise the health of Brennan Johnson by telling him to turn up for international duty when carrying an injury.

Johnson will miss Wales’ crunch Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia in Cardiff on October 15 after sustaining a hamstring injury on his first start for Tottenham against Arsenal in the north London derby.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou confirmed on Friday that Johnson will miss Tottenham’s Premier League trip to Luton this weekend but will be fit to return after the international break.

Page said: “The communication between us and Tottenham has been first-class. It’s about having mutual respect. Both managers want a talented player fit so it’s about working together.

“I’m not going to insist that he has to come away and we’re going to play him, jeopardise his safety and health. I wouldn’t do that. But they also understand the importance of our games.”

Page criticised Johnson’s former club Nottingham Forest after he missed Wales’ Euro 2024 qualifier away to Croatia in March.

Page said at the time that he should have been “stronger” to ensure Johnson arrived on camp for Wales to make their own medical assessment of the 22-year-old forward.

Johnson has since joined Tottenham for £47.5million – the second highest transfer fee paid for a Welsh player after Gareth Bale – and is considered to be a hugely influential figure as Wales move forward in the post-Bale era.

On communicating with Tottenham over Johnson’s fitness situation, Page added: “We’ve had great conversations with them, but ultimately his injury will dictate whether he can meet up or not.”

Wales realistically need to avoid defeat against World Cup semi-finalists Croatia and win both games of their November double-header to secure automatic qualification for next summer’s Euro 2024 in Germany.

Captain Aaron Ramsey was not named in the squad for the Croatia game after damaging a knee tendon and has also been ruled out of November’s games against Armenia and Turkey by his Cardiff manager Erol Bulut.

Aaron Ramsey will miss Wales’ November Euro 2024 qualifiers, according to his Cardiff manager Erol Bulut.

Ramsey had already been ruled out of October’s qualifier against Croatia with a knee injury sustained in training last month.

But Wales boss Rob Page, announcing his squad for that fixture on Wednesday, said he was hopeful Ramsey would recover in time to play in the final two group games against Armenia and Turkey in November.

However, Bulut has said Ramsey faces at least two months on the sidelines, and that timescale will be increased should the 32-year-old require surgery.

“Aaron, we were talking about how many weeks he would be out, we were waiting also,” Bulut said at his pre-match press conference for Cardiff’s home game against Watford on Saturday.

“Hopefully without surgery, he will be out at least eight to 10 weeks.

“If he does get surgery, it will be up to 12 weeks. If something happens in these weeks, it will add 12 weeks.

“You could see, when he was on the field, he was great. He linked the game. We will miss him.”

Former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder Ramsey rejoined hometown club Cardiff in July and had been in fine form for club and country.

He scored from the penalty spot in the two games before his injury, for Wales in their Euro qualifying victory over Latvia and against derby rivals Swansea in a 2-0 Sky Bet Championship win.

Tottenham defender Ben Davies, the Wales vice-captain, will lead the Dragons in Ramsey’s absence.

Wales realistically need to draw against World Cup semi-finalists Croatia and win both games of their November double-header to secure automatic qualification for next summer’s Euro 2024 finals in Germany and avoid the play-offs.

Wales are in talks to play world champions Argentina.

Lionel Messi and company have been lined up as potential opponents for the Dragons with Wales keen to play Argentina in Cardiff or Patagonia, where thousands of Welsh emigrants settled in the 19th century.

“There is an ongoing discussion between us and them,” Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney said about a possible friendly between the two nations.

“We spoke to them in the last few days about playing in Cardiff.

“I met the Argentinian ambassador when he was in Cardiff talking to the Welsh Government.

“I used the opportunity to talk to him about the opportunity for Wales to go down to play in Argentina. He was excited by the idea, although he obviously he doesn’t decide who plays who.”

Wales have played only once at Cardiff’s 74,500-capacity Principality Stadium since 2011 – a friendly against former European and world champions Spain in October 2018 – and many Dragons’ fans dislike the idea of playing at the home of Welsh rugby.

