Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou sees no long-term future for a “quality player” in his squad, and his levels are said to have “significantly” dropped behind the scenes.
Tottenham vs Arsenal – team news and injury updates
Spurs supporters will be anxiously waiting for Postecoglou’s official team sheet ahead of their looming North London Derby on Sunday, with the Lilywhites set to host cross-city rivals Arsenal in a mouth-watering clash right after the international break.
Both teams come into the contest on a similar run of form, with Tottenham winning one, drawing one and losing one of their opening three Premier League games so far. An opening weekend draw away to Leicester City was followed by a dominant 4-0 win over Everton, but Newcastle continued to be an unhappy stomping ground for Spurs, with the Magpies inflicting a 2-1 defeat on Postecoglou’s men at St. James’ Park.
Arsenal were dealt their first dropped points of the new campaign a fortnight ago, drawing 1-1 with Brighton at the Emirates, which will encourage Postecoglou – alongside Mikel Arteta’s array of absentees this weekend.
|
Tottenham Hotspur’s summer signings |
Signed from |
|---|---|
|
Timo Werner |
RB Leipzig (loan) |
|
Dominic Solanke |
Bournemouth |
|
Archie Gray |
Leeds |
|
Wilson Odobert |
Burnley |
|
Lucas Bergvall |
Djurgarden |
|
Min-hyeok Yang |
Gangwon FC |
Declan Rice won’t be involved through suspension, while Arsenal summer signing Mikel Merino is also set to miss their trip to Tottenham after picking up a shoulder injury in training. Gunners captain Martin Odegaard could be sidelined for the next four weeks with an ankle injury too, so he won’t be playing any part in north London.
For Spurs, there is optimism that Postecoglou could have a near-fully fit squad at his disposal. Star defender Micky van de Ven, summer signing Dominic Solanke and Richarlison missed their loss to Newcastle, but at least two of the aforementioned men could feature against Arsenal.
Postecoglou stated before their trip to the North East that Richarlison could be out for weeks after a training injury, but both van de Ven and Solanke may return for Spurs this weekend. However, there is a worry surrounding midfielder Yves Bissouma.
Bissouma was hauled off injured in midweek, during Mali’s 1-0 win over Eswatini, and some reports suggest he could be a doubt to face Arsenal, depending on the severity of his issue.
Postecoglou could freeze Sergio Reguilion out at Tottenham
There is also a debate whether Postecoglou will call upon Sergio Reguilon for his matchday squad, with the Spaniard yet to feature this season after failing to seal a summer move.
The left-back, reported to be on around £120,000-per-week, could still seal a move to Turkey with their transfer window open at the time of writing, but he is running out of time.
GiveMeSport claim that Postecoglou sees no long-term future for Reguilon at Tottenham, and it is believed that the 27-year-old’s levels have “significantly” dropped behind the scenes, which won’t do him any favours.
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbache are reportedly interested in Reguilon, coming after the Portuguese originally brought him to Spurs from Real Madrid in 2020, but it is unclear whether the former Sevilla starlet will get a Süper Lig lifeline so late in their window.
Called a “quality player” by former Leeds striker Noel Whelan, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Reguilon, and whether a move could open up for him in January instead.
