Tottenham Hotspur

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Mohammed Kudus is highly rated by many very good judges.

When BBC chief football writer Phil McNulty spoke to Danny Murphy at the end of last season about players Liverpool should be looking at this summer, the former Reds midfielder named Kudus as one. The player is sought after - despite being as underwhelming last season as he was electrifying in 2023-24 following a £38m move from Ajax.

He only scored five goals in the most recent campaign, down from 14 the year before, and was often ineffective in the system preferred by head coach Graham Potter, who took charge in January and favours wing-backs over wingers.

Kudus was often used up front by Potter and seldom featured wide on the right, arguably his best position, but one in which West Ham already have captain Jarrod Bowen.

Where does Kudus play?

His versatility makes it unclear.

Left wing, attacking midfielder, right wing and centre-forward, Kudus played all four positions for West Ham last season.

Where will he be best suited for Tottenham? Or does Thomas Frank need a utility man?

Where do Kudus' goals and assists come from?

During two seasons at West Ham, Kudus had 22 goal involvements, including 13 goals and nine assists.

Interestingly, his assists are evenly split, with four coming from the left of the penalty area and four from the right, showing his ability to play on either flank, while the other derived from a through ball.

The majority of his goals, however, have come from the right side of the box, and only two from outside the area.

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We asked for your views on the news Spurs have agreed a £55m fee to sign West Ham's Mohammed Kudus.

Here are some of your comments:

Peter: Kudus is a good signing but not a world-class one. He is either a massive part of West Ham's attacking output or an inconsistent player who has quality but can't always reach it. £55m is a bit too much for me and I also think that Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert and Son Heung-min (if he stays) is a lot of competition so Thomas Frank will need to get the best out of him and others. Big price tag. Big player. I'm excited for what is next.

Simon: Totally underwhelmed by Kudus. 55p is too much, let alone £55m. Reminds me of Erik Lamela - all show and no go.

Jake: Kudus represents a great signing whose playing style will suit this squad. If he can find his feet at Spurs he would be part of a dynamic attack that would grace any Premier League club. With Dominic Solanke, Son, Johnson, Kulusevski, Odobert and Mikey Moore, the options are looking good! Too much to add Eberechi Eze instead of Richarlison?

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Paul: Not sure about this one as Kudus didn't play much for West Ham and £55m is a bit too much to pay for a Hammers reserve. Would have preferred us to pay the money required for Eze and even Marcus Rashford but you never know how things will turn out as there is still a while to go before the transfer window closes.

Artur: We've needed a player of Kudus' calibre and quality for so long now. Feels like a Spurs player and I think it's a good signing.

Laurence: Kudus had just three good games last year. Dispossessed too often and inaccurate passing blighted the Hammers. Frank must instil discipline in him. But where's our goal poacher?

Josh: Not too sure on this one to be honest. But, always happy to be proven wrong. If he can reignite his form from his first season in the Premier League, then he could be a difference maker.

Roy: If Frank wants him and can improve him, then it makes sense. Also, this is an experienced PL player, which is important for us.

Tottenham fans have seen some stunning dribblers down the years - Glenn Hoddle, David Ginola and Gareth Bale to name just a few.

Next season could offer a throwback as in Mohammed Kudus, they are pursuing the player who attempted more dribbles than anyone else in the Premier League last season.

If that is not enough to excite, Dejan Kulusevski's high ranking for the same metric could make for some edge-of-the seat play in 2025-26.

This comes after the news that Spurs have agreed a £55m fee with West Ham to sign their Ghana forward.

Already on Wednesday afternoon, we have asked you for your thoughts on a potential move for Brentford striker Yoane Wissa, so you may as well give your reflections on this more tangible development.

Does a deal for Kudus tick the boxes?

Who will be Spurs' first choice forwards next season?

And what does this mean for the players already at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

Let us know

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Tottenham are exploring a move for Brentford's Yoane Wissa in a bid to bolster their attacking line-up.

Only six sides scored more Premier League goals than Spurs' 64 last season, which suggests it is not their most significant problem. Yet, given Wissa was instrumental for one of those teams that outscored Tottenham, a move for him might prove exciting.

Last season he scored 19 times and provided four Premier League assists, outstripping Spurs' leading striker Dominic Solanke, who found the net nine times and created a further three, albeit from 700 minutes fewer.

Wissa converted 21% of his shots compared with 15% for Solanke, pointing to a clinical edge that could prove significant in Thomas Frank's first season in charge.

If that finishing touch is not enough, Wissa enjoys a battle too. He won possession 81 times in the last campaign, compared with a mark of 38 for Solanke.

And of course, having achieved all that success under Frank at the Bees, he would immediately understand what his manager wanted from him.

Are you excited by a move for Wissa? Tell us

Arsenal are prepared to offer Crystal Palace a player as part of a deal for England attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze and look set to beat Tottenham to the 27-year-old. (Sun), external

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The BBC's search to find a new football expert is under way, with 12 content creators competing in Last Pundit Standing to win a role as BBC Sport's next football content creator.

