The January transfer window got off to a very, and I mean VERY slow start, but it ended with a flurry of activity as deadline day approached. Tottenham Hotspur were one of the more interesting teams this window, as they acquired Mathys Tel on loan from Bayern Munich, with an option to sign him permanently in the summer. Both Manchester United and Chelsea were interested in Mathys Tel, so this was a major coup for Spurs. They also signed central defender Kevin Danso on loan from Lens; with an obligatory €25m deal set for the summer.
So the North-Londoners truly bolstered their team, but hey, when you’re 14th in the table, you really have to!
EFL Cup Semifinal, Leg 2/2 FYIs
Thursday, February 6, 8pm, Anfield, Liverpool, UK
Tottenham leads 1-0 on aggregate
Team News: Liverpool Tottenham
Starting XI Predictions: Liverpool Tottenham
How They Got Here:
Liverpool- Quarterfinals: Southampton 3-2, Round of 16: Brighton 3-2, Third Round: West Ham 5-1
Tottenham- Quarterfinals: Manchester United 4-3, Round of 16: Manchester City 2-1, Third Round: Coventry 2-1 Second Round: Nottingham Forest 1-1 (4-3 penalties)
Tottenham Team News
And they still have much more work to do, in that department. Overall, the transfer window was kind of neutral for Spurs, not really a win or a loss. We’ll see about either player’s availability against Liverpool on Wednesday night. Obviously, Spurs could use as many added hired hands as possible, given the injury crisis mode that they’re in.
Moving on to that aforementioned injury and fitness situation, we do have one update, and it is indeed a big one. Radu Dragusin is now done for the season, as his knee injury has turned out to be about as bad as it looked.
A message from Radu 💬 pic.twitter.com/8GxG9QJxn6
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 4, 2025
“We can confirm that Radu will undergo surgery for an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury to his right knee,” The THFC statement reads. In the tweet above, you’ll see the
Just a devastating blow, all around, as it means Dragusin is out of action for the next six-eight months, minimum. Meanwhile Spurs could see a slew of players return from injury on Sunday when they travel to Aston Villa for the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The likes of Destiny Udogie, Timo Werner, Guglielmo Vicario, Brennan Johnson and James Maddison could all see a return to action on the weekend.
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, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. 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.