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One win across their latest five Premier League games has ensured Tottenham Hotspur have failed to capitalise on the chaos surrounding many of their top-flight rivals, with Thomas Frank likely to come under fire himself if results do not start to improve.

A key crux of the issue remains the Dane’s often pragmatic approach, with the Lilywhites netting just three goals across those five outings, a far cry from the flawed, yet frenzied attacking play under Ange Postecoglou.

Last season’s top scorer, Brennan Johnson, has been sent packing to boot, even with the Wales star having still been the club’s third most prolific presence this term across all fronts, alongside Joao Palhinha (4), and behind Micky van de Ven (6) and Richarlison (8).

As that list indicated, Richarlison aside, Frank simply hasn’t got enough out of his forward line, while the continued absence of Dominic Solanke has hardly helped matters either.

In need then of further firepower, Spurs look to be making their move…

Spurs make enquiry over signing the new Solanke

It was only 18 months ago that Spurs dished out a club-record £65m fee to prise Solanke from Bournemouth, with the Englishman selected to be the belated replacement for Bayern-bound Harry Kane.

Seen just three times in action so far this term, however, the 28-year-old has sparked a real need for a genuine rival or replacement, with Porto’s Samu Aghehowa believed to be on Frank’s radar.

Away from the in-form Spaniard, TEAMtalk has also reported that Spurs are among the clubs in the mix of Wolverhampton Wanderers striker, Jorgen Strand Larsen, with the Premier League’s bottom club ready to cash in on the Norwegian this month.

As per the report, enquiries have been made by Nottingham Forest, although the north Londoners, alongside Everton, Crystal Palace and Fulham, appear to have done the same, with the quartet all said to be being ‘kept informed’ regarding his situation.

The 25-year-old was close to heading to Newcastle United over the summer, for a figure approaching £60m, although he could now be worth closer to £40m, as Wolves look to rake in almost double what they paid for him.

Why Strand Larsen could be another Solanke

It’s been a solid, albeit largely frustrating tale for Spurs’ leading man of late, with Solanke having scored 16 times in 48 games across all fronts, a record of a goal every three games.

Just nine of those came in the Premier League, however, with the one-time Chelsea and Liverpool forward failing to hit the heights of his 19-goal league haul the year prior for the Cherries – the standout season of his career to date.

There may be concerns that Spurs have snapped up something of a one-season wonder, considering the England international has scored just 38 goals in 163 top-flight games, with there a fear of a similar scenario occurring with regard to Strand Larsen.

Indeed, the Norwegian striker did dazzle for the Old Gold in 2024/25, after netting 14 league goals to steer the club to safety, although he has since scored just once in the league this time around, hence Wolves’ willingness to sell.

Looking further back, like Solanke, the towering marksman hasn’t exactly been prolific at his previous clubs, scoring just 18 in 74 games for Celta Vigo, while chalking up 27 in 71 for Groningen.

Spurs may well have been spoiled by the remarkably reliable heroics of Harry Kane, but after such high standards, they can’t expect any form of mediocrity or inconsistency.

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Solanke, unfortunately, is drifting into that type of territory, and on the evidence of his form at Molineux this season, so could Strand Larsen, with the pair having even been deemed statistically and stylistically similar players in the Premier League in 2024/25, as per FBref.

Larsen vs Solanke – 24/25 PL stats

Stat (*per game)

Larsen

Solanke

Games

35

27

Starts

30

25

Goals

14

9

Assists

4

3

Big chances missed

13

12

Mins per goal

186

245

Key passes*

0.6

0.5

Big chances created*

6

6

Total duels won*

33%

38%

Stats via Sofascore

Of course, as he did show last term, the Scandinavian star can be a real “nuisance” for top-flight opposition, as noted by the great Alan Shearer, but can Spurs really afford another expensive gamble?

Frank and co only have to look to the summer to see how spending big on a striker doesn’t translate to instant rewards, be it Alexander Isak, Benjamin Sesko or Viktor Gyokeres, with it perhaps just as important to enhance the creative supply line behind the attacking unit.

Indeed, for all Spurs’ centre-forward woes, maybe now is not the time to panic in the window – they can’t afford Solanke 2.0.

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Posts ByAngus Sinclair

Heading into the final 20 minutes of action at St James’ Park, it looked as if Newcastle United and Crystal Palace were destined to play out a drab 0-0 stalemate in the Premier League.