But Wales will return to Principality Stadium should UK and Ireland win their bid to host Euro 2028 in Switzerland next month – and the Dragons qualify for the tournament.

The Principality Stadium is among 10 venues to be used across five nations should the UK and Ireland bid be successful.

Mooney said: “You’d have to assume we’d need to play some matches there before the competition to get spectators and players used to it.

“We haven’t thought that much about it, but what I can say is that we know who we’d like to play if we had to – World Cup winners Argentina.

“We may not be at the very top of their queue, but if you look at Patagonia and the relationship between the two countries it would be great. We’d love to do it.

“There is a connection and history between us and Argentina because of the Patagonian links and the Welsh people who settled there.

“I could feel from the Argentine ambassador that warmth they have behind Wales and I’d love to see Lionel Messi playing in Cardiff.”

Patagonia is at the southern end of Argentina – around 1,000 miles from the capital Buenos Aires – and in 2006 the Wales rugby team played at Puerto Madryn, a city founded by Welsh settlers in 1865.

Wales and Argentina have only met twice before, with their last fixture being a 2002 friendly at the Principality Stadium when Craig Bellamy scored in a 1-1 draw against the South Americans.

Andrew Moran scored two and set up two as Blackburn overpowered Cardiff 5-2 in the Carabao Cup third round.

Jake Garrett’s composed finish set Rovers on their way in the 13th minute before Callum Robinson marked his first start of the season with a thunderous equaliser.

The 19-year-old Brighton loanee Moran’s first assist came in the 36th minute when his cutback was turned home by Arnor Sigurdsson on his home debut, but the much-changed Bluebirds hit back again through Kion Etete’s brilliant, improvised equaliser in first-half stoppage time.

A second-half Rovers blitz put the game beyond doubt. Moran profited from woeful defending to score his first goal in English football just after the break, before inducing a foul that led to a Sigurdsson spot kick that was well saved.

He doubled his tally and Blackburn’s lead in the 54th minute with a spectacular long-range effort, before feeding Dilan Markanday to register a fifth 15 minutes later.

Rovers have made the fourth round for the second consecutive campaign, having netted 17 times in their three outings in the competition so far this season.

Home debutant Leopold Wahlstedt made a sharp low save early on to deny Etete, but Blackburn clinically hit the front when James Hill’s long pass found Garrett who controlled brilliantly and slotted underneath Runar Alex Runarsson.

Cardiff equalised in the 18th minute when Robinson found space 25 yards out to rifle an unstoppable drive into the bottom left corner.

Harry Pickering flashed an effort just wide of the post soon after and Rovers reasserted control in the 36th minute when a slick counter attack saw Moran cut back perfectly for Sigurdsson to slam home from six yards.

Etete superbly equalised in first-half stoppage time, controlling a pass on the left and holding off two defenders before turning and producing a screamer that flew into the bottom right corner.

But they were put to the sword early in the second half. Runarsson made a sprawling save to deny Markanday but could do nothing in the 49th minute when Moran intercepted a Jonathan Panzo pass and slotted past the goalkeeper.

Moran then tricked his way into the box and was brought down by Ebou Adams but Sigurdsson’s low penalty was well saved by his Icelandic teammate Runarsson who parried behind.

The beleaguered keeper was helpless from the resulting corner though as Moran curled a sumptuous 25-yard drive beyond him in the 54th minute.

Adams denied Semir Telalovic a certain fifth soon after, while Bluebirds debutant James Crole curled on to the roof of the net.

But relentless Rovers hit their fifth in the 69th minute when Moran’s perfectly weighted pass found Markanday on the right who stroked home into the far corner via a post.

Tony Mowbray thinks Sunderland still have to get used to playing at the Stadium of Light against teams looking to frustrate their attacking style of play.

The Black Cats boss reflected on a disappointing day for his side when Cardiff defended well to pave the way for Mark McGuinness to head in an 87th-minute winner.

That was enough to lift the Bluebirds up to seventh in the Sky Bet Championship courtesy of a third win in a row but the result halted Sunderland’s impressive run.

Mowbray’s side were looking for a fourth successive win but instead McGuinness’ winner ended a five-match unbeaten run.

Cardiff set up to make things difficult for Sunderland from the start and along with some good defending, goalkeeper Jak Alnwick made a string of fine saves.

Mowbray said: “We shouldn’t be too disappointed, they gave it a real go. We found it last year, teams will come and defend here, get men behind the ball and they were very resilient.

“We have have to find that extra bit of quality. It felt like we dominated the game, and it could have been a nice 1-0 win for us.

“I didn’t think Cardiff looked like winning the game but they have nicked one in the end. It’s frustrating for us.

“There was lots of good stuff from us in the right areas, but maybe the final pass, that final ricochet, wasn’t there. Cardiff managed to block a few second half and we will give them credit, they came with a game-plan and we didn’t manage to break it down.

“We had the ball a lot and yet we didn’t find a way to score today. We had lots of moments and I am sure had we found that extra touch we would have scored and won the game.”

After a slow start to the season Cardiff are finding their feet under former Fenerbahce manager Erol Bulut, who took over in June.

And he is convinced the players are starting to understand his demands after another hard-working display that earned its rewards.

Bulut, who revealed the absent Aaron Ramsey was ill, said: “It was a great win, but first congratulations to Sunderland who have one of the best teams in the league. They have a good future ahead of them. It was not easy to have this victory for us.

“Sometimes you have to fight to win and score one goal and this time it got us a victory. We got the chance and we finalised it. We got the corner, there was great fight, and we scored from it.

“You could see the first games we had in the league, where we were leading and we lost points. Concentration was not how I wanted it. But we have trained, spoken about it, had individual meetings, and the last few weeks have been better.

“It’s still not perfect, and football is a mistakes game, so we tried not to make mistakes in the defence and we were in the right position to win.

“We have three wins now and we have to stay calm. I am a manager who tries to give maximum, take maximum and ask for the maximum. If we get those we will get rewards.”

Former Sunderland academy player Jak Alnwick kept his old club at bay before Mark McGuinness headed home a late winner to snatch a 1-0 victory for improving Cardiff at the Stadium of Light.

The 30-year-old goalkeeper, who left the Black Cats to join Newcastle in 2008, made a string of fine saves to frustrate Tony Mowbray’s men.

And with three minutes remaining centre-back McGuinness headed in the only goal of the game to make it four wins from five for the Bluebirds.

That was enough to bring an end to Sunderland’s five-match unbeaten and they remain fifth in the Sky Bet Championship standings.

Cardiff, who move up to seventh, had a couple of earlier half-chances but this was a fixture when they were thankful to Hexham-born Alnwick for keeping them in it.

Mowbray named an unchanged team in a bid to continue the excellent run of form but Cardiff, under former Fenerbahce boss Erol Bulut, have enjoyed recent positivity too after a slow start to the season.

Cardiff were set up to frustrate, with the home side quick to enjoy plenty of possession in the opposition’s half.

But chances were few and far between early on at the Stadium of Light, where Friday’s England Women’s Nations League win over Scotland pushed back this fixture by 24 hours.

After Karlan Grant had fired over from distance for Cardiff, Sunderland started to get more joy at the other end and should have taken the lead 22 minutes in.

Just minutes after Jobe Bellingham had headed into the arms of Alnwick, the goalkeeper looked beaten when Alex Pritchard side-footed towards the bottom corner.

But Cardiff defender Dimitrios Goutas’ touch was enough to take the effort inches wide of the upright after some clever play from Abdoullah Ba and Bellingham down the left created the opportunity.

Even though Sunderland had to be aware of Cardiff’s counter-attacks, Jack Clarke was next to go close when he skipped past two men and forced Alnwick into a low stop before half-time.

The flow of the game continued that way after the restart. Alnwick was again on hand low to his right to stop Pritchard’s drive from the edge of the area after a lovely move also involving Mason Burstow and Clarke.

