Pre-season is underway in N17, with Roberto De Zerbi's Spurs cruising past League One side MK Dons at Hotspur Way on Wednesday.
Mateus Fernandes' crisp volley early doors was enough for the Lilywhites, who have since jetted off to the other side of the world for their summer tour. Australia and New Zealand beckon, with De Zerbi's touring squad named the morning after our opening pre-season win.
The Italian is taking 35 players down under, a list that encouragingly includes a glut of academy stars.
Unsurprisingly, those who enjoyed deep runs at the World Cup will be granted extra time off, so Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Marcos Senesi and Djed Spence won't start their respective pre-seasons for another couple of weeks. However, two others also aren't travelling due to their World Cup travails.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr poised for Spurs exits
The club has said that Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr "have been granted extended leave following their appearances at the World Cup". Right....
Bentancur's Uruguay were dumped out in the group stages, and Sarr barely played for a Senegal team that collapsed in the round of 32. Kevin Danso, Jan Paul van Hecke, Micky van de Ven and, perhaps most tellingly, Lucas Bergvall have all been named in De Zerbi's squad after reaching the knockout stages (and playing a lot more!) for their respective nations.
I think this is a sign that both are on the chopping block.
Bentancur was excellent when he returned from injury last season, but his fitness has been an issue since he tore his ACL at the start of 2023. He's now 29, and may not fancy merely playing a squad role following the additions of Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, who also made his unofficial Spurs bow against MK Dons.
Sarr, meanwhile, was a star of Spurs' pre-season under Thomas Frank and initially looked completely rejuvenated under the Dane, who used him as a marauding No. 10. However, Sarr's resurgence fizzled out, and the duel-winning machine has ultimately struggled to develop as many expected him to in north London.
There's a very useful player in there, but Sarr's time with the club has surely run its course. At this stage, his market doesn't appear strong, so we'll have to see whether a move transpires this summer. I certainly think Spurs are trying to engineer one.
And if selling these two means trusting Lucas Bergvall's talent, I'm all for it.
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