Tottenham say they are supporting Destiny Udogie after confirming the Italy defender was allegedly threatened with a gun by a football agent.
On Monday, BBC Sport reported an unnamed Premier League footballer was targeted in London on 6 September.
Another man is also alleged to have been blackmailed and threatened by the same individual during the incident in question. No injuries were reported.
The Metropolitan police, who are investigating, said a 31-year-old man was arrested on 8 September on suspicion of possession of firearms with intent, blackmail and driving without a licence. He has been bailed while enquiries continue.
In a statement on Tuesday, Spurs said: “We have been providing support for Destiny and his family since the incident and will continue to do so. Given this is a legal matter, we cannot comment any further.”
The 22-year-old Udogie joined Spurs from Udinese for £15m on a five-year deal in the summer of 2022, before immediately returning to the Serie A club on a season-long loan.
He returned to Tottenham for the start of the 2023-24 campaign and has made 76 appearances for the club.
The Italian has played 10 times this season, including Tuesday night’s 4-0 win over Copenhagen in the league phase of the Champions League.
Match of the Day pundits Theo Walcott and Danny Murphy discuss how Tottenham Hotspur’s set pieces led to their win against Everton and that they will become more creative when some of their injured players return.
When Davies was asked about that block before Wales met Slovakia again three years later, he simply remarked: “It’s a good memory, but hopefully I won’t have to do it again this time around.”
Those moments are all well and good, Davies thought, but he would prefer a straightforward victory, a clean sheet and, frankly, less of a fuss.
By this time, however, he had already joined Tottenham, with whom he would play in one of the most extraordinary ties in Champions League history.
Just 24 hours after Liverpool had overturned a 3-0 first-leg deficit to stun Barcelona at Anfield, Spurs mounted another comeback for the ages against Ajax.
Trailing 3-0 on aggregate with 35 minutes left to play in Amsterdam, two Lucas Moura goals had dragged Spurs back into contention.
Then in the sixth minute of added time, Davies intercepted an Ajax clearance to launch the counter-attack which culminated in Moura’s hat-trick and sealed the most dumbfounding of triumphs on away goals.
At the final whistle, it was telling that then-Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, overcome with emotion, ran on to the pitch and leapt into Davies’ arms.
The Welshman had been Pochettino’s first signing following his appointment in 2014 and, five years later, Davies was the first person with whom the Argentine shared his greatest moment as Spurs boss.
“He is still young, but his mentality, his maturity – he is so professional – he is helping the team every season,” said Pochettino.
“He’s fantastic, not only today but from the day he arrived. He’s a great professional, a great player and a great man.”
Davies is now Tottenham’s longest-serving current player, with more than 300 appearances to his name.
Son Heung-min, who left Spurs during the summer of 2025, was one Davies’ best friends at the north London club.
“Ben is one of my closest friends,” Son said in 2023. “He helped me settle in London very well.”
Davies and Son caught a train from London to Cardiff together before Wales played South Korea in a friendly in September 2023.
True to form and even with one of the world’s most globally renowned footballers for company, Davies managed to navigate the journey without much attention, gave Son a hug goodbye on the platform at Cardiff Central and set off to rejoin the Wales squad.
After Tottenham dug in to earn a 1-0 win against Villarreal on their return to the Champions League in midweek, Lucas Bergvall praised their “clean-sheet mentality’ with that shutout their fourth in their first five games this season.
When the clean sheet opportunity was swiftly wiped out by Brighton on Saturday, the Spurs players showed a different mentality.
This time they never gave up and appeared to have the belief that they could get something from the game, despite their statistically poor ability to recover from two-goal deficits.
“The mentality that we showed, I was so impressed with,” added Frank.
“[We showed] the mentality to stay in the game, to keep going, to keep pushing and come back and get a well deserved 2-2.”
Tottenham midfielder Joao Palhinha told Sky Sports: “At least what we can take is the mentality that we had fighting for the result.”
He added: “This mentality needs to be there always regardless of the result.”
Against Brighton, Tottenham had 45 touches of the ball inside the opposition box, compared to just 17 for Brighton.
They also had 11 shots on goal but just three of those were on target.
While Tottenham appear to have improved defensively and mentality wise from last season, making the opposition goalkeeper work appears to be an area they have, for now, regressed in.