While goalless the door was always open for Cardiff and Ike Ugbo turned and shot over after the visitors created a promising opening when Burstow was dispossessed on halfway moments after he was cautioned.

Sunderland kept pressing and Clarke’s excellent run and pass was followed by Alnwick saving from Patrick Roberts’ first-time effort, while fellow substitute Adil Aouchiche’s rebound was blocked by a defender.

Cardiff’s Kion Etete forced Anthony Patterson into a stop after a mazy run through the Sunderland backline with 10 minutes remaining as the game suddenly opened up.

And the ideal away performance was complete when McGuinness arrived at the back post to nod Ryan Wintle’s corner inside the bottom corner late on.

Cardiff manager Erol Bulut’s gamble on resting Aaron Ramsey paid handsome dividends as his side beat Coventry 3-2 to make it back-to-back home wins in the Championship for the first time since February.

Ramsey sat out the game against the Sky Blues having played for both club and country last week and Bulut did not want to push him too hard too soon.

“Aaron was rested because he had had a problem with his adductor muscle when he was away with the national team and he felt it again against Swansea,” said Bulut.

“I couldn’t risk him getting any more injuries, but he’ll be back for Sunderland on Sunday.

“He’s a great, great player who has enjoyed a great career, but the players who came in tonight showed that all the team is important, not just individuals.

“We have to be a team and we showed we are a team tonight against a good Coventry side. It was a good victory over Swansea, but we couldn’t celebrate too much because of this game.

“We had to rest, work hard and then put in 100 per cent effort for 100 minutes to make it back-to-back wins.”

Dimitrios Goutas and Karlan Grant each scored their first Cardiff goal, either side of Matt Godden’s equaliser. Kion Etete scored Cardiff’s clincher before Godden pulled another back in stoppage time.

After four successive draws, Mark Robins’ Sky Blues – play-off finalists last season – saw Cardiff overtake them in the league table as they slumped to 15th.

“We weren’t brave enough – for the first 20-25 minutes, we didn’t lay a glove on them,” said Robins.

“We are normally braver and better on the ball than that. We turned the ball over a lot.

“I also felt disappointed by the manner of the goals we conceded. We scored two goals away from home and gave three away – that’s not like us.

“We don’t normally concede like that, and certainly not from set-pieces. We have players in the side who are better than that.

“We have got good players in the side who can do the job but for two thirds of the first half we didn’t cause them any issues. We had a good spell at the end when Matt Godden got his second goal.

“We’ve got to dust ourselves down and go again. We’ve got good players who can do a job, but they need to communicate better.”

Dimitrios Goutas and Karlan Grant both scored their first goals for Cardiff as the Bluebirds made it back-to-back wins in the Championship for the first time this season.

Their 3-2 home win over Coventry pushed them into the top half of the table and saw the Sky Blues drop to 15th. Kion Etete polished things off for the home side with a goal with his first touch in the 84th minute.

Matt Godden scored twice for the visitors, levelling the scores in the first half and then heading home his second in the 95th minute.

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut opted to rest Wales skipper Aaron Ramsey after his two games for club and country last week but rewarded Ollie Tanner for scoring his first goal for the club in the 2-0 win over Swansea by giving him his first start at home in the Championship.

It had taken Tanner a mere 40 seconds to score with his first touch after coming on at the weekend and he was the first into the thick of the action for the Bluebirds playing in a wide right position as he tested the Coventry defence.

He flashed a header past the post in the fifth minute and then saw Greek defender Goutas follow in his footsteps three minutes later by scoring his first goal for the club as he powered home a free header from a Joe Ralls corner.

The home side were good value for their lead and almost got a second in the 33rd minute when a Ryan Wintle cross from the right edge of the box was turned inches wide by Ike Ugbo from the middle of the six-yard box.

Coventry arrived in the Welsh capital sitting two places above their hosts but on the same number of points. Having absorbed most of the pressure in the opening half-hour, they hit back in the 33rd minute from a corner.

Jak Alnwick punched the ball away from his goal, but only as far as the edge of the D. Milan van Ewijk immediately stroked a pass to his left to skipper Liam Kelly, whose first-time touch into the area found Godden to turn on the edge of the six-yard box and bag the equaliser.

It was his fifth goal in eight games to underline just why the Sky Blues were so keen to get him to sign a new contract last month.

All of a sudden there was a real spring in the step of the visitors and when Tatsuhiro Sakamoto was introduced eight minutes into the second half they got even livelier.

Cardiff, though, regained the lead just after the hour mark after they swept the play upfield and Ralls carried across field to give Tanner and Wintle the chance to combine on the right. It was Wintle’s measured cross that enabled West Brom loanee Grant to stoop low and head home from eight yards.

Alnwick had to be at his best in the home goal to stop Kasey Palmer from levelling in the 71st minute when he shot from 10 yards out.

Etete fired across goal to hit the left corner to make it a two-goal lead and though Godden scored his second of the night in the fifth of the 10 added minutes it was too little, too late.

Erol Bulut explained the reasoning behind his decision to keep Ollie Tanner at Cardiff after the young winger claimed South Wales derby hero status in the Bluebirds’ 2-0 win over Swansea.

Cardiff had lost the previous four derbies against their bitter rivals and were being held at bay before 21-year-old Tanner was sent on as a 70th-minute substitute.

Tanner, who was signed from Isthmian League side Lewes in July 2022 and spent the second half of last season on loan at York, scored his first Cardiff goal within 60 seconds of arriving and then won the penalty which captain Aaron Ramsey converted to seal matters.

Cardiff manager Bulut said: “He came from nothing and last season he was not here.

“When I had the pre-season, I gave everybody the chance to play and I saw that he had something in him.

“He has a good left foot, he has a good shot, he can dribble, he is strong on the ball. So I said I will give him a chance and keep him.

“I hope for his career he continues likes this, keep his feet on the floor. I said I would not give him away (on loan), I made the right decision.”

Bulut, the former Fenerbahce manager who has taken charge of passionate Istanbul derbies with Besiktas and Galatasaray, said before the game he had mingled with Cardiff fans in a city centre pub to understand the importance of the rivalry.

It was Cardiff’s first derby win on home soil since November 2013, which was a Premier League fixture.

He said: “To have a win is special. I’ve played a lot of derbies in my career as a player and a coach and I said to them this game was different.

“The fans told me it was 10 years since we won (in Cardiff) and this was very important for us. It was a must for the table and what pleased me is that we were really a team on the field.”

Swansea have yet to win a league game under Michael Duff and remain in the bottom three.

Duff was given short shrift by some Swansea fans as he went to them after the final whistle.

He said: “It’s part of the job. I don’t like getting beat. I’m not stupid.

“I’m sure there’ll be a vent at me, but I’ve been here before. This is where you see the true characters at the club.

“The ones that stick together, the ones that don’t blame everyone else and whisper in the corridor. There’s been a lot of change at the club. That’s not me hiding behind it.”

Swansea did not manage a shot on target until the final minute, with Duff adding: “It’s the lack of quality that cost us the game.

“I faulted them the last time we got beat because there wasn’t enough intensity, that was there today.

“We couldn’t sustain attacks, we couldn’t build momentum and every time we went forward we gave it away. That’s why we didn’t get any threat.”

Rob Page believes Wales are heading into their crunch Euro 2024 qualifier in Latvia with renewed confidence after holding South Korea to a Cardiff draw.

Wales have now won only once in 13 games, but Page accentuated the positives after a goalless stalemate against opponents who reached the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“There’s lots of positives and we take that momentum and confidence into a tough game on Monday,” Page said after Wales had returned to action following damaging Euro 2024 qualifying defeats by Armenia and Turkey in June.

“JJ (Jordan James) has had a very good debut and he’s had that experience under his belt against a world-class team.

“It’s building confidence ahead of Monday and getting rid of the disappointment of June’s camp.

“They’ve reacted in a positive way. We’ve had meetings through the week regards to the defenders and the goals we’ve conceded.

