Tottenham travel to Tynecastle on Wednesday to take on Hearts in their first official pre-season friendly of the summer, having won 7-2 against EFL side Cambridge United behind closed doors at the weekend.
Ange Postecoglou will be without a slew of internationals, including Copa America winners Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero, as well as Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, Radu Dragusin, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur, all of whom have been have given time off after their tournament experiences.
Moreover, Destiny Udogie (calf), Ben Davies (thigh), Richarlison (rehab) and Fraser Forster (ankle) are all recovering from injuries. Spurs boss Postecoglou will still have a strong squad to take on the trip to Scotland.
Tottenham played two different 11s in each half against Cambridge, winning the first 5-0 and drawing the second period 2-2. Barring any knocks or reactions from that match, we can assume that the majority of those players involved in that training ground game will be in the travelling party.
Pedro Porro and Ashley Phillips should feature from the off, while a distinct lack of centre-backs could see 16-year-old Jun'ai Byfield given a chance after he was involved in the Cambridge contest. Brandon Austin could play in goal in Vicario's absence.
Nineteen-year-old striker Jamie Donley reportedly slotted in at left-back over the weekend and might do so again here, but Postecoglou will have plenty of experienced options further up the pitch.
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Summer arrivals Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall both played against Cambridge, as did Timo Werner , who has had his loan spell at the club extended for another season. Brennan Johnson scored a hat-trick, while captain Son Heung-min scored twice. Youngster Mikey Moore scored his first goal for the first team in a right-wing role in the second half.
After suffering knee problems the previous season, Manor Solomon played his first minutes of 2024 alongside Porro, Yves Bissouma , and Dejan Kulusevski in the first half. James Maddison , Werner, Oliver Skipp and Emerson Royal were among those playing in the second half line-up as Postecoglou shuffled the pack at the interval.
Alejo Veliz, Dane Scarlett, Ashley Phillips, Alfie Devine and Pape Matar Sarr are all likely to be included again.
Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon have been training with the squad this pre-season but were not included in the game amid transfer links away. Plenty of youngsters also played against Cambridge, namely Tyrese Hall, George Abbott and Luca Gunter , along with Yago Santiago and Max Robson .
Postecoglou will have to decide over which players will make the trip with the likelihood that two different Spurs 11s will again feature during the game.
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