Tottenham Prepares for Getafe Friendly Ahead of New Season
Spurs slip back behind the gates of Hotspur Way on Saturday, but there is nothing low-key about what awaits Roberto De Zerbi’s players.
Getafe are the visitors for a behind-closed-doors friendly that will say plenty about where Tottenham really are, two weeks out from Brentford and the start of a season they cannot afford to let be defined by injuries again.
From Down Under to locked in
The squad have barely had time to shake the jet lag from a productive tour of New Zealand and Australia. That trip ended with a jolt of adrenaline: a dramatic 2-1 win over Chelsea, sealed with virtually the last kick of the game by Richarlison, and achieved with 10 men after Kevin Danso’s dismissal.
It was the kind of pre-season moment managers quietly cherish. A group under strain, a man light, still finding a way. Four games unbeaten so far this summer; the habits are good, the mood better.
Now comes the quieter work. No fanfare, no crowd, just Getafe, the cameras of SPURSPLAY and a head coach determined to sharpen relationships across a squad reshaped by a heavy summer of spending.
Caution after last season’s scars
De Zerbi has refused to gamble with fitness. He knows what happened last year when key bodies broke down and the campaign slowly unravelled.
Destiny Udogie and James Maddison have yet to kick a ball in pre-season. Maddison, battling a hip problem, is already in that uncomfortable bracket: a “race against time” to be ready for Brentford. Udogie’s absence has been handled with similar care, the staff wary of forcing the issue in July and paying for it in October.
Micky van de Ven, close to signing a new contract, has not featured since returning from the World Cup. His recovery has been managed in the background, the club unwilling to rush a defender whose pace and aggression underpin so much of their defensive line.
Up front, Dominic Solanke finally stepped onto the pitch for his first minutes of the summer against Chelsea. He is expected to build on that against Getafe, a chance to start knitting himself into an attack that will ask him to press, link and finish from the first whistle of the Premier League.
Kudus and Kulusevski: different timelines
The most encouraging pictures of the week came from the training pitches. Mohammed Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski, both long-term absentees, were filmed running together at Hotspur Way, a simple drill that carried a significant message.
Kudus has been missing since January with a serious quad injury. Now he is back with the main group, edging towards full fitness, moving with the squad rather than apart from it. Even so, it remains doubtful he will be thrown into action against Getafe. De Zerbi’s staff are wary of turning progress into a setback.
Kulusevski’s situation is even more delicate. The Swedish playmaker has not played for over a year after a patella injury suffered in May 2025. Spurs are being particularly careful. He is not yet in full team training and is still some distance from match minutes. His return, whenever it comes, will be staged, not rushed.
Big-money midfield and a near full-strength test
One major piece is back on the board. Mateus Fernandes has returned to training after a calf issue that ruled him out of the last two games. The £85million signing is in contention to feature against Getafe, a valuable chance to accelerate his understanding with Sandro Tonali and the rest of the midfield unit.
De Zerbi will want this game to look and feel as close to the real thing as possible. The predicted XI underlines that intent: Kinsky in goal; a back line of Gray, Van de Ven, Van Hecke and Robertson; Fernandes and Tonali anchoring midfield; Williams-Barnett and Gallagher supporting from advanced roles; Tel and Solanke leading the line.
It is not quite full strength, but it is close enough to matter. Close enough that patterns can be rehearsed, distances corrected, pressing triggers drilled again and again.
Quiet venue, loud implications
The setting could hardly be more controlled: 3pm BST, Saturday August 8, 2026, on the familiar turf of Hotspur Way. No travelling, no distractions. Just a Premier League squad being asked to show they are ready to shift from preparation to performance.
After Getafe, a double-header against Hoffenheim will complete the pre-season slate. By then, the questions around Maddison’s hip, Udogie’s readiness and Kudus’s final steps back to full fitness should have clearer answers.
For now, the work goes on behind closed doors. The next time Spurs play a competitive game, there will be no hiding place.