“We’ve kept a clean sheet against a technically good team with one of the best strikers (Son Heung-min) in world football, and at the end we could have won it 1-0 with Kieffer’s header.”

Substitute Kieffer Moore almost broke the deadlock after 66 minutes when his header came back off a post.

Skipper Aaron Ramsey, who has just entered the action on the hour, was unable to prod home the rebound from a yard out.

Brennan Johnson played the first 45 minutes after completing a £47.5million move from Nottingham Forest to Tottenham on deadline day as Page selected a far stronger side than most had expected before their Latvia test in Riga.

Page said: “There’s been lots said since the last camp. Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. It’s not a problem.

“I know what I’ve got in the changing room and the staff room. It’s about winning games of football, I get that. The transition we’re in, we’ve lost some world-class players.

“You would have seen the reaction of the players. I’m really pleased with them.

“I’m proud of how we defended. That was back to our identity.

“That’s the level of performance we reached in March, away against Croatia and at home against Latvia.

“We didn’t meet those standards in June and that’s what disappointed me the most, but we were back to those standards here.”

Jurgen Klinsmann was appointed as South Korea head coach in February and has failed to win any of his five games in charge – drawing three and losing two.

“It was a very good test for us and I am pleased with what the players showed,” said Klinsmann, the former Germany and United States boss.

“Wales had a back five that was very difficult to break. As a team we want to see development, we want to see them grow and every game helps us.

“This is the moment in these friendly games to try these things out, you can see that the team has changed since my first game in March.”

Wales warmed up for their crucial Euro 2024 qualifier in Latvia with a goalless stalemate against South Korea in Cardiff.

Substitute Kieffer Moore went the closest to breaking the deadlock by heading Chris Mepham’s second-half cross against a post.

But Wales failed to secure a morale-boosting victory that under-pressure manager Rob Page craved, and it is now only one win in 13 games either side of a disappointing World Cup for the Dragons.

Page had admitted a first-ever meeting with South Korea was a fixture he could have done without as it came four days before the vital Euros qualifier in Riga.

That comment upset many Wales supporters who had paid for tickets, but many chose to stay away as the Cardiff City Stadium was less than half full with the attendance given as 13,668.

The outcome in Riga will shape the rest of Wales’ Euro campaign – and possibly even Page’s future – with Wales running out of time to make up for June defeats by Armenia and Turkey in the race for automatic qualification.

With Euro group rivals playing on Friday, UEFA regulations stipulated that Wales had to fulfil this date on the international calendar with a friendly.

Page suggested he was not going to risks with his team selection ahead of Latvia and captain Aaron Ramsey sat on the bench for the opening hour.

But Page fielded a stronger line-up than many expected with Brennan Johnson starting just days after his £47.5million move from Nottingham Forest to Tottenham.

Ipswich’s Nathan Broadhead made his first Wales start alongside Johnson in attack. Birmingham midfielder Jordan James also made his maiden start in a three-man midfield.

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min was the star turn for South Korea with Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae also sprinkling stardust on the visitors.

South Korea reached the last 16 at the 2022 World Cup but new boss Jurgen Klinsmann is still waiting for a victory since his February appointment, with three draws and two defeats now on his report card.

Wales began brightly and were unfortunate not to take a 13th-minute lead.

Ethan Ampadu and Broadhead combined to find Wilson who, under pressure from Seol Young-woo, forced a smart save from Kim Seung-gyu.

There was a scare for Wales when Ben Davies, skipper for the night in Ramsey’s absence, was unceremoniously chopped down by Lee Jae-sung.

Kim Min-jae, the 6ft 3in centre-half known as ‘The Monster’ also sent Johnson sprawling to the ground with a blow to the ribs and was grateful that Scottish referee Willie Collum was in a lenient mood.

South Korea enjoyed nearly 60 per cent possession on a night when the sultry conditions saw cooling breaks taken midway through each half.

But that did not translate into danger around the home goal until the closing moments of the first period.

Lee Ki-je’s brilliant cross just evaded Hong Hyun-seok at the far before Son forced Danny Ward to hold his 25-yard attempt under the crossbar.