“There are a lot of things for this team to keep improving,” Palhinha added.
Outscoring the opposition was the mentality at Tottenham last season but now the focus is on keeping out goals at the other end of the pitch.
Tuesday’s 1-0 win against Villarreal in Spurs’ Champions League opener was the fourth clean sheet they had kept in five games so far this season under Thomas Frank.
In contrast, they had kept just one at the same stage of last season, when the more attack-minded Ange Postecoglou was in charge.
“We talked a lot about ‘clean sheet mentality’ this year because we conceded a lot last year,” Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall told Amazon Prime.
“They [Villarreal] did not have a shot on target, so we did a really good job.”
Defender Micky van de Ven added: “I think we are a difficult team to play against, for sure. Structure-wise we are standing really good and we all know what to do, so we’re a difficult team to beat.”
The style of Frank’s Tottenham side against Villarreal was in stark contrast to the swashbuckling football played under Postecoglou.
They were much more cautious, even after being gifted a fourth-minute opener thanks to a calamitous mistake by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior.
But their defence was excellent, with Van de Ven in particularly halting most of Villarreal’s attacks.
Even though the visitors had 10 shots, Guglielmo Vicario didn’t have a save to make throughout.
The price for that level of pragmatism was that Tottenham themselves only had one shot on target – very little for the home fans to get excited about.
“We defended really well and gave little away throughout the game against a really good Villarreal side,” Frank said.
“I think offensively we didn’t hit the highest level. There was definitely a spell second half where we decided let’s give it to the Villarreal guys and then we’ll sprint back, that’s a very good fun thing.
It is unlikely that Venkatesham will rule Spurs with an iron fist. He is a firm believer in a culture of inclusivity.
He’ll lead by example rather than being ultra vocal, sources say.
“He’s a leader – but an understated one,” said one of his colleagues at the Emirates.
When it comes to making football-related decisions it is very likely he will be guided by the expertise of head coach Thomas Frank and technical director Johan Lange.
At Arsenal, it is noted that he generally let Edu and Arteta shape the football operation in terms of performance.
That may sound a given. But ask managers up and down the country – it isn’t.
He is viewed by those who worked alongside him at the Emirates as an efficient administrator, whose intelligence allows him to analyse and understand information quickly.
That strength allows him to make relevant contributions internally and, on a wider basis, it has allowed Venkatesham to expand his influence.
For example, he was a key member of the European Club Association, though he has now relinquished his position with the organisation.
It is said his amiable persona allows him to deal smoothly with characters who perhaps seem more assertive than his exterior suggests he is.
It will be interesting to hear if Venkatesham adopts an abrupter approach as he seeks to lay down a marker in the post-Levy era.
If first impressions are important, then those at the Emirates will tell you that Venkatesham makes a good one. In that sense, relationship building – internally and externally – is cited as one of Venkatesham’s key strengths.
Levy – despite often facing the wrath of irate supporters who pinned the blame for Tottenham’s flaws squarely on him – was liked behind the scenes at Spurs.
He was good to his staff. For instance, when Spurs would travel on pre-season tours, he would ensure the club’s support staff were provided with the same privileges as the players.
But it was Levy’s relationship with rival clubs that often left a sour taste; the now departed executive chairman’s infamous fierce negotiation style left him unpopular in boardrooms across the country.
It will be interesting to see how Venkatesham’s elevation, given his genteel and friendly personality, changes the dynamics between Tottenham and their rivals at boardroom level.
Will his “nice guy” identity be a strength or a weakness in a sport that is cut-throat?
MARC GUEHI may be on standby to have a medical in London before his long signing-posted move to Liverpool.
Arne Slot’s mega-spending club are confident they will get their man having spent the whole summer pursuing the Crystal Palace captain.
But his arrival does not automatically mean that Joe Gomez, a £14M target of AC Milan, will be leaving.
For Liverpool continue to be deeply concerned that Ibrahima Konate will follow Trent Alexander-Arnold and leave for Real Madrid at the end of the season.
The centre back, after a difficult start to the season, played well alongside skipper Virgil van Dijk in Sunday’s 1 – 0 win over Arsenal.
But the fear within Anfield is that he already sees himself as a team mate of Alexander-Arnold by next summer.
And Guehi’s expected arrival, almost certainly as VVD’s regular partner would only further unsettle the Frenchman, 26.
Slot needs plenty of dependable back – up cover for the centre of his rearguard and Gomez, while susceptible to injury, provided exactly that after replacing thigh-injury victim Konate against the Gunners.
Liverpool do, of course have a new Italian stallion in Giovanni Leoni, bought from Parma for £24M.
There are high hopes for him down the line and last week received his first call – up to the senior national team.
But at the age of 18 he is still seen as one for the future and won’t be pushed so Gomez could well remain as the got – to guy for Slot.
He is set to move to Tottenham on transfer deadline day after personal terms were agreed with Thomas Frank’s side.
Kolo Muani spent last season on loan at Juventus, scoring eight goals in 16 Serie A games.
The former Nantes and Eintracht Frankfurt forward joined PSG in September 2023 and has won two Ligue 1 titles.
Kolo Muani also has 31 senior caps for France, scoring in the 2022 World Cup semi-final victory over Morocco and playing in the final defeat by Argentina.
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Chelsea are in advanced talks to sign Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho, according to reports.
Meanwhile, Tottenham have reportedly been dealt a huge blow in their pursuit of Manchester City winger Savinho, with the Brazilian expected to stay at the Etihad.
Elsewhere, Alexander Isak has reportedly told Newcastle that he still wants to join Liverpool after talks with the Toon’s Saudi owners.
Spurs maintain their winning start to the season but leave Manchester City with yet more questions to answer.
Manchester City’s troubles from last season have been exposed once more in a humbling 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham that raises questions about their quest to regain the Premier League title.
Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha struck for the Europa League winners on Saturday just before half-time as Spurs went top of the table, making it a perfect start for manager Thomas Frank after two league games in charge.
City’s run of four consecutive titles came to a spectacular end last season as they finished a distant third behind Liverpool and Arsenal.
A 4-0 thrashing of Wolves on the opening weekend of the campaign showed glimpses of a new-look City back to their best.
However, a series of defensive issues remain unresolved as manager Pep Guardiola must decide on who will be his number one goalkeeper going forward after a day to forget for James Trafford.
The England international retained his place in goal despite the return to fitness of Ederson.
The Brazilian is reportedly on the verge of joining Turkish giants Galatasaray, which would free up City to make a move for out-of-favour Paris Saint-Germain keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Joao Palhinha, right, of Tottenham scores the second goal during the Premier League match at Manchester City [Adam Vaughan/EPA]
City’s failure to get those deals done before the final week of the transfer window came back to haunt them in a familiar tale for Guardiola’s men against Tottenham.
In the last 13 Premier League meetings between the sides, City have won just four despite several changes of management at Spurs in that time.
Frank is the latest man in the Tottenham dugout and has made a highly impressive start.
Spurs were minutes away from beating PSG in the UEFA Super Cup before losing on penalties and have taken maximum points from their opening two Premier League games without conceding a goal.
Omar Marmoush’s return was one of two City changes as Ballon d’Or winner Rodri had to settle for a place on the bench.
Marmoush flashed a shot across goal and was then denied by Guglielmo Vicario with City’s best chance before conceding.
City’s high line was easily exposed in an embarrassing early exit from the Club World Cup to Saudi side Al-Hilal last month and is an issue Guardiola still has to resolve.
Tottenham took the lead at 35 minutes when Mohammed Kudus fed Richarlison, and he squared for Johnson to power past Trafford.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Brennan Johnson scores his side’s first goal [Peter Powell/Reuters]
An offside flag briefly halted Spurs’ joy until a VAR review showed the slipping Ruben Dias had played Richarlison onside.
City then completely lost their composure for the period before half-time.
Trafford was fortunate to avoid being punished after rushing outside his box to block a shot from Kudus.
But the 22-year-old then endured a moment that might cost him the chance to be Guardiola’s number one this season.
Trafford’s attempted pass to Nico Gonzalez inside his own box was intercepted by Pape Matar Sarr, and even though the goalkeeper recovered to deny Richarlison, Palhinha smashed home the rebound.
Erling Haaland had the chance to reduce City’s arrears in first-half stoppage time but headed over the goal to sum up a tough afternoon for the Norwegian.
Spurs let a two-goal lead slip late on against PSG in Frank’s first game in charge but rarely looked in danger of suffering a similar fate on Saturday.
Haaland wasted City’s other big opportunity to gain a foothold when he overhit a pass to Rayan Cherki with just Vicario to beat.
City fell to defeat with a whimper and could have been further punished on the counterattack when Trafford made good saves to deny Dominic Solanke and Wilson Odobert in stoppage time.
A selection of fan responses to BBC Sport on Thursday
Brian: Totally embarrassing. Over a week to get Eze signed and still couldn’t manage it and Arsenal do it in hours. A kick in the teeth to Spurs fans. We spend so much wasted time on negotiating deals, it’s pure frustration!
Bob: Can’t say I’m that bothered. He is 27 years old and his career so far has been QPR and Palace. He’s not been wanted by anyone like Barca or Real – move on.
Ian: Spurs’ mentality is like being a multi-millionaire and driving 25 minutes out of town because the petrol is 5p cheaper. By the time you get home you haven’t saved anything, wasted a bunch of time, and everyone else is confused by what you’re doing and laughing at you.
Andre: Eze is a fantastic player and would strengthen any team he plays for. But, we can’t look back. He isn’t a Spurs player so let’s not cry about him. Onwards and upwards!
Christopher: Can’t help but feel that Ange would’ve sounded Eze out and identified if his heart was in joining THFC or if he was stringing them along. If anything, it would have prevented this song and dance from playing out at Levy’s Tottenham.
Anthony: Completely get it from Eze’s perspective, it’s his boyhood club. For me, it’s another case of Levy and co. taking far too long to wrap something up. Realistically this only reportedly happened because of Havertz’s injury, but in football you should never take anything for granted. Not sure where to go now, put the extra funds towards Savinho and find another 10 quick.
Bob: If he’s a Gooner we don’t want him. Simple.
Mark: For once I don’t think we can blame Levy for dragging his heels on this outcome. I don’t think Eze ever wanted to sign for us, all we did was set it up for Arsenal to step in. Fair play to their buying team and no doubt our smug North London neighbours will be letting us know how good they feel.
Tottenham forward Mathys Tel says the online racist abuse he received after the club’s recent defeat in the Uefa Super Cup will not “bring him down”.
The 20-year-old Frenchman was the target of abusive messages on social media after Spurs lost the match 4-3 on penalties after letting a two-goal lead slip in normal time.
Tel came on as a substitute in the 79th minute and was one of two Spurs players who failed to convert from the spot in the penalty shootout.
Spurs said they were “disgusted” by the abuse and those who sent the messages to Tel, who joined the north London club from Bayern Munich permanently in the summer, were “nothing but cowards”.
Speaking for the first time since the incident in a post on his Instagram account, external Tel said he wanted to say “thank you” for all the “messages of support” he had received.
“I was also disappointed about Wednesday night but racism has no place in our society. Every day is a learning curve, and every day is a lesson,” Tel said.
“I know where I come from, where I started and none of this will bring me down. With work and humility, respect reigns.”
Tel’s comments come in the wake of racist abuse suffered by Bournemouth player Antoine Semenyo in their opening match of the Premier League season against Liverpool at Anfield.
Last Friday’s game with the current champions was briefly halted in the 29th minute after Semenyo flagged it up to the referee.
A 47-year-old man from Liverpool, who was arrested by Merseyside Police on Saturday on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, has been conditionally bailed.
Glasner said: “He was picked because he’s a Crystal Palace player, and he’s a very good
“He trained the whole week, so there was no reason not to pick him.
“He will come to the Crystal Palace training ground today, Tuesday off, we take Wednesday and I expect him to be back playing for us against Fredrikstad.”
Eze, 27, wants to join Spurs, who over the weekend are understood to have made an opening offer in the region of £60m.
His potential departure will also depend on whether or not Palace can land a replacement before the window closes.
They are chasing Leicester’s Bilal El Khannouss and Club Brugge midfielder Christos Tzolis.
Glasner added: “The players are giving the answer week by week, it was the same last week against the Community Shield, winning against Liverpool on penalties.
“Then starting here against the Club World Cup champions.
“It just shows that this group is such a great group of characters.
