Tottenham Hotspur to arrive in Korea with a lot of new faces

New Tottenham Hotspur signees Ivan Perisic, left, and Fraser Forster chat as Spurs opens its pre-season training at the club's Enfield training ground in north London on Monday. [TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR]

Tottenham Hotspur fans need to get used to some new faces before the team arrives in Korea next week, with a significantly changed lineup likely to take to the field here after a string of summer signings.

Spurs kicked off their pre-season training on Monday with four new faces arriving for their first day of work — Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr. According to the club in press release, new Brazilian signee Richarlison will also be reporting for duty over the next few days, along with most of the rest of the team.

Croatian striker Ivan Perisic joined Spurs on a free transfer from Inter Milan at the start of June.

At 33-years-old, Perisic's storied career has seen him win the Bundesliga twice, the DFB-Pokal three times, Serie A once, the Coppa Italia once and the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League. He was also part of the 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia squad, where he also became the first Croatian footballer ever to score in a World Cup final.

Perisic was an obvious choice for Tottenham manager Antonio Conte, who coached him for two years at Inter Milan. For Tottenham the move was less obvious — the club has typically looked to sign younger, emerging players that the club can develop and potentially trade in the future.

A week after Perisic, Forster joined Tottenham on a free transfer from Southampton. The 34-year-old is expected to slot into the Tottenham lineup as the club's new backup goalkeeper, replacing Pierluigi Gollini who returned to Atalanta as his loan expired at the end of the last season.

Despite his age and spending a large part of his career in the No. 2 spot, Fraser slotted into the starting XI at Southampton for most of the second half of the 2021-22 season after the regular starting goalie was injured. He put on a good performance and is expected to prove a reliable back-up for Hugo Lloris at Spurs.

Tottenham signed Bissouma on June 17 on a four-year deal with £25 million ($30 million). The midfielder joined Spurs from Brighton, where he was a crucial part of the squad that recorded the south coast club's best-ever Premier League finish, in ninth place.

He proved potent in games against Tottenham last season, and comes with the tried-and-tested Premier League ability that head coach Antonio Conte has been pushing for in new signings.

Senegalese star Pape Matar Sarr rejoins Tottenham after spending a year on loan with Metz following his signing last summer. The 19-year-old joins an increasingly crowded midfield, and with no Premier League experience he will probably spend some time playing from the bench while he earns his stripes.

His performance at the African Cup of Nations suggests Sarr has what it takes to join Spurs, but Conte could still choose to send him back out on loan for a little while longer.

The final player joining Tottenham in Korea is Brazilian star Richarlison, who joins the London club from Everton. Richarlison, who scored 10 Premier League goals last season, signed for £60 million on a five-year deal, adding the Brazilian starting striker to the Spurs squad.

Richarlison has already been in Korea once this summer, scoring the opening goal in Brazil's 5-1 defeat of the Korean national team on June 2.

The Tottenham men's squad will fly to Korea within the next week to play two exhibition games and hold a series of events for fans, including offering a chance to meet the players and receive some football coaching.

Spurs will first take on Team K League, a special squad made up of the K League's best players, on July 13 at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District. The London team will then face La Liga club Sevilla at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on July 16.

Sevilla also plans to tour Korea from July 8 to July 17, marking the club's first visit to the country. No other fixtures have been announced.

The Tottenham vs. Sevilla match-up could make for a good game for Korean fans. Both clubs finished fourth in their respective leagues this season, suggesting that they ought to be reasonably well matched.

While Tottenham brings the obvious appeal in the form of Korean national team captain and reigning Premier League Golden Boot recipient Son Heung-min, Sevilla also offers an interesting opportunity: The chance to see midfielder Erik Lamela reconnect with his old friends at Tottenham.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]