Tottenham Hotspur boosted by availability of Aston Villa transfer target as Thomas Frank prepares to face ‘top team’
Randal Kolo Muani is in the frame for a belated Premier League debut for Tottenham Hotspur against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Villa were reportedly eager to bring in the forward to the extent that L’Equipe mistakenly reported on transfer deadline day that Kolo Muani had agreed to join the club.
Instead, he signed for Spurs on loan from Paris Saint-Germain but has only been able to make a single brief appearance in the Champions League.
The 26-year-old was injured in a training session and has been out of action ever since, but Spurs manager Thomas Frank confirmed on Friday afternoon that he will be available for Sunday’s fixture against Villa at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“Kolo Muani has trained now for two weeks with the team, so that’s good. He looks better and better. He will be in contention for tomorrow, so that’s positive,” the Spurs boss said in his pre-match press conference.
Villa’s next Premier League opponents still have a number of injured absentees. Yves Bissouma joined their ranks during the international break and other sidelined players include James Maddison, Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin.
Frank was also asked about Villa’s slow start to the 2025/26 season, which included two disappointing visits to his former club, Brentford.
‘That’s a top team’
“I would say [I’m not surprised by what I’ve seen], because when I see them performing and their structure and the way they play, I see a lot of the same that I’ve seen from Unai Emery‘s Villa team in the last three seasons,” Frank told reporters on Friday.
“I see a lot of the same strengths. They’re very, very good in the build-up and in phase two and have fantastic structure. They’re very composed and have fantastic players.
“That’s a top team. The back four is very good as well. It’s a team and you can see they’re growing. I expect an unbelievable, tight game on Sunday that we’re very positive about and that we will do everything to edge. We hope and I believe we can, but it will be a strong test on Sunday.”
The Dane is plotting his first victory over Emery. He’s yet to defeat the Villa manager but it has to be acknowledged that Spurs are – or should be – a rather different proposition than even his high-quality Brentford side.
Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs beat Villa comfortably in this fixture last November, They exposed some particular weaknesses and triggered a run of four Premier League matches without a win, but Villa ended up qualifying for Europe through their league position.
Spurs defeated Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao to claim a place in the 2025/26 Champions League. They have four league wins under their belts this season, losing only once.
Frank’s only defeat in any competition excluding the European Super Cup penalty shoot-out was a 1-0 loss at home against AFC Bournemouth in late August.
Read more:
➡️ How to watch Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa: kick-off time, TV channels and streams
➡️ Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa: predicted line-up, team news and match preview
The post Tottenham Hotspur boosted by availability of Aston Villa transfer target as Thomas Frank prepares to face ‘top team’ appeared first on AVillaFan.com – Aston Villa Fan Site.