Saturday will bring at least two, if not three, debuts for Tottenham Hotspur when they visit Reading for a preseason friendly. While it is just a meaningless exhibition match, it’s still the beginning of the Thomas Frank era at Spurs. This will be the first game in which Franks manages the Lilywhites. It will also see the Spurs debut of summer signing Mohammed Kudus. After Kudus, Spurs have been strongly pursuing Morgan Gibbs-White as well, and they remain confident they’ll get that deal over the line.
However, it is very doubtful that they’ll get it over the line in time for the attacking midfielder to feature this weekend.
Reading vs Tottenham Hotspur FYIs
Competition: Preseason club friendly
Kickoff time: 3PM GMT, 19 July Saturday
Location: Select Car Leasing Stadium (or Madejski Stadium), Reading, Berkshire, UK
Tottenham Hotspur Preview Material: Starting XI Prediction Team News
After all, Nottingham Forest are accusing Spurs of tampering or tapping up right now.
Tottenham Injuries and Absences
Team Captain Heung-min Son is late in returning to training camp, and he won’t join the rest of the squad until later on this week. Therefore, you can most likely rule him out of this match on Saturday afternoon. Dejan Kulusevski is still rehabbing from injury, and we won’t see him in action again until mid-season, at best.
James Maddison was photographed attending Wimbledon, with his girlfriend, who we learned is expecting twins.
And while there is plenty of good off-the-pitch news for Maddison, we won’t see him back on the pitch until August.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter