Tottenham Round-Up, Wednesday 4th November: Palmer Should Have Seen Red Say Officials, as Spurs Prepare for Leeds Trip
The big talking point today centres on last month's win at Stamford Bridge, with the Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel ruling that Cole Palmer should have been sent off for his clash with Mateus Fernandes well before his eventual dismissal in the London derby, according to ESPN, BBC Sport and talkSPORT (ESPN) (talkSPORT) (BBC Sport). The Sun add that Spurs were also wrongly denied a penalty during that Stamford Bridge triumph, as further VAR errors from the game have come to light (The Sun).
Attention is firmly turning to Saturday's trip to Elland Road, where De Zerbi's side can make it four Premier League wins in a row for the first time since October 2023 (Football.London). Spurs Web note a slightly worrying refereeing stat, with three of Tottenham's last four top-flight games featuring a red card, while TeamTalk carry claims from an insider playing down talk of pressure on Leeds boss Farke, who will want a big result before the international break (Spurs Web) (TeamTalk). There's also a how-to-watch guide with kick-off details, team news and predictions for the Elland Road clash (Spurs Web), plus a club gallery as the squad prepare for the trip up to Yorkshire (TottenhamHotspur.com). Spurs Web have also published their questions for De Zerbi to answer before the game and a predicted line-up suggesting James Maddison could return to the starting XI (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web).
On the injury front, Football.London report a major boost with an £85m star said to be back available for De Zerbi, while also detailing a possible return for two more players, even as the manager faces a midfield headache over selection (Football.London) (Football.London). Sports Mole and Spurs Web both run through the fuller picture ahead of Leeds, with Savio, Lucas Bergvall and Mykhaylo Mudryk among those mentioned in the latest fitness update, and as many as 11 players potentially missing the game for the two sides combined (Sports Mole) (Spurs Web). There's better news on Wilson Odobert, who has been sidelined since February but is reported to be stepping up his return to full training (Spurs Web). Dejan Kulusevski's recovery from his long-term kneecap injury continues to progress nicely too - ESPN and the Evening Standard confirm he has been called up by Sweden for the first time in two years, while Spurs Web and Football.London describe it as a dream scenario and a milestone moment in his comeback (Evening Standard) (ESPN) (Spurs Web) (Football.London). Football.London's training notes also flag six absentees and a hint dropped by De Zerbi in the build-up (Football.London). Elsewhere, Spurs Web suggest one Tottenham player is edging closer to picking up a yellow-card suspension as bookings begin to mount at this stage of the season (Spurs Web).
There's plenty of academy chatter too. Spurs Web say Tottenham need to sort out a new contract for highly-rated youngster Luca Williams-Barnett given his current deal only runs to 2028 and he is said to be attracting interest from elsewhere (Spurs Web). Football.London report that Steven Gerrard was full of praise for the teenager following his Premier League debut (Football.London), while Spurs Web add that Williams-Barnett himself picked out one of Tottenham's big-money summer signings as the toughest opponent he's faced in training (Spurs Web). GiveMeSport, meanwhile, hail a 17-year-old who has scored 16 goals this season as an academy talent to watch (GiveMeSport), and Spurs Web also shine a light on youngsters Armend Muslika and Oliver Boast as other exciting prospects coming through the ranks (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web).
On the numbers side, Spurs Web highlight data showing Tottenham's midfield has jumped from 17th to fourth-best in the Premier League following the club's big summer investment (Spurs Web), while two Spurs players were included in Alan Shearer's Team of the Week after the win over Crystal Palace (Spurs Web), and a Tottenham player has been nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Week award for a third straight week (Spurs Web). Jan Paul van Hecke has also named a Tottenham teammate he "loves" playing alongside (Spurs Web), while talkSPORT report a prediction suggesting Spurs have an elite talent working under De Zerbi on the touchline (talkSPORT).
There's also a flurry of transfer-related reports doing the rounds. The Evening Standard say Spurs face a triple transfer decision after a surprise recall involving third-choice goalkeeper Brandon Austin from a loan spell (Evening Standard). TeamTalk claim Tottenham have shortlisted a prolific young striker available for around £17m, and separately report that Spurs have reached a decision over any potential sale of Lucas Bergvall to Barcelona (TeamTalk) (TeamTalk). Spurs Web cover reported interest in a Bundesliga striker who has previously impressed Jurgen Klopp (Spurs Web), while also running the numbers on how linked forward Donyell Malen compares with Tottenham's current strikers (Spurs Web) and questioning whether Spurs should continue pursuing Eli Junior Kroupi (Spurs Web). A 20-year-old Bundesliga attacking midfielder linked with Spurs has also spoken of his ambition to one day win the Ballon d'Or (Spurs Web).
Finally, there's a look back at former Tottenham academy products elsewhere: Spurs Web note Djed Spence has been showing Inter Milan fans his quality since his summer departure, while also acknowledging a third summer transfer call that hasn't quite worked out (Spurs Web). Will Lankshear's fine scoring form for Middlesbrough since leaving the club is also recapped in a goals compilation (Spurs Web). On a brighter note for those still at the club, Mathys Tel has been handed a call-up to a higher France U21 level after a record-breaking recent spell (Spurs Web), and his superb strike has been crowned Tottenham's Goal of the Month for October (TottenhamHotspur.com).
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.