Wilson had another effort saved before Wales introduced Joe Morrell and Moore – both suspended for the Latvia qualifier – for Ampadu and Johnson at half-time.

The worry for Wales was that Son was starting to roam and dictate matters, the Spurs striker driving over from 20 yards before Hwang In-beom was similarly off target.

But Wales came within inches of taking the lead after 66 minutes.

Mepham crossed to Moore who headed against the post with Ramsey, who had only recently joined the action, unable to turn the ball home.

Broadhead saw his 20-yard attempt deflected wide and Joe Rodon rose well at the resulting a corner but his hopes of a first Wales goal were ended by a full-length Kim save.

Moore headed over with the game’s final touch, but there were more players going down with cramp than chances created in the closing minutes as a rather predictable draw was played out.

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min says he cannot wait to play with £47.5million deadline-day signing Brennan Johnson.

The two players could be in direct opposition on Thursday when Johnson’s Wales host Son’s South Korea in a Cardiff friendly.

After international duty, the pair are set to line up in the same side for the first time as Spurs seek to build on their promising start under Ange Postecoglou at home to Sheffield United on September 16.

“Brennan is another new player. He showed his quality last year at Nottingham Forest and I can’t wait to see him with my eyes,” Son said of his new team-mate who will be expected to fill some of the goals void left by Harry Kane’s summer exit.

“He’s a very good player and he has a very good talent. Welcome to Spurs! I can’t wait to play with him.

“It’s only been four games and we’re looking to keep going in a positive way with our new signing Brennan.

“When he comes to Spurs he wants to improve and go to the next step. He will feel the pressure but I can’t wait to have him in our team playing even better fast and attacking football.”

Son became captain of his country in 2019 and guided them to the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

He was handed the same role at Spurs following Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich last month.

“It’s a great honour and privilege to be captain for club and country,” said Son, who scored a hat-trick in Tottenham’s 5-2 weekend win at Burnley.

“Being a captain is not about words. It’s by actions.

“I have to prove it and show to my team-mates and the team that I can be the leader of the team on and off the pitch.

“I have great players around me with my country and at Tottenham. It was great to score at the weekend.

“But I’m always calm and I never rush when I’m not scoring for a few games because I have 10 players behind me and that’s why we all love football. They help me to become a better person, player and captain.”

South Korea are managed by former Tottenham hero Jurgen Klinsmann and the World Cup winner believes they can end their trophy drought under new boss Postecoglou.

Spurs have not won a trophy since the 2008 League Cup.

The former Germany striker said: “We all know what’s happening in the league and how dominant Man City is at the moment and how difficult it is.

“I look at last year and Arsenal were amazing but I see a team that is not less quality than Arsenal in this Spurs side.

“They have a fantastic coach now, a manager who is a good people person and why can’t they surprise a lot of people this year?

“Son’s goal and his team-mates’ goal is to win trophies. It’s been a long time for Spurs but you start every year with this goal and ambition in mind. The players and coach have that.

“I’m a follower and I keep my fingers crossed as one of their biggest fans. I hope they are successful and win something.”

Cardiff manager Erol Bulut was delighted with his team’s 3-1 victory over Birmingham – and hopes he can bolster his defence before Friday’s transfer deadline.

The Bluebirds boss watched as his side scored through Rubin Colwill, Ryan Wintle and Zion Etete and saw Blues’ Lukas Jutkiewicz sent off midway through the second half.

They did so having made 10 changes to the side which beat Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend – and with a makeshift defence as Ebou Adams lined up alongside Perry Ng and full-back Mahlon Romeo.

“I am delighted because today we played without centre-backs, we created a back three with midfielders,” said Bulut.

“After the opponent was with 10 players we get a little bit relaxed and thought the game was finished. It is not finished, sometimes against 10 players it is more difficult.

“We need centre-backs, today we tried to create centre-backs. I hope at least one, maybe two centre-backs.

“I cannot see anything, wait until Friday then we will see some surprises – I hope.”

