Tottenham Hotspur’s Pre-Season So Far

Spurs continue to prepare for the 2023/24 Premier League season.

Ange Postecoglou will begin his debut Premier League campaign as Tottenham Head Coach in barely two weeks. Their season is getting underway with a match against Thomas Frank’s Brentford at the GTech Community Stadium on Sunday, 13th August 2023.

We are, though, still in pre-season, and THFC has so far played two friendlies with a further two matches set to take place within the next fortnight. This period is essential for Postecoglou to implement his tactical style whilst also looking to build confidence and morale ahead of the start of the new season as they bid to secure a return to European Football after very narrowly missing out last term.

Before we move on to the pre-season action so far, several new signings have been made by Tottenham since Ange Postecoglou became Antonio Conte’s permanent successor at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in June.

Manor Solomon, who scored five goals in 24 appearances in all competitions, was in tremendous form in his loan spell with London rivals Fulham last term. The Israeli forward signed for Spurs on a free transfer following the expiry of his contract at Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk. Empoli Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario followed for a reported fee of £17.2 million to replace the departing Hugo Lloris.

James Maddison had been at Leicester City since joining from Norwich City in June 2018. Since then, the midfielder has made 203 appearances, scoring 55 goals and producing 41 assists. He was part of the team that beat Chelsea 1 – 0 to win the 2021 FA Cup. He has joined Spurs for a reported fee in the region of £40 million.

Dejan Kulusevski and full-back Pedro Porro signed permanently for the Lilywhites after successful loan spells for £25 million and £40 million respectively.

Tottenham have also been linked with central defenders Micky Van de Ven and Edmond Tapsoba, who represent Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively.

Now, onto Spurs’ pre-season campaign, which began with a trip to Western Australia to face fellow London club West Ham United at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

It was an entertaining game, despite Tottenham losing 3 – 2 on the day. Danny Ings (18’) gave the Hammers the lead before Divin Mubama doubled their advantage (23’) just after 20 minutes had elapsed.

Giovani Lo Celso (68’) and Destiny Udogie (71’) scored two goals in four minutes to bring it back to 2-2 before being unfortunate to concede the winning goal late on in the second half when West Ham’s Italian forward Gianluca Scamacca (78’) found the back of the net.

Tottenham Hotspur then travelled to Singapore to play local side Lion City Sailors at the Singapore National Stadium on 26th July 2023. Shawal Anuar (14’) did give Lion City Sailors the lead early in the first half, but after that the Premier League side ran riot.

Harry Kane scored from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time to restore parity (45+4’).

It only took a few minutes of the second half for the Lilywhites to take the lead when Richarlison found the net after an initial effort was blocked (48’). A few moments later, it was a brace for the Brazilian when he scored via a close-range header (52’). Giovani Lo Celso, on loan with Spanish La Liga side Villarreal last season, scored to extend Spurs’ lead further when he found the net from close range (73’).

It was a fantastic match for Spurs, particularly Richarlison, who secured a well-deserved hat-trick in second-half stoppage time when he found the bottom left corner after a flowing passage of play from Spurs (90+1’).

Looking Ahead…

Following the friendly against Lion City Sailors in Singapore, the next friendly match for Spurs sees them play Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday 6th August (2pm KO). The two clubs have only met twice, most recently in the 2nd Leg of their UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) Round of 32 tie on 26th February 2009. Giovani Dos Santos scored for Spurs (55’) that day in a 1-1 draw.

THFC will then face Spanish Giants FC Barcelona in the final of the Joan Gamper Trophy on Tuesday, 8th August, at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys based in Barcelona. The two clubs have played against each other on four previous occasions, the most recent being in their UEFA Champions League Group B match on 11th December 2018, ending in a 1-1 draw. Brazilian forward Lucas Moura scored Spurs’ only goal of the game (85’).

The remaining two friendlies will be great tests for Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur side as they look to continue their preparations for the start of their 2023/24 Premier League season, which begins with a trip to Brentford on Sunday, 13th August, at the GTech Community Stadium.

The first home game of the new season for the Lilywhites will see them face off against Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 19th August (17:30 KO).

Watch Spurs in some style at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the 2023/24 Premier League season with an Eventmasters VIP Hospitality Package.

The Premier League fixtures for the 2023/24 season have been released!

Register now for Priority 2023/2024 Spurs Ticket information

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on all things Tottenham Hotspur!