Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has confirmed Giovani Lo Celso will feature in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie at Fulham, but the door appears closed on any Tanguy Ndombele comeback.
Lo Celso and Ndombele both signed for Spurs in big-money moves during the summer of 2019, but have spent the majority of the last four years out on loan.
Postecoglou’s June arrival provided everyone with a clean slate and, while Lo Celso came off the bench at Bournemouth on Saturday to make his first competitive Tottenham appearance in 18 months, Ndombele is in a different boat.
Ndombele is part of a group alongside five other first-teamers who have not featured in any of the Australian’s three matchday squads and they could all leave the club before the summer transfer window shuts at 11pm on Friday.
“Gio’s been a bit unlucky. He did well when he came on for us. I thought all the subs did really well just to help us control the game,” Postecoglou reflected.
“We’ve got a game Tuesday night and he’ll play. It will be, for want of a better word, a fun week. We’ve got plenty going on for sure.
“I’m just dealing with what’s in front of me. Unless I get told otherwise, I’ll work with the group I’ve got and focus on Tuesday night.”
Ex-Spurs captain Hugo Lloris, Djed Spence, Eric Dier, Japhet Tanganga and Sergio Reguilon are the players alongside Ndombele who have yet to be involved this season.
Tottenham are eager to find new homes either permanently or temporarily for the six players given the club currently have a squad of 31 aged 21 or over.
Spurs must submit a list of 25 players to the Premier League on September 13 for the first half of the season and everything points towards Ndombele being elsewhere by that point.
Asked specifically about Ndombele, Postecoglou admitted: “Tanguy is in a boat with a few other guys. I said the other day that we’ve got five or six players more than we can name on a list.
“All these things come down to decisions that people make, whether it’s individual players, whether it’s myself.
“I’m sure this week those kind of things will work themselves out. Tanguy’s still training, he’s working hard at training, but that midfield area, we’re going really well at the minute.
“You saw the guys who started, (Oliver) Skippy’s been really good, Pierre (Hojbjerg) and Gio have been training well.
“It’s been pretty competitive in that area. I think this week a lot of those things I expect to get resolved.”
Postecoglou could line-up with a midfield three of Skipp, Hojbjerg and Lo Celso at Fulham, but he is not expected to make wholesale changes.
View this post on InstagramGuglielmo Vicario may still feature in goal while captain Son Heung-min and Richarlison are likely to play up front.
Richarlison will be desperate to score after three games without a goal and will face old boss Marco Silva but Postecoglou scoffed at the notion of trying to play the Brazilian into form.
“No, I pick teams that I think will win games,” he said.
“I will put Richy in the team because I think we can win the game with him in the team, not because I am trying to get him into a certain space.
“We want to win games of football and we want to play the game a certain way. Every time I pick a team that is all that’s in my head.
“I love winning. I don’t care if it is a cup competition, playing in the car park or on a rooftop. We just need to go out there and try to win.”
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level
Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.
Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.
The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.
Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.
"If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.
"I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.
"My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.
"To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.
"You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.
"Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.
"Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.
"Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."
Emery revels in 'special day' as Villa seal Champions League qualification
Unai Emery says Aston Villa have achieved their dream after qualification for next season's Champions League was secured.
Tottenham's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday left Ange Postecoglou's fifth-place side five points behind Villa, who subsequently sealed a fourth-place finish with a game to spare.
More importantly, the Villans are back in UEFA's premier club competition for the first time since the 1982-83 season, when they suffered European Cup quarter-final elimination to Juventus.
Additionally, the club secured their highest top-flight finish since the 1995-96 campaign, which they also ended in fourth place.
Emery, whose side reached this season's Europa Conference League semi-finals, now has his sights set on Europe's top prize next season, in which he is demanding even more from his players.
"It's a very special day," the Spaniard told Villa's official media channels. "It was our dream when we started the season to be here. To play Champions League is, after the Premier League, the best.
"You can play in the Premier League against the best teams in the world, it's very difficult. When you are playing in the Champions League, you are playing against the best teams, at the same time, from other countries. And it's amazing.
"We know the history of Aston Villa is so long and so successful. Even in the Champions League, we knew the responsibility was to try to increase our level, try to be demanding and to dream.
"I want to enjoy more and, next year, the new challenge starts for us. To build a team again, and be strong to go and always increase our level; this is our objective."
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