There’s no rest for the weary Tottenham Hotspur stars following a record-high league finish and points total. The squad travelled to Hong Kong for a lucrative postseason friendly five days after the season finale at Hull City, before 11 senior players joined their national teams.
Harry Kane became the ninth Spurs player to captain England in the 2-2 draw with Scotland, while youngsters Kyle Walker-Peters and Joshua Onomah have already tasted glory this summer, playing key roles as England won the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea.
Spurs are due back for preseason on 3 July but the club’s internationals will received an extended break, allowing talisman Kane a decent rest for the first time in three years.
As is the way of manager Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs will play all their domestic preseason friendlies behind-closed-doors before they travel to the US for the International Champions Cup in late July. They will play Pochettino’s former club Paris Saint-Germain (22 July), AS Roma (25 July) and Manchester City (29 July) in Orlando, New Jersey and Nashville, respectively. Another lucrative overseas friendly is expected to be announced before the start of the new season on 12-13 August.
Fixtures
July 22: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Paris Saint-Germain (Int. Champions Cup, Orlando, Florida)
July 25: Tottenham Hotspur vs. AS Roma (Int. Champions Cup, Harrison, New Jersey)
July 29: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City (Int. Champions Cup, Nashville, Tennessee)
Total matches: three
Total miles travelled: 10,217 (estimated)
London to Orlando: 4,336
Orlando to New Jersey: 1,038
New Jersey to Nashville: 858
Nashville to London: 4,183
Uncertainties
It’s still not certain that Tottenham’s new stadium, rising from the ashes of White Hart Lane, will be ready in time for the start of the 2018-19 season and the club’s chairman Daniel Levy has said the addition of the roof in January or February will be an indication that the £800 million project remains on schedule.
It’s also not clear how much training, if any, Spurs will do at Wembley this summer ahead of spending at least one season at the national stadium. They had one day training there before last season’s European fixtures.
Ins and outs
Kyle Walker is expected to be the only high-profile departure this summer, although even Manchester City could find the England right-back too expensive. Pochettino, as is his habit, will look to move on the club’s untrusted squad players. Offers are welcomed for Moussa Sissoko, Georges Kevin-Nkoudou and Kevin Wimmer, while Vincent Janssen could leave if Spurs can find a better back-up for Kane.
Spurs are keeping their cards close to their chest over incomings but Fulham left-back Ryan Sessegnon, 17, is a target, while they hold long-standing interest in Everton’s Ross Barkley. A pacy winger — Monaco’s Thomas Lemar has been mentioned — and a centre-back are definitely on the shopping list, as well as a right-back and striker, depending on the situations of Walker and Janssen. Spurs will aim to buy young players again.
Major players linked with arrival:
– Ryan Sessegnon, LWB: Fulham, £10m
– Thomas Lemar, FW: Monaco, £25m
– Djibril Sidibe, DF: Monaco, £25m
– Ross Barkley, MF: Everton, £30m
Possible departures:
– Kyle Walker, RB: Manchester City, £60m
– Moussa Sissoko, MF: Anywhere, £25m
– Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, FW: Back to France, loan or £10m
– Kevin Wimmer, DF: FC Koln or Borussia Monchengladbach, £8m
– Vincent Janssen, ST: Ajax, £15m
Youngsters
Pochettino prefers promoting young players from the academy to buying new players, and before they had helped England conquer the U20 World Cup he suggested that Onomah and Walker-Peters, as well as USA youth international Cameron Carter-Vickers, would have bigger roles to play next season.
He is also expected to continue to blood Marcus Edwards, the prodigious winger nicknamed “Mini Messi” at the club, although the 17-year-old’s representatives remain in an almost constant state of dispute with the club over his contract. Samuel Shashoua, the diminutive midfielder who was in the squad for the last two games of last season, is another player to watch.
Returning from loan
– Ryan Loft, FW: Stevenage
– Shayon Harrison, FW: Yeovil
– Connor Ogilvie, DF: Stevenage
– Anton Walkes, DF: Atlanta United
– Luke Amos, MF: Southend United
Pochettino took 11 youngsters, including Onomah and Harry Winks, to Australia for the International Champions Cup last summer after deciding to leave all but one of the club’s Euro 2016 representatives at home. With no senior international tournament this summer, only the club’s most exciting young players will be asked to travel to the east coast of the USA in July.
Possible youth-teamers to travel to US:
– Kyle Walker-Peters, FB, 20
– Anton Walkes, DF, 20
– Jack Roles, MF, 18
– Marcus Edwards, FW, 18
– Samuel Shashoua, MF, 18
– Kazaiah Sterling, FW, 18
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