Roy Keane launches into ‘garlic bread’ rant as Sky Sports capture awkward moment between Marc Guehi and Oliver Glasner
“We have no influence on all the noise and all the rumours around us, but we know what we want to do, we know how we want to play, and this is what we want to show every single game.
“The players did great.
“They didn’t just show they are great footballers, but they are great people and that’s what I expected.”
Eze previously had a £60m release clause, including a further £8m in add-ons, but Glasner confirmed that has now expired and said his star man’s future was in the hands of club bosses.
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Christos Tzolis is one of the potential replacements for EzeCredit: AFP
Glasner added: “I’m quite calm.
“I also know, we have two weeks to go and I know Ebs’ clause is gone.
“So it’s the club’s decision, and we will see what happens.”
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MARTIN DUBRAVKA fell foul of the new rules over goalkeepers holding onto the ball too long.
The Burnley stopper was punished for taking an age to release it out of his hands inside four minutes against Spurs.
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Martin Dubravka was the first goalkeeper to fall foul of the new Premier League rules
New regulations cite that goalies cannot hold the ball for any longer than eight seconds.
Slovakian Dubravka, making his Clarets debut following his switch from Newcastle, was deemed to have taken longer than that and ref Michael Oliver intervened.
The whistler awarded a corner, as is the new rule, which Burnley managed to clear.
Spurs took the lead six minutes later, as Richarlison converted a cross from new signing Mohammed Kudus.
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French forward Mathys Tel was one of two Tottenham players to miss their penalties in the UEFA Super Cup defeat by PSG.
Tottenham has slammed the “cowards” who racially abused French forward Mathys Tel in the wake of the team’s loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup after a penalty shootout.
The 20-year-old Tel, who is Black, was one of two Tottenham players who failed to convert their penalties as they lost the shootout 4-3 to PSG after a 2-2 draw.
“We are disgusted at the racial abuse that Mathys Tel has received on social media following last night’s UEFA Super Cup defeat,” Tottenham said in a statement.
“Mathys showed bravery and courage to step forward and take a penalty, yet those who abuse him are nothing but cowards – hiding behind anonymous usernames and profiles to spout their abhorrent views.”
Tottenham said the club will work with the authorities and social media platforms to take “the strongest possible action against any individual we are able to identify”.
“We stand with you, Mathys,” Spurs added.
Tel, who joined the team on a permanent basis from Bayern Munich in the offseason after a loan spell last season, went on as a substitute in the 79th minute when Tottenham was 2-0 ahead.
In making a decision that has surprised many in world football, Luis Enrique believes Chevalier will improve PSG even more, especially with his team’s playing style.
The French keeper has been likened to a five-a-side player due to the quality of his touch, vision and ability to break lines with his passing from the back.
Chevalier can effectively turn into an outfield player for PSG when in possession as they look to build an attack from their own defensive line.
Replacing Donnarumma will be tough, but he stepped up successfully as Lille’s first choice in the 2022-23 season after just a season in Ligue 2 with Valenciennes. Pressure should not be an issue.
Chevalier was named Ligue 1’s best goalkeeper last term with 11 clean sheets as his side finished fifth, while earning a call-up to France’s senior squad.
Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live: “The goalkeeper situation is a huge decision from Luis Enrique. Gianluigi Donnarumma is the best shot stopper and he is the best version of the older-style goalkeeper, but they have been replaced by the modern-day keeper who play in the defensive third.
“Luis Enrique is leaning into the way that modern teams want to play and build from the back. PSG are looking for that ninth degree, that tiny little bit of percentage of advantage and with Lucas Chevalier they feel they can further refine their style.”
Signs of what Chevalier will bring were seen during his debut against Spurs, with PSG opting to go short on goal-kicks and showing no fear when using him in general play.
He should have done better with Cristian Romero’s header that put the Premier League side 2-0 ahead, but showed great reflexes in a stunning save to push Joao Palhinha’s effort on to the bar, although Micky van de Ven netted the rebound for Spurs’ opener.
Chevalier then stopped Van de Ven’s penalty in the shootout as PSG won after a superb comeback from 2-0 down.
It was a bold move by Luis Enrique to drop Donnarumma and turn to the Frenchman, but one that could prove a masterstroke in the future if Chevalier lives up to great expectations.