Blues counterpart John Eustace felt Jutkiewicz’s dismissal was the turning point.

“I thought it was very harsh from where I was, Jukey was pushed over at the start, he was rolling over then he has turned to try and get the ball and he has caught the lad on the back of the legs,” he said.

“It is a hard red card, it is something we will have to look at and see if we can appeal it. I will have to have a good look again tonight.

“I felt the first 20 minutes caused us a lot of problems, their shape, we couldn’t get used to that. The early goal certainly helps them as well.

“I thought we grew into the game, we got to grips with their shape, we were better with their press, were higher up the pitch. We need to be better in that final third with the decision-making.

“Coming into half-time we were positive, we tweaked a couple of things and I thought we started the second half quite well then obviously the red card just changes the game.”

Birmingham’s unbeaten start to the season ended at St Andrew’s as slick Cardiff strode to a 3-1 victory and passage into the third round of the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2014.

It took the Bluebirds just three minutes to open the scoring as Karlan Grant burst away from Marcel Oakley down their right. The former West Brom man rolled a pass into Rubin Colwill’s path and the 21-year-old stroked home first time.

Blues’ best moment of the first period came in the 24th minute when Andy Rinomhota was booked for bringing down Juninho Bacuna from behind. The Curacao international picked himself up and curled the free-kick over the wall only to see Alex Runarsson superbly tip on to the bar.

The hosts’ task became even more difficult in the 56th minute when Lukas Jutkiewicz was sent off for serious foul play after a late challenge on Mahlon Romeo.

Cardiff doubled their lead 12 minutes later when Ollie Tanner picked out Colwill in the penalty box and the youngster laid back for Ryan Wintle to strike unerringly into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

Birmingham made a contest of it with 20 minutes to go as Manny Longelo threaded a pass into the path of Scott Hogan who finished neatly between the goalkeeper’s legs, but Erol Bulut’s men settled it with a back-post finish from Kion Etete four minutes into added time.

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut was relieved to get his first league win in a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday and believes it has been coming.

Wales skipper Aaron Ramsey had a hand in the opening goal of the game two minutes after half time as Ike Ugbo hammered in his third goal in four games since joining from French Ligue 1 side Troyes in the summer.

Barry Bannan’s screamer looked set to earn a point for Wednesday but Will Vaulks was adjudged to have handled the ball in the seventh minute of added time.

That gave Ryan Wintle the chance to step up and hammer home the winner from the penalty spot to give new Cardiff boss Bulut his first league win.

“I didn’t expect it [first win] to be so difficult. After three games, what we played, we were unlucky at Leicester and Leeds, conceding last-minute goals, so confidence was not like before,” said Bulut.

“That is why this game was really important for us. We could have been 2-0 up if (Callum) O’Dowda or (Yakou) Meite could have taken their chances.

“I think we deserved the win. Everybody fought and we really wanted these three points.

“Sometimes it’s not enough to play well. At Leeds, we played well for 45 minutes, 45 minutes at Leicester. We could have more points by now but 45 minutes is not enough.

“Today, for 90 minutes we were really fighting and we had our moments to make it easier for ourselves but I’m really happy we got three points for the morale of the team. It’s really important.”

Wednesday are still pointless after four games since coming up from League One.

“I think it was our best performance of the season today and we need to continue like this. After we drew level we began to control the game and tried to go on to win it,” said Wednesday boss Xisco Munoz.

“We need to improve on our clean sheets because at the moment we need to score at least two goals to win any game. We lost today because of some of our mistakes, it wasn’t so much a case of Cardiff winning it.

“I am very, very sad for my players because I know how hard they are working every day. We have lost the game because of some silly mistakes.”

Bulut confirmed after the game that goalkeeper Ryan Allsop has been given the go ahead to leave the club. He has been linked with a move to Hull.

“We got a message from his management. If somebody wants to leave, we don’t keep anybody here,” explained Bulut.

“For that shirt, you have to fight. He did it in years before but his management said they wanted to make their move, so we made our move also.

“We took Alex Runarsson on loan so we let him go.”