Tottenham Round-Up, Friday 16th October: De Zerbi Under Fire Over Marbella Trip and Richarlison Treatment, While Fernandes Absence Explained
Spurs have jetted off to Marbella for warm-weather training ahead of their trip to Coventry, meaning Roberto De Zerbi's pre-match press conference has been pushed back to an unusual 9:30am slot on Sunday rather than the usual Friday (Evening Standard) (Spurs Web). The decision to head abroad has not gone down well with everyone, with TeamTalk reporting that De Zerbi has been criticised for the "ridiculous" Marbella trip as well as his handling of Richarlison (TeamTalk). Football.London also note that the manager has faced a 'chinned him' accusation over his treatment of the Brazilian, with fans invited to give their verdict (Football.London).
There was relief on the Fernandes front, with Football.London and Spurs Web both explaining that his absence from recent training footage during the Marbella camp has a straightforward explanation rather than being injury-related (Football.London) (Spurs Web). Elsewhere in team news, Tottenham Hotspur's official site confirmed Ahtinen will miss the Chelsea clash (TottenhamHotspur.com), while Spurs Web reported a young defender has returned from injury following his Champions League debut last season (Spurs Web). Pedro Porro also delivered a boost with a social media post hinting at his recovery progress from a hamstring issue, as covered by both Football.London and Spurs Web (Football.London) (Spurs Web).
On the pitch, Coventry City manager Frank Lampard has given an honest assessment of the challenge Tottenham pose ahead of the weekend fixture (Spurs Web), while Alan Shearer has warned that Spurs could find themselves in a "massive relegation battle" if they fail to beat Coventry, according to Spurs Web (Spurs Web). Adding to the pressure, Spurs Web also report that Tottenham face the threat of red cards in successive matches following the Premier League's referee announcement for the game (Spurs Web). Fans, meanwhile, are split on team selection, with some wanting captain Micky van de Ven benched in favour of Marcos Senesi at centre-back (Spurs Web).
On the transfer front, Spurs Web report Tottenham have set what is described as a world record asking price for Pedro Porro amid continued interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona (Spurs Web), while the Evening Standard's live blog adds that Spurs are rumoured to be weighing up a loan move for Real Madrid's Endrick (Evening Standard). Spurs Web also report a five-man striker shortlist for January including Jean-Philippe Mateta (Spurs Web), while Richarlison is said to be in "ongoing talks" with two Turkish clubs over a potential exit, according to Sports Mole (Sports Mole). Elsewhere, Spurs Web report Manchester United have joined Tottenham in the race for Giuliano Simeone (Spurs Web), and that Arsenal may be edging ahead of Spurs for Kim Min-jae (Spurs Web). On loan business, TeamTalk report a "major" faux pas was made over the Will Lankshear deal, with no buy-back clause included despite a matching-rights provision (TeamTalk), while Spurs Web look at five possible loan destinations for Luca Williams-Barnett in January (Spurs Web). Former manager Thomas Frank is reportedly being chased by three Premier League clubs despite his difficult spell at Tottenham, Spurs Web report (Spurs Web). There was also fresh talk of a Harry Kane return, with Tim Sherwood backing the striker to come back to north London despite signing a new Bayern Munich contract, per Spurs Web (Spurs Web).
On loan in Germany, Mikey Moore has been learning German at Cologne, the BBC report (BBC Sport), and the young winger has also spoken about his excitement at facing "massive idol" Harry Kane, as relayed by Spurs Web (Spurs Web). Van de Ven has named the one player he would love Tottenham to sign, according to Spurs Web (Spurs Web), while Spurs Web also highlight an academy midfielder being likened to a "little Paul Pogba" by parents (Spurs Web). Finally, the BBC ask whether the Premier League's traditional "Big Six", which includes Tottenham, still exists (BBC Sport), while Spurs Web note the club have climbed in Opta's global power rankings despite their Premier League struggles (Spurs Web), and separately highlighted a worrying decline in Tottenham's top-scorer numbers over the past decade (Spurs Web) along with a look at their assist record (Spurs Web).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.