Spurs’ transfer deadline day plan, Akliouche and what furious Man City staff did at Tottenham stadium

Here are our Tottenham talking points after the 2-2 draw against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday evening

06:00, 02 Feb 2026Updated 08:15, 02 Feb 2026

Tottenham have long held a transfer interest in Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche

The boos at half-time were replaced by cheers at the final whistle as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium rose to acknowledge what their battered, patched up and very much makeshift team had just done.

For Spurs had 11 players out injured and then lost captain Cristian Romero at half-time to an illness that he had battled through in Frankfurt but looked drained with against Manchester City despite his desire to play.

That left a back four containing two midfielders in Joao Palhinha and teenager Archie Gray, as well as Radu Dragusin starting his first match in a year alongside Destiny Udogie, who himself is being eased back into regular football again.

At 2-0 down with City looking comfortable in second gear, the writing appeared to be on the wall for Thomas Frank and his men.

The Dane switched to a 4-4-2 and up stepped 19-year-old Gray. It was a run from the teenager from the right and into the centre of the pitch, slaloming past challenges with the underrated technical ability he has that ignited the crowd and his team-mates.

The move ended with Conor Gallagher firing over the crossbar but it gave those players in white on the pitch and the fans in the stand a perfectly-timed reminder that they could cause damage to a City side that bears psychological scars from this stadium.

The Manchester side are seemingly the only team that fear playing in N17 more than Tottenham.

Udogie had a powerful shot pushed over by Gianluigi Donnarumma and everyone started to believe again after a first half devoid of confidence from the players and atmosphere inside the stadium.

Now the noise returned and it helped that Spurs had scrappers in key positions on the pitch in Conor Gallagher, Palhinha, Gray, Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke.

Xavi in particular took control of proceedings. The Dutchman has been progressively getting to grips with life in England over recent weeks but this game against top level opposition felt like his calling card, the match that showed what he can become for Tottenham Hotspur.

The 22-year-old has traits of other Spurs playmakers of recent years but with a grit and fight that has been etched into him from battling his way up the ladder inside two of football’s biggest clubs.

His pass to Solanke eight minutes into the second half with the outside of his right foot was exquisite.

The striker ran on to it and chopped the ball with his heel to cut inside and as he did so Marc Guehi stood on his foot, Solanke hit the City’s defender’s leg with the other foot but close-up replays of the moment showed the striker also touched the ball at the same time and sent it over Donnarumma and into the net.

VAR checked for offside and the foul and found nothing to change the referee’s on-pitch decision.

Pep Guardiola was livid, seeing the replay on the big screen, pointing and remonstrating while earning himself a yellow card.

“If a central defender does it to a striker it’s a penalty,” he said.

Guardiola didn’t happen to mention the numerous occasions that Rodri could have got a second yellow card for City before he took him off.

Frank told football.london of Solanke’s first goal: “I think there’s clear contact from him on [the ball]. We want, in general, a higher threshold. I understand it’s in the grey area. I think if the Liverpool goal, Ekitike, was in my opinion still, two clear hands in the back of Romero. So I think it’s no grey areas.

“Very happy it finally dropped to us, which I think was more than fair. And the second one was something we, of course, trained yesterday, so it went well.”

Dominic Solanke celebrates with his Tottenham teammates after scoring his second vs Man City (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

That second part was a joke from the Dane and there was no doubt about Solanke’s next spectacular strike or the quality.

Frank had gone for it, throwing Wilson Odobert, who had been a doubt with illness, and Mathys Tel into the fray for Yves Bissouma, who had gifted City the ball for Rayan Cherki’s first half goal, and Randal Kolo Muani, who had put in an energetic if fruitless display.

Spurs’ second goal though was created by Gallagher, racing on to a loose header from Guehi and battling between two players before whipping it into the box. Meeting it was Solanke with the most audacious scorpion kick with his right heel, sending the ball looping up and over Donnarumma, who could only help it on its way into his net.

It was such a wonderful goal that every replay on the big screen in the aftermath – and there were about four of them – were met by almost all of the 61,337-strong crowd going ‘oooooh’ in unison.

It was a fourth goal for Solanke in as many games and behind him Xavi wanted more.

The Dutchman embarked on a series of dribbles during the game, one after the second goal which resulted in him teeing up Odobert to shoot, only for the keeper to save low down with his right foot. Then set up by the dribbling Tel, Xavi had his own curling effort tipped over the crossbar by Donnarumma.

The hosts’ third goal should have come soon after when Xavi won the ball back high up the pitch down the left flank and ran into the City box before squaring for Odobert, but the Frenchman could not quite force the ball home from close range as he nipped in front of Guehi.

Xavi did everything possible in a huge performance. Among the Spurs players he had the most touches (84), won the most duels (10), had the most successful take-ons (4), won back possession the most (7), took five shots, created four chances and won four fouls.

“I think Xavi was exceptional today. He’s a very good footballer, but he’s probably an even bigger winner and fighter. So the way he fights with the team is exceptional and how he’s part of driving the team forward I think is very impressive,” said the Tottenham boss.

Gallagher added on his midfield team-mate: “Brilliant player. He’s one of those guys that you want in your team. He works so hard and just wants to win. He has a lot of passion and obviously a lot of quality as well, so he’s only going to get better and yeah he’s top.”

Spurs’ makeshift defence battled away at the other end, ensuring City did not have a single effort on target in the second half.

Palhinha was a colossus, winning seven of his eight duels, making six tackles and winning possession five times along with five clearances.

Udogie never stopped sprinting down the left and Gray ran himself into the ground, picking up knocks aplenty in the second half and limping around in the final moments, while working behind 17-year-old Jun’ai Byfield. Such is Spurs’ injury crisis, the young centre-back was brought on for his Premier League debut as a right winger.

Then there was Dragusin. The Romanian began the game looking exactly like someone making their first start in 372 days, as much of the play passed him by, including Cherki for the first goal.

Then it was his loose clearance that fell to Rodri, who passed to Bernardo Silva and the ball was poked on to Antoine Semenyo to score his second goal against Spurs in a matter of weeks.

But Dragusin showed the tenacity forged month after month as he recovered from his cruciate ligament injury and he grew into the game as he found its rhythm. There’s a line of thought that the 23-year-old will suit Frank’s style and system well when he gets sharper and fitter and there were signs of it in the second half as he marshalled Haaland expertly at times and won header after header.

Also, while he did not have much to do, praise must go to Guglielmo Vicario for a stunning reflex save that was so fast to prevent a Cherki first half shot going inside the left-hand post that none of the officials spotted it and a goal kick was given.

Also credit to Pape Matar Sarr’s backside. The Senegal midfielder made a great tackle by throwing his posterior at the ball while sat in the middle of a second half scramble in the Spurs box, his leg then sending a Haaland close range effort up and over the crossbar.

All of Frank’s substitutions were positive and played their part in taking the game to City, Sarr key in the midfield, Odobert continuing to grow in confidence with the ball at his feet, Tel constantly flying forward and 17-year-old Byfield again not looking out of place.

Dominic Solanke celebrates scoring for Spurs against Manchester City

The teenager replaced Solanke, who scared everyone after limping around before coming off having rolled his ankle but the striker made it clear to everyone afterwards that he was fine.

“He struggled to run fitness-wise. We knew before the game again it would be a big push to play 90. He’s not there fitness-wise where he should be, because he’s been out for so long. And we’ve been, in a way, a little bit forced to play him,” Frank told football.london.

“And I think it’s pretty evident that he’s relatively important for us! Four goals in four games, with him being on his 70-80% of fitness and top sharpness. But imagine City playing without Haaland for six months. So I think we’ve been quite hard-hit with injuries, but Dom was excellent.”

According to OPTA, it was the first time City have failed to win a match they had led by two or more goals at half time since April 2018 against Manchester United, winning all of the 115 games in between.

So upset were the City analysts, sat at the back of the press box, that one or two of them repeatedly and furiously smashed their hands down against their desk throughout the final minutes of the encounter.

Frank on the other hand was delighted. It’s four games unbeaten for Spurs now and the 52-year-old may well point out that they have only lost three of their past 10 matches.

There will rightly be gripes about the level of some of those opposition teams that should have been beaten but this was a big Premier League performance against a top side just when the Spurs head coach needed it to back up the midweek Champions League success.

“I’m extremely happy that we finally got a point out of a big second half, and it felt like a big point because we’re playing against the best team in the Premier League in the last seven years, eight years. They’re playing to compete for the title,” he said.

“And I said it before, this team’s ability to respond to setbacks and show resilience, I think we are growing it bit by bit. Now it’s game 11 since Nottingham Forest, where I think we are showing more consistency. We are more competitive. It’s just going in the right direction.

“Not all the results have gone with us. There have been some good, top performances and mentality against Bournemouth, West Ham and Villa. But we just didn’t get at least a point or something out of it.

“So now we get the point as well. On top of a good performance against Dortmund. More good than bad against Burnley. I know it looks bad because we only get a point, but a game we could and should easily have won with the chances we created. And a big performance against Frankfurt.

“So now we are building some of that and we are, by the way, building it with players dropping left, right and centre to injury. So we’re ending a game without three normal centre-backs, two normal full-backs.

“We play Archie and Joao in the back four. Dragusin played his first game in 12 months and Jun’ai is coming on as the right midfielder. I think that shows everything about the team and what they are building. Very proud of the players.”

Thomas Frank celebrates after Dominic Solanke scores to make it 2-2 during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City

Teams are often forged in adversity and Spurs would go on to win their first trophy last season in 17 years after coming through similar circumstances during the same winter months.

Frank needs help though and this final day of the winter transfer window is a huge test for Tottenham’s recruitment team amid criticism from the fanbase and every contact Johan Lange and the departing Fabio Paratici have in their phones will need to be used.

The attack will likely be the main area of focus for Frank, other than a late check on Andy Robertson’s status.

The Scot was an unused substitute in Liverpool’s win against Newcastle after playing the full 90 minutes against Qarabag, which Spurs had agreed in principle was meant to be his final game for Arne Slot’s side if they could recall Kostas Tsimikas from Roma. So far they have not been able to.

As Frank has done with the likes of Kolo Muani, Tel and Dragusin, so Slot has said he does not have the squad depth to lose Robertson. Much will depend on what Liverpool do in the coming hours.

In defence, on the left Spurs do have Udogie and Souza, on the bench for the first time on Sunday, while the right is the vacant side. However, Djed Spence and Pedro Porro are expected to return from their calf and hamstring injuries respectively in the next few weeks with Archie Gray deputising in the meantime.

At centre-back, Romero and Van de Ven are expected to recover to face Manchester United next weekend. The ill Spurs captain was asked by a Spanish reporter after the game outside the dressing room if he was alright and replied “I’m okay”.

Radu Dragusin will have taken a lot from his first 90 minutes in a year. Despite plenty of interest in Serie A, the Romanian would appear likely to remain this window barring any late new arrival. If Frank is to play with three centre-backs for the remainder of this season then he needs every one he has.

New faces would seem odd with Luka Vuskovic starring in Germany, with another top drawer goalscoring performance in the Bundesliga, this time against the mighty Bayern. Spurs would be mad to block the 18-year-old wonderkid’s pathway with a new centre-back arrival.

Palhinha has also shown he can fill in at the back and it comes as Kevin Danso limped through the mixed zone after Sunday’s draw. The Austria international hyperextended his big toe against Frankfurt and a ligament snapped as he landed on the foot of an opponent.

Danso is set to see a consultant next week, but Frank said “it’s in a big toe, so hopefully not too worrying”.

football.london bumped into Jan Vertonghen in the corridors of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as he returned to watch the game and how Spurs could do with a calm head like the Belgian’s in his prime to step into their defence.

After the game and Solanke’s goal, the retired centre-back posted on social media: “Third time I witnessed Puskas winner now…”

Monaco star Maghnes Akliouche would fit in perfectly at Tottenham(Image: (Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images))

In central midfield at Tottenham there are plenty of bodies, barring further injuries, but attacking midfielders and wingers are needed. A striker would be helpful as well but with Solanke, Kolo Muani and Tel in situ with Richarlison due back before the north London derby this month, one may have to depart first.

“We are active, no doubt about that. If something happens, let’s see,” said Frank about Tottenham’s deadline day plans. “[Romero] I hope is minor nothing. Micky we hope is back for Man United and Djed is hopefully not too long.”

That leaves the attack and Frank has repeatedly admitted his bench is not full enough with options to create and get goals. Just a couple more absences would see that bench packed with academy youngsters rather than ready-made players to impact a game.

That City could bring on Phil Foden, Tijjani Reijnders and Omar Marmoush, who Spurs have been linked with, during the game said plenty about the ready-made nature of their squad compared to the hosts’.

Tottenham have looked at players such as the injured Savinho, Marmoush and Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche. The latter, who scored against Rennes on Saturday, was seen as a potential alternative to Xavi in the summer but would surely make sense as a presence down the right in Mohammed Kudus’ absence and replace Brennan Johnson.

The France international, who has just over two years left on his contract, is seen as a good professional behind the scenes and would fit perfectly into the right-sided number 10 role in Frank’s newly-installed 3-4-3 formation.

football.london reported earlier this month that Monaco were preparing for Akliouche’s potential departure either this month or in the summer by looking for replacements. The Ligue 1 club are still in the Champions League though and may want to keep the talented 23-year-old for the play-offs. The final day of the window is also not the ideal day to lose a star player.

Jhon Duran has been offered here, there and everywhere to Premier League teams in recent weeks, becoming this window’s Ademola Lookman, who himself is finally moving on and is joining Atletico Madrid.

Frank admitted on Friday that while he does not want permanent stop-gap signings, loan moves are not out of the question to plug the gaps. The club will be wary of having a huge squad when all the long-term injury absentees in April and May and a temporary loan move helps that situation, albeit not with those messy Champions League squad places with only three changes able to be made.

The problem will be the quality of those players available. Raheem Sterling has been dismissed as a target, as was Jean-Philippe Mateta, now on his way to AC Milan.

There will be unexpected approaches ahead and players galore offered to Tottenham in the final hours before the window shuts in the Premier League, Italy, Germany and France at 7pm UK time and 10.59pm in Spain.

Tottenham must act and they must pull something out of the bag in dramatic style otherwise questions will only grow about the ambition and planning behind a window in which they sold last season’s top scorer and spent the money on a central midfielder, then signed a 19-year-old left-back for £13million, all the while suffering injuries throughout the squad.

The squad has not been improved and in fact Frank admitted to football.london on Friday that those injuries have left his squad in a weaker state than when the transfer window opened. That must be remedied before the clock hits seven.