Spurs have been drawn away to Man Utd in the quarter-final of the Subway Cup (the women’s league cup). If they are victorious, they will play either Crystal Palace or Arsenal in the semi-final. The draw came after Martin Ho’s side got a a 0-1 win over Bristol City on Sunday thanks to a Martha Thomas goal. The victory saw them go ahead of Aston Villa and through to the knock-out stage of the competition.
The draw was though hit by controversy. It was conducted by social media influencer GK Barry alongside her girlfriend, the Portsmouth midfielder Ella Rutherford. When pulling out Spurs’s name from the bag, GK Barry was heard saying the mocking chant “what do we think of Tottenham?” According to the BBC’s Emma Sanders, WSL Football has apologised to the club.
Furthermore, a ball with a team’s name seemed to be dropped out of the bag and then pulled out again. Sanders reported that had it not been the same ball taken out, the draw would have been redone. However, one team has asked to see the footage.
None of it is a great look for a competition that is struggling for credibility and coverage.
Subway Cup Draw
The draw stands though. Here are the fixtures.
Quarter-final:
Liverpool v Chelsea
Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United v Manchester City
Semi-final:
Crystal Palace/Arsenal v Manchester United/Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United/Manchester City v Liverpool/Chelsea
The quarter-finals will be played on December 19th, 20th and 21st, 2025. The semi-finals will be played on 21st and 22nd January, 2026. The final will take place on the weekend of the 14th/15th March. 2026. Details including the date, kick-off time and venue are still to be confirmed.
Signe Gaupset has signed a deal with Spurs. [Image Credit: Tottenham Hotspur Football Club]
After previous speculation, Spurs confirmed Friday that Signe Gaupset will be joining the club from SK Brann. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder, will become a Tottenham Hotspur Women’s player on 1 January, 2026, subject to international clearance and a work permit. The deal is described as “long term” and will see Gaupset wear the lily white number 8 shirt.
The Norwegian International previously worked with Spurs Head Coach Martin Ho when he was at SK Brann. “I know Martin [Ho] as a coach and I know what to expect,” she said. “We worked really well together. He demands a lot, but I like that, I think he can get even more out of me.”
Ho added: “Signe offers genuine invention in possession, explosiveness in duels and a top-level ability to shift momentum in 1v1 moments. She has the intelligence to connect the game, the athleticism to drive forward with purpose, and the mentality to influence the standards around her. These are qualities that align fully with the identity we’re building and the demands of our style.”
This is a really exciting signing. Gaupset is considered one of the hottest young prospects in European women’s football. She can play both in the middle and on the wing, the latter being an area of growing frustration at Tottenham.
The club teased the signing on X, describing it as “an early Christmas present” for fans. Gaupset could make her debut the game against Leicester at Brisbane Road, scheduled for Sunday, 11th January, 2026.
Signe Gaupset’s Story
Gaupset made her debut aged just 16 and scored as SK Brann, known previously as IL Sandviken, beat Asane in the Norwegian Cup. She made 10 further senior appearances that campaign. In 2022, she went on to help SK Brann win the cup.
In 2023, now working with Ho, she appeared in the Champions League aged 18. During that campaign she scored against Lyon and helped SK Brann get to the knockout stages for the first time. Gaupset scored seven goals for SK Brann in the 2024 season, helping the club finish second.
In the 2025 season, she kicked-on once again, netting 15 goals and contributing 12 assists in 26 Toppserien, appearances.. Her team won the title, and Gaupset was named named the league’s 2025 Player of the Year.
Gaupset made her senior debut for Norway against Croatia in February last year and did enough to get into Gemma Grainger’s squad for EURO 2025. The standout of her three appearances in the tournament featured a brace in a group match against Iceland. She was also nominated for the Golden Girl Trophy.
Signe Gaupset in action for SK Brann. She could be on her way to Spurs.
Update 21 November, 2025 – Gaupset Signs
Spurs announced Friday that Signe Gaupset has officially signed for the club. She will join on 1 January 2026, subject to international clearance and work permit. Original story below, full details of the deal here.
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Rumours abound that Signe Gaupset will be heading to Spurs Women in the upcoming January transfer window. The 20-year-old Norwegian is one of the hottest prospects in the women’s game. She was a sensation at Euro 2025. That was thanks in no small part to the two goals that helped her country claim a dramatic 4-3 win over Iceland.
There is now reportedly a deal in principle in place for the SK Brann midfielder’s move to Spurs. According to Norwegian outlet Nettavisen, the first to make the story public, the package is worth a total of £378,000. It would be a record for a Norwegian player. Brann have already announced that this weekend will be Gaupset’s last game for them. Nothing else has been confirmed at this stage. Worth noting that SK Brann have previously repelled bids for the young talent. It is, therefore, pretty significant for them to have announced she is leaving.
Sign Signe to Show Progress
Aside from last week’s frustrating defeat to London City Lionesses and a hammering by Bunny Shaw Manchester City, Tottenham have broadly started the WSL season positively. New boss Martin Ho has certainly sured up the defence. He is also getting more out of the players like Clare Hunt, who had a poor campaign last season.
However, things need to keep progressing. (Having interacted with Ho a number of times now, it’s fair to say nobody believes that more than him.) