Tottenham transfer news

YVES BISSOUMA is loving playing under father-figure Ange Postecoglou already as he looks to put his nightmare maiden Spurs season behind him.The Malian was signed last summer by Antonio Conte from Brighton for £25million.
Yves Bissouma vies with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen at Perth’s Optus Stadium
But he was no favourite son of the Italian, who regularly overlooked the midfielder when he was available.
Bissouma’s progress was also hindered by contracting Covid during Spurs’ pre-season tour to South Korea last summer and then sustaining a stress fracture to his ankle in February which kept him out for almost three months.
In the end he made just ten Premier League starts but looks set to be a major figure under new boss Postecoglou.
Speaking of the Australian, Bissouma said: “He gives us confidence. 
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“He’s like a Dad, uncle, friend for us so we’re happy to be with him and we’re trying to do what he wants.
“He comes to his players and talks to us all. That’s really important in the changing room.
“When the gaffer comes and speaks to his players that means everything. You know how we have to do it.
“Last year is last year. I don’t have to talk about last year, it’s the past. You have to look forward and focus on the future. I’m trying to work really hard to be ready for the season.”
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Postecoglou, 57, has made it clear to Bissouma during pre-season that he sees the 26-year-old as a key part of his team.
He has also been encouraging the ex-Lille ace to set a good example to the younger players in the squad.
Bissouma started as the deeper of a midfield three that included James Maddison and Oliver Skipp in Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat to West Ham at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
The smart money would be on that trio starting in the curtain-raiser at Brentford on August 13, particularly with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg likely to have been sold by then.
Bissouma almost scored a beautiful team goal that involved a clever Harry Kane dummy against the Hammers in what was an exciting sign of the type of football to come under Postecoglou.
And while he enjoys his new, responsible role at the base of midfield, the African claims he would play anywhere for his new boss.
Bissouma added: “The coach can ask me to play right-back, left-back, centre-back. In my head I’m ready to play every position for my team. 
“But I’m happy to play the way I played against West Ham. I really like it.”
On new £40m new-boy Maddison, Bissouma added: “Everyone knows he’s an amazing player. 
“We know he’s going to help us a lot with his experience. We’re confident with him. 
Manor Solomon claimed he could not turn down Tottenham this summerCredit: Rex
“We’re trying to push him like we push each other. He’s a really good guy.”
Another of Spurs’ new signings, Manor Solomon, caught the eye against West Ham, as Spurs hit 30 shots but somehow ended up on the losing side.
The Israeli joined on a free from Shakhtar Donetsk, turning down the possibility to sign permanently for Fulham where he spent last season on loan.
Solomon, 23, explained: “I had an amazing time at Fulham. I had a really good bond with the fans and Fulham, from the first moment, they were really kind to me. 
“They really loved me and welcomed me from the first moment. 
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“But when you have the opportunity to come to a big club like Spurs, and if the manager wants you, it’s really hard to say, ‘No’. 
“So immediately when I heard about Spurs, I wanted to come here.” More

TOTTENHAM finally have some Good News.Destiny Udogie signed a year ago from Udinese for £15million but went straight back on loan to the Italian club, so it is only now that fans will see him in a Spurs shirt.
Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario take part in a children’s training session with the Telethon Charity while on tour in Perth, Australia
The translation of his Nigerian first name Iyenoma literally translates to “Good News”.
Supporters will hope that is exactly what the left-back brings after all the doom and gloom of last season.
Udogie, 20, said: “I’ve known (what his name means) for five years when I asked my mum, and she told me ‘Good News’. It’s a good name.”
The Italy Under-21 international watched as many Spurs games as he could last season to swot up on his new team and what the Premier League entails.
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It must have made for grim viewing though as his parent club suffered a car-crash campaign.
Antonio Conte, the manager who signed Udogie, left in March after a press conference meltdown where he hammered the players before Spurs eventually finished eighth and out of the European places.
Udogie returns to a much-changed club with Ange Postecoglou now at the helm.
Yet when asked if it felt strange to come back to such a different environment than the one he thought he was joining 12 months ago, the defender replied: “Not really, because I never played here last season so it didn’t affect me anyway.
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“The new gaffer is really good. I’m ready to work for him.
“The Premier League is a difficult league. Every year, it turns.
“But the team was good, just not lucky with the season.
“I know it is a big league, a very challenging league. I have confidence, I feel ready.”
Udogie – pronounced “Oooh-doggy” – talked in flawless English as that was the language spoken in his household growing up.
Born in Verona, the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, his first and only love was football.
Udogie in action for Udinese, where he spent last season on loan from SpursCredit: Rex
It was his mum who first encouraged his passion for the game after noticing that “when I was a baby, I was kicking everything I saw around the house”.
He joined Hellas Verona aged ten from a local team, before joining Udinese in 2021 and then on to Spurs a year later, despite talk of interest from Brighton and Manchester City.
Udogie is a defender who loves to attack, netting eight Serie A goals in the last two seasons, and who idolised legendary Real Madrid left-back Marcelo growing up.
On the five-time Champions League winner, Udogie added: “I love the way he played football. It was so clean, the technique, the style, everything.”
Udogie is more of a natural wing-back than a full-back, but is likely to have to adapt to the latter position with Postecoglou expected to play 4-3-3 this term.
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou at the WACA cricket groundCredit: Rex
Harry Kane has helped Udogie settle in at SpursCredit: Rex
Yet the whizkid said: “I’m good because when I started I was a left-back. So it’s not a problem for me. I know how to play it and it’s normal.”
Postecoglou has previously claimed he never has more than one-minute conversations with his players, and Udogie confirmed his chats so far have been brief.
The 6ft2in ace added: “He doesn’t speak a lot but you can see he knows football. He doesn’t need to speak too much, it’s good.
“I like his idea of football. He wants to play football with the ball. It’s not like I defend and I counter-attack. I want to have the ball, so it’s different.”
Harry Kane is among those who have been particularly welcoming to Udogie as he tries to gel with the group.
While the defender has been helped by the arrival of fellow Italian Guglielmo Vicario, who sees Udogie as his “little brother”.
A basketball and tennis fan, Udogie stayed up late out here in Australia to watch his hero Novak Djokovic lose the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz in an enthralling epic.
Entertainment is all most Spurs fans are asking for this season after the dull fare served up by Conte, Nuno Espirito Santo and Jose Mourinho. 
Asked if supporters will have that wish granted this term, Udogie replied: “Definitely.
“We have a very good team and I feel like this is going to be a good season for us.
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“We’re going to play good football.”
Destiny Udogie was speaking at a Tottenham Hotspur Global Football Development session with beneficiaries from Telethon, one of the largest charities in WA that raises funds to deliver programmes for sick, vulnerable, and disadvantaged children. The participants were also invited to the team’s open training session in Perth from which all proceeds will be donated to Telethon. More

ANGE POSTECOGLOU has no doubts over Harry Kane’s commitment — while he remains a Tottenham player.And the Aussie thinks Kane will be unfazed by Bayern Munich going public with their bid to sign the England skipper.
Ange Postecoglou has spoken to Harry Kane about the forward’s future at the clubCredit: Rex
Kane has been the subject of two bids from Bayern MunichCredit: Rex
Kane, 29, is Bayern’s No 1 target and they have had two bids of around £60million and £70m rejected.
Bayern’s honorary president Uli Hoeness even claimed Kane “has clearly signalled” he wants to move to Munich and Tottenham “will have to buckle” and sell him.
Postecoglou held talks with Kane for the first time on Wednesday after the striker returned to training, before both jetted off to Perth for the start of Spurs’ pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East.
Tottenham’s new boss said: “There are a lot of people that know Harry better than me but he’s not going to get fazed by anything.
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“He’s here and while he’s here, he’s totally committed to what we’re doing. That’s the way I’ve seen things. In terms of me, Hoeness’ words have zero impact on me.
“If other clubs want to talk about our contracted players, that’s more of an issue for them than us.”
Paris Saint-Germain have also reignited their interest in Kane, who has a year to go on his Spurs contract.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has not given up hope of convincing the Three Lions legend to sign fresh terms.
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Postecoglou insisted his chat with Kane last week was not about trying to convince the club’s all-time record scorer to stay but to explain the manager’s own vision for the club going forward.
The 57-year-old former Celtic chief said: “I had a good chat with Harry, nothing earth-shattering or defining from I guess what people are seeking. Just a good chat.
“I introduced myself and we spoke mainly about the club and where he thinks it’s at and where he thinks we can improve things.”
Asked if he was confident he had sold Kane his vision enough to convince him of staying, Postecoglou replied: “It’s not a specific vision for one person, it’s about the group. Me and Harry were perfectly aligned in that, we want to see a successful team this year.”
Kane is the obvious candidate to captain Spurs today when they face West Ham at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
That is because club skipper Hugo Lloris was left out of the tour so he could seal a move elsewhere after 11 years at the club.
Yet, when asked if he had decided who will take the armband full-time when the Frenchman departs, Postecoglou replied: “No, not yet.
“It’s about me getting to know the group and allowing that to develop.
“Some of those things you’re better off letting it grow organically rather than forcing things and having preconceived ideas. I just want to see how the group works.
“So far the whole group has been really strong in terms of committing to what we’re going to do, and that’s what you want to see. Within that you see individuals who will look to lead.”
Postecoglou  revealed it was Lloris who wanted to stay in England rather than come on the tour  as he looks to wrap up a switch elsewhere.
Spurs have already signed his replacement with the £16.3million capture of Guglielmo Vicario.
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Postecoglou added: “Hugo has been an outstanding servant for this football club for quite a long time.
“We had an open discussion and he just felt that, with a move imminent, it would be better for him that rather than bringing him halfway around the world, he stays at the training ground and works there and prepares for his next opportunity.” More