The first two episodes of the show - co-hosted by former Watford captain Troy Deeney and YouTuber and football presenter James Allcott - are available to watch on iPlayer, as well as BBC Sport's YouTube channel and TikTok account, with new episodes every week until 11 August.

The contestants, who were chosen from more than 400 applicants, will be whittled down through a series of tasks staged at iconic football locations as the creators are challenged by some of the biggest names in the game.

Read more about the show here

Watch the first two episodes of Last Pundit Standing now on BBC iPlayer

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We asked for your views on Tottenham's latest signing Kota Takai and what you think the defender's role will be next season.

Here are some of your comments:

Levi: This is good. While we don't have a brilliant replacement for Cristian Romero, this is great squad depth that will help.

Amos: We already have two world-class centre-halves in Romero and Micky Van de Ven - if we can keep them over the summer. They have struggled with their respective injuries over the past few seasons so I would expect a signing worth £5m to be another back-up to give us some depth if those injuries return for our starting pair.

Josh: It's great we've now got multiple centre-backs to compete for positions this year. It might potentially see Radu Dragusin leaving the club with the addition of Takai, who will likely be fourth choice. Ashley Phillips also had a good loan at Stoke last year, so hopefully he gets a chance in pre-season to show what he can do.

Matt: I think signing someone for £5m in this day and age, especially someone with senior and international experience, is an absolute steal.

Gary: Typical Daniel Levy buy - probably already looking to sell him on in a couple of seasons to a big club.

Ian: How many more young centre-backs are we collecting? We seem to buy a few and never see them again. What happened to Phillips who we got from Blackburn?

Steve: I'd never heard of Lucas Bergvall before he arrived and he has turned out to be superb. Let's hope this trend continues.

Jordan Butler
BBC Sport

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Tottenham's signing of Japan defender Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale for £5m is a record fee for a J-League player moving abroad - but who is he?

Takai has a wealth of experience for his age, playing the first of his senior games in the Asian equivalent of the Champions League at just 17 years old.

He featured at the 2024 Olympic Games for Japan and has since won four senior caps, with his debut coming in a 7-0 victory over China just a day after his 20th birthday in September 2024.

He is athletic, 6ft 3 inches tall, comfortable on the ball and has an eye for a pass. Takai has completed almost 2,000 passes in the J-League since the start of last season - with an 88% success rate, which ranks him 15th among all defenders.

In April, he showcased many of his qualities when he marked Cristiano Ronaldo as Frontale defeated Al-Nassr 3-2 in the AFC Champions League Elite semi-final.

Spurs fans of a certain vintage will remember the club's only previous Japanese player, Kazuyuki Toda. He joined on loan from Shimizu S-Pulse in January 2003 and made just four appearances under then manager Glenn Hoddle.

It is fair to say that much bigger things are expected of Takai.

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Tottenham have signed Japan defender Kota Takai for £5m from J1 League side Kawasaki Frontale and we want your views.

The 20-year-old centre-back has agreed a five-year deal until 2030 and will be part of Thomas Frank's first-team squad.

Takai made his first-team debut for Kawasaki Frontale at 17 in the AFC Champions League in 2022 and went on to make 81 senior appearances for the club.

He has has featured for Japan across multiple age groups and, in 2024, was part of the squad that won the under-23 Asian Cup. He represented his country at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and made the first of his four senior appearances in September 2024.

Takai will compete for a role in the team alongside fellow centre-backs Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso and Radu Dragusin.

So, what do you make of the deal? And what do you see as Takai's role next season?

Get in touch with your thoughts here

Tottenham, Newcastle and Napoli are all monitoring England playmaker Jack Grealish after Manchester City set an asking price of £40m for the 29-year-old. (Sun), external

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Noel Slinley
BBC Sport journalist

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James from Luton asked: Hi Phil, what are your views on Tottenham's apparent pursuit of Mohammed Kudus?

Any agreed fee looks likely to be approaching £60m and with Eberechi Eze seemingly available for £68m I don't understand why we have not at least gone bold to find out if Eze would want to join. Kudus does not seem good value for an immediate impact.

Phil answered: Hello, James. I must admit the initial talk of £80m for Kudus sounded very, very rich to me, irrespective of his genuine talent. It would appear £60m is nearer the mark, but even then there is an element of risk because he has been inconsistent.

Eze would be a better bet, in my opinion, but there is four-year age gap to take into consideration.

For the slight reservations I have just expressed about Kudus, he is highly rated by many very good judges.

When I spoke to Danny Murphy at the end of last season about players Liverpool should be looking at this summer, he named Kudus as one and was glowing about his talent.

Follow the rest of Phil's Q&A here

Kudus, 24, remains sought after despite being as underwhelming last season as he was electrifying in 2023-24 following a £38m move from Ajax.

He only scored five goals in the most recent campaign, down from 14 across all competitions in his debut season for the Hammers, and was often ineffective in the system preferred by head coach Graham Potter, who took charge in January and favours wing-backs over wingers.

Kudus was often utilised up front by Potter and seldom featured wide on the right, arguably his best position but one in which West Ham already have captain Jarrod Bowen.

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

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Tottenham are set to appoint former Liverpool goalkeeper coach Fabian Otte onto Thomas Frank's backroom team.

Otte left the Red last week and has immediately been snapped up by Spurs before the 2025-26 season.

New head coach Frank, who has replaced Ange Postecoglou, is piecing together his staff following his arrival from Brentford.

Justin Cochrane, Chris Haslam and Joe Newton have all joined from Brentford while Andreas Georgson has arrived from Manchester United.

Otte will be the latest addition, with the German coach, 34, also having worked for the USA national team, Borussia Monchengladbach and Burnley.

Frank's players have started arriving at the club's Enfield HQ for pre-season ahead of their tour of South Korea later this month.

Meanwhile, Spurs are in talks over a move for West Ham attacker Mohamed Kudus after seeing an initial £50million offer rejected by the Hammers.

Kudus is determined to join Tottenham from the London Stadium this month.

Tottenham and West Ham remain in talks over a deal for Ghana midfielder Mohammed Kudus, after the Hammers rejected an initial offer of £50m for the 24-year-old. (Sky Sports), external

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Our fan contributor Anna Howells gives her verdict on Tottenham's summer transfer window so far, the areas the club need to strengthen in, and how Thomas Frank's new-look side should approach the Champions League.

Find more from Anna Howells at Spurs XY, external

Tottenham Hotspur are among the clubs tracking highly rated AZ Alkmaar midfielder Kees Smit, 19, with Chelsea also interested in the talented Dutch youngster. (TBR Football)

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Nick Godwin
BBC Radio London reporter

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It is still a bit difficult to process that Tottenham will be in the Champions League in the coming season.

Previous trips into that competition came off the back of exciting, gravity-defying Premier League campaigns, under Harry Redknapp, Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte, in which Spurs fought off hefty competition for those top four finishes and entered with a bit of a swagger.

It is fair to say the situation this time around is different and Spurs go forward knowing they need to improve dramatically.

Last season, it was a bit much to expect Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, Djed Spence and Mikey Moore to shoulder the burdens of a brutal top-fight campaign and it would, again, be too much to ask them to take on heavy responsibilities in the Champions League.

I'm not saying any of them disgraced themselves last year – they performed creditably and learned loads - but they didn't make much difference to the results.

So for Spurs to play with any sort of confidence this year, they need to recruit players who will be immediately comfortable at that level.

I recall the eyebrows raised when Rafael van der Vaart arrived at Tottenham before they embarked on their exhilarating Champions League run in the 2010-11 season.

It was not entirely clear what he would offer Spurs on this new adventure until the early moments of their first group stage away game. His pinpoint cross was headed in by Peter Crouch to put Spurs 2-0 up. He ran the first half with intelligence and verve. Yes, the game ended 2-2 and Van der Vaart rarely played past the hour mark, but he showed the way for Spurs that day and helped power them to the quarter finals.

If Daniel Levy and Thomas Frank can find a Van der Vaart equivalent (or maybe a couple), Spurs fans can actively look forward to the Champions League rather than just rub their eyes in amazement that they are there in the first place

Atletico Madrid are willing to go all out to sign Tottenham and Argentina defender Cristian Romero, 27, and are willing to put a deal in place worth about £61m. (AS - in Spanish), external

Meanwhile, West Ham have rejected a £50m bid from Tottenham for Ghana forward Mohammed Kudus, 24. (Talksport), external

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Tottenham want to sign West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus, 24, and are confident they can strike a deal well below the Ghana international's £85m release clause. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Forward Richarlison will be allowed to leave Spurs and is expected to join Turkish side Galatasaray. (Sun), external

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Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

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Winning the Europa League to secure Champions League qualification was a huge boost to Tottenham's finances but also meant the squad will need strengthening if they are to hold their own against Europe's elite.

New boss Thomas Frank has only had two weeks to consider where improvements are necessary.

He gave the green light to a £30m move for forward Mathys Tel, who has joined after a loan spell from Bayern Munich, while defender Kevin Danso's stint on loan from Lens has been turned into an obligatory £21m deal.

The only other arrival has been 18-year-old Croatian defender Luka Vuskovic, who is unlikely to be rushed into first-team contention and may instead go out on loan.

Spurs have been linked with a move for Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo and it would be no surprise if they are targeting a goalscoring winger given Son Heung-min's decline in form and the relative inexperience of Wilson Odobert.

Reinforcements may also be required in the centre of the pitch, with both Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma entering the final year of their contracts, although Frank is reportedly a long-term admirer of Archie Gray and could look to utilise the youngster in midfield.

The 19-year-old mainly featured as a makeshift defender in his first year at Spurs but sees his future further forward.

Tottenham will take on north London rivals Arsenal for the signing of Crystal Palace and England midfielder Eberechi Eze, 26, who is priced at £68m. (Sun), external

Meanwhile, Spurs value Argentina centre-back Cristian Romero, 27, at more than £60m and are unwilling to sell him for a cut-price fee to Atletico Madrid. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

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