However, as has often been the case this season, Bruno Guimaraes delivered the goods for the Toon yet again when his team desperately needed a hero, with the talismanic Brazilian in the right place at the right time to nod home the opener.

Malick Thiaw then made sure of all three points when scrambling home the game-clincher from a late corner kick, as both Guimaraes and the Dusseldorf-born defender continue to have exceptional seasons on Tyneside.

But, it wasn’t all rosy for the hosts during the relatively straightforward 2-0 win, as some of Howe’s first team also struggled to get going against Oliver Glasner’s Eagles.

Newcastle's best and worst performers vs Palace

It would be wrong not to also mention Lewis Miley’s standout performance against Palace, before delving deeper into those who underperformed, with the teenage sensation rightly hailed as one of Howe’s “best performers” at the moment by journalist Martin Hardy, completing 100% of his passes at St James’ Park.

One of those passes would result in Guimaraes breaking the deadlock, and with nine duels also won, the 19-year-old will now want to nail down a starting spot in Howe’s main side, from a makeshift right-back position.

Yoane Wissa won’t feel so confident about his chances of remaining in the starting XI, however, with the ex-Brentford striker a quiet presence throughout, mustering up only one shot all afternoon, from a paltry 13 touches of the ball.

Moreover, Sandro Tonali’s noticeable drop in standards continued against Palace, with the Italian losing possession 13 times.

He also failed to be as energetic as a revitalised Joelinton in the middle of the park, who won a valiant eight duels himself. In contrast, Tonali only won four of his 12 attempted duels.

Podcast host Taylor Payne would even take to social media to call out Tonali’s “sloppy” approach on the ball, as a usual starter under Howe appears to be on ever-increasing shaky ground regarding his concrete spot.

He isn’t the only stalwart at St James’ Park becoming more fearful by the match for his long-term position in the starting ranks, however.

5/10 Newcastle star must be dropped

It’s been a sorry regression for Tonali in the first team over the past couple of matches, with his usual desire to win tackles bravely and pass the ball effortlessly not on show against Manchester United or Burnley, either.

Similarly, Jacob Murphy hasn’t quite been at his best for a while, now, having been in “the form of his life” earlier in the season in the words of Newcastle-based blog Mouth of the Tyne.

Looking back, this was slight hyperbole, but at the start of the campaign, Murphy was regularly in amongst the goals, with two goals and three assists coming his way during the early stages of the season.

Recently, though, the 30-year-old hasn’t looked up to speed with the rest of his teammates, as the Newcastle veteran’s goalless stretch in the side has now hit 12 straight clashes, after another unmemorable showing on Sunday.

Murphy’s performance in numbers

Minutes played

88

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

55

Shots

1

Offsides

2

Accurate passes

21/31 (68%)

Accurate crosses

3/9

Successful dribbles

1/3

Possession lost

20x

Total duels won

1/5

Stats by Sofascore

Worryingly, Murphy trudged off at the end of the 2-0 success with more offside calls going against him than shots registered at the opposition goal.

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To further add insult to injury, the 5-foot-10 attacker also gave away possession a costly 20 times, only completed one dribble, and won just one duel from five attempts, with Howe putting him out of his misery rather late into the contest, when Joe Willock was given a run-out.

Unsurprisingly, Murphy was on the receiving end of a low 5/10 post-match rating from Newcastle World’s Jordan Cronin, who simply stated that the ageing forward was “not at the races” for the majority of the match.

Against Leeds, Howe could test Anthony Elanga out on the right again, in place of the ex-Norwich City attacker, with Murphy going down as one rare low point from Newcastle’s second successive Premier League win.

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Tottenham Hotspur are now preparing a winter move for an “impeccable” defender, amid doubts over Radu Dragusin’s future in north London.

Spurs looking to strengthen in defence with Frank under pressure

Tottenham have struggled to put together a consistent run in the Premier League, recently drawing 0-0 at Brentford, and there has been speculation over Thomas Frank’s future in north London, with Oliver Glasner, Marco Silva and Andoni Iraola being shortlisted last month.

The Dane has even admitted he hasn’t been enjoying his time in the Spurs dugout, saying: “When you need to ​put in a big, big shift and it’s not smooth, and it’s tough, it’s probably ‍difficult to enjoy it.

“If I run hard, I don’t enjoy that moment but I know I need ‍to keep my ‌head down and run hard to get through it. We are in a situation where you need to run hard, to stay in it.”

Frank’s defence hasn’t been the main issue, with the Lilywhites keeping clean sheets in their last two matches, but a lack of attacking quality has been a real problem, recording an xG of just 0.86 in the goalless draw against Brentford last time out.

However, there are now doubts over Dragusin’s future at Tottenham, with Crystal Palace making an approach to sign the Romanian, which means Frank may need to bring in another centre-back this month, and a move for Udinese’s Oumar Solet is now being prepared.

The speculation surrounding Dragusin’s future means Spurs are eager to strengthen at the back, and Solet, who is represented by the same agent as Brennan Johnson, has now emerged as a January transfer target.

However, there may be plenty of competition for the Frenchman’s signature, with Chelsea, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Manchester United also being named as potential suitors.

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Posts 3 ByEmilio Galantini "Impeccable" Solet could be solid Dragusin replacement

Dragusin, who rakes in £85k-a-week has only just returned from a long injury lay-off, appearing for the first time since January 2025 in the 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace, but if Tottenham sanction the 23-year-old’s departure this month, the Udinese defender could be a solid replacement.

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Lauded as “impeccable” by Italian journalist Leonardo Bertozzi, the 25-year-old is strong at winning back possession, while he has also displayed an impressive ability to drive the ball up the pitch over the past year.

Oumar Solet’s key statistics

Average per 90 (past year)

Tackles

1.89 (80th percentile)

Progressive carries

1.38 (91st percentile)

Successful take-ons

1.13 (99th percentile)

The colossus, who stands at a towering 6 foot 4, also displayed his attacking quality when he scored his first Serie A goal back in March.

Solet is clearly a very well-rounded defender, capable of making an impact at both ends of the pitch, so Tottenham should look to get a deal done if Dragusin leaves this month.

	Robert Croft boosted Glamorgan with 45 before a declaration from Jon Lewis set up an interesting final day © Getty Images

First Division

Click here to read John Ward’s report of the clash between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire at Headingley, where Jacques Rudolph posted a century.Click here for the full report of Sussex against Surrey at Hove, where Carl Hopkinson and Murray Goodwin both fell just short of centuries.

Second Division

3rd dayGloucestershire are hoping for a gettable final-day run chase after they declared behind on the third day of their rain-affected match against Glamorgan at Bristol. Glamorgan will enter the fourth morning with a lead of 243 and with more showers possible, David Hemp will be left with an interesting call on when to let Gloucestershire have a bat. Matthew Wood picked up a half-century in the second innings as the hosts gave their part-time bowlers a run. They conceded the first-innings advantage when they closed their innings at 141 for 4, still trailing by 136 on a day that was, like the first two, interrupted by rain. Gloucestershire began the morning hoping to quickly wrap up Glamorgan’s tail but Robert Croft frustrated them with 45 as the visitors moved along to 277.Tim Ambrose showed his readiness for the international season with an unbeaten 156 as Warwickshire collected a full hand of batting points against Leicestershire at Edgbaston. He built two significant stands, 152 with Jonathan Trott (82) and 157 with Neil Carter who clubbed 82 off 94 balls. Ambrose needed 162 deliveries for his sixth first-class century, but when Garnett Kruger bowled Ian Salisbury it looked as though Warwickshire may fall short of 300. However, Carter put bat to ball as he does in one-day cricket while Ambrose moved onto the second highest score of his career, behind the unbeaten 251 he made against Worcestershire last season. But with so much time lost to the weather forcing a victory remains unlikely without some agreement between captains. Leicestershire reached 124 for 1 at the close, although both Matt Boyce and HD Ackerman were both dropped at slip by Ian Salisbury.2nd dayStephen Moore’s second century of the season put Worcestershire in charge against Northamptonshire at Northampton but a couple of late wickets to David Lucas kept the hosts in the hunt. After only 10.2 overs were possible on the first day, Moore’s 109 ensured the visitors took a comfortable first-innings lead on day two. Moore and Vikram Solanki (64) compiled a 130-run stand before Lucas removed them both late in the day to leave Worcestershire 216 for 3 at stumps. It had been a struggle for the Northamptonshire quicks until then, unlike their visiting counterparts Steve Magoffin and Kabir Ali. Kabir had Rob White lbw from the first ball of the day before Magoffin added two more with no addition to the score. The hosts were 33 for 4 when David Sales led a rally of sorts with 50 but once he and Lance Klusener (30) fell to Magoffin the rest dropped away quickly. Magoffin, the Western Australia import, finished with 4 for 49 and Kabir grabbed 3 for 44.

New Road: under water once more © Worcestershire CCC

Following the second flood in a matter of weeks at New Road, Worcestershire have been in discussions with other counties and the ECB about finding new venues for their remaining home fixtures. It appears unlikely that any further cricket will be played at the ground this season, although the club haven’t ruled out a return in September.”I have been in contact with the ECB and a number of counties over the weekend,” Mark Newton, Worcestershire’s chief executive said. “Everybody has been very helpful in accommodating our requests and everything is subject to approval, hopefully today.”We are still under 10 to 12 feet of water but at least we can get into our offices today and start the clear up operation. This is the second highest flood ever out of 135 floods since 1899 – the highest was during the winter of 1947. The fact that it has come during the summer when all the infrastructure is in place magnifies the impact hugely.”I am still hopeful we may be able to play our last two home games in September at New Road but we will review that in a few weeks time.”The Championship match against Lancashire was abandoned on the first day following the same fate as the Kent match two weeks earlier. Worcestershire made the decision to try and play the Lancashire match after meetings between the two clubs and the ECB, but torrential rain returned on Friday.Newton previously took heavy criticism from Kent for not relocating their Championship to Kidderminster, but last week said even moving the Lancashire game wouldn’t have made a difference.”No ground in Worcestershire, or the country, could cope with this rain,” he said. “There would have been no point moving to an outground because they don’t have the same level of covering and hard-standing areas to take the rain.”

‘I have to bide my time and score as many runs as I can to keep the pressure on’ says Phil Jaques keen to impress Australian selectors ahead of the Ashes © Getty Images

Phil Jaques, the New South Wales opening batsman, doing a county stint with Worcestershire, is in Australia to play the Top End Series featuring A teams from New Zealand, Pakistan, India and Australia.Looking to this winter’s Ashes, Jaques felt that, if given a chance, he is ready to play a big part in the series. He played his only Test against South Africa at Melbourne last December and said that it was unfortunate that he played behind Justin Langer and Mathew Hayden – “the most successful partnership in history”.”My timing is not great from that point of view,” Jaques told . “But I have to bide my time and score as many runs as I can to keep the pressure on. Every time I walk out to the middle now, I’m trying to score a big hundred and make a statement.”Jaques is averaging 102 for Worcestershire with three centuries from six matches and scored a double hundred in the county’s innings victory over Northamptonshire in June.”This spell at Worcester is great for me. I wanted to work on my game. The pitch at Worcester seams around and it’s never easy to play. That was an attraction. I wanted to test myself. If I can tighten up my game and take it to the next level before the Ashes, then brilliant.” Jaques will be returning to play for the county this month after the Top End Series.”It would be terrific to be involved with the Ashes. It’s the biggest series ever from an Australian point of view. We definitely like beating the English, and you saw last summer they like getting one over on us.”Jaques is certain that Australia are looking for revenge. “Everything is geared up to make sure we hit England with everything we have got.”

Inzamam-ul-Haq, one of five Pakistan players in the ICC World XI squad © Getty Images

Pakistan cricket authorities have told the International Cricket Council (ICC) that their players would not sport the logo of a liquor company sponsoring the Super Series against Australia in October, since alcohol consumption is against the tenets of Islam.”We have informed the ICC that our players will in no manner promote the logos or other promotional material if they are picked in the final World XI squads,” a Pakistan Cricket Board official told . “We didn’t want to put our players in a dilemma later on in the matches.”Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, was taken to court by a Pakistan citizen after he appeared in an advertising campaign for an Indian alcohol company two years ago. Akram denied the charges saying that he was promoting the company’s cricket gear and not alcohol.Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq are the Pakistan players that have been selected in the provisional ICC World XI squad. The final team will be announced in August by a panel headed by Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian captain.

Shoaib Akhtar was accused of feigning injury after X-rays on his injured wrist showed no damage© AFP

Shoaib Akhtar is facing possible disciplinary action after reports alleged he may have feigned an injury to avoid bowling on the third day of the Rawalpindi Test because of differences with Inzamam-ul-Haq. In a telephone conversation he had with Rashid Latif, Shoaib suggested that he wasn’t happy with Inzamam’s field settings for his bowling.Latif disclosed the contents of the phone call on a local channel on Wednesday night, where he claimed that some other players had also complained about problems within the team. A local newspaper reported that some team members were not convinced of Shoaib’s injury, and also revealed that X-rays on his injured wrist showed no damage.When Shoaib subsequently came out on Friday to bat, signs of a side strain or wrist injury were not immediately apparent as he blasted 28 off 14 balls, with four fours and two sixes. The cameo prompted Inzamam-ul-Haq to claim that he “was surprised at the way Shoaib had batted”. On being questioned about Shoaib’s alleged phone call to Latif, Inzamam said that an inquiry would be held and, depending on the result, disciplinary action would be taken against Shoaib. “If something like this has happened then we will take action against it. This sort of behaviour can cause disruption within the team. There will be an inquiry into the matter and action will be taken.” Inzamam did say, however, that there was no question of differences between him and Shoaib.Shaharyar Khan, the PCB’s chairman, in a chaotic press conference, also faced persistent questions about Shoaib. “He was seen hitting sixes today after not playing yesterday. But we will sit down – the management committee will look at the doctor’s report, the players’ views and the captain and manager’s views and if it is found that any player didn’t play or give their all for non-cricketing reasons, then action will be taken. Nobody is bigger than the national team.”He further added, “I went up and spoke to Shoaib myself. He was on the massage table at that point. I asked him what was wrong with him since I assumed only his wrist was injured. He said that he felt an unbelievable pain in his side when he fell over while bowling. He said that he was in so much pain that he couldn’t sleep and that regardless of what the X-rays showed, he was in much pain. The doctor’s report can say whatever, but if a guy is still saying he is in so much pain then maybe an investigation is required.”Both Latif’s statements and Shoaib’s actions attracted the scorn of the PCB chief executive, Rameez Raja. Raja said, “We are certainly going to ask Shoaib about this because it is not good for the dressing-room atmosphere. And how can Rashid be so irresponsible to discuss such things in public.”Shoaib, meanwhile, has been preparing to visit India for a commercial shoot.

The three day friendly between Somerset and Glamorgan ended in a drawafter Glamorgan challenged Somerset to score 386 in 53 overs onthe final afternoon.The home team had a brief assault on the Glamorgan bowlers, butthey settled for the draw with their score on 260-4 with 8 overs remaining.The highlight of the day for Glamorgan was an aggressive century fromDarren Thomas. The 28 year old all-rounder arrived at the crease afterDavid Hemp had hit an attractive 70, and Thomas was soon into his stridewith some firm drives on both sides of the wicket.Fellow seamers Alex Wharf and David Harrison also played some bold strokesin the April sunshine, but it was Thomas who became Glamorgan`s third centurionof the game, after Jonathan Hughes and Matthew Maynard who both reached threefigures in the Welsh county`s first innings.Soon after reaching his deserved century, Thomas was caught on the mid-wicketboundary by Keith Dutch, and Steve James promptly declared to leave the WestCountry side the task of scoring 386 at seven and a half an over to win the gameon what was an excellent batting wicket.Openers Rob Turner and Matthew Wood began in breezy style, before Turner was magnificentlycaught one-handedly by Steve James off Robert Croft`s bowling. Piran Holloway thenlaunched a few lusty blows of his own, but Somerset lost a couple of important wicketsas Andrew Davies clean bowled Matthew Wood, and then James Bryant holed out trying to hitRobert Croft for a fourth six. Despite a few more blows by Aaron Laraman, Somerseteventually opted for the draw.

Yorkshire stalwart Geoff Boycott could switch his allegiance to Lancashire as the Red Rose county seeks to find a replacement for coach Bobby Simpson.The Australian announced this week that he did not want an extension to his two-year contract and would leave at the end of the season.Now Lancashire have put forward the name of Boycott in their search for success.Chairman Jack Simmons said the club needed a change of direction afterunsuccessful seasons with overseas coaches Dav Whatmore and Simpson.Simmons said: “We will consider a new strategy which could involve a directorof cricket who would bring in specialist coaches when he sees fit.”For instance, I think it would be good to have people of the calibre ofGeoff Boycott or Graham Gooch or Mike Gatting coming in, if only for briefspells to help out.”Boycott now mainly works in the media but earlier this year he was engaged by Pakistan to coach players in their national academy and to pass on tips to the Pakistan side preparing to fly out to New Zealand.He was paid £30,000 for 15 days’ work in the country.Lancashire, who have not won the Championship outright since 1934, have had six coaches in the past ten years, though the likes of Whatmore and David Lloyd have gone on to high-profile international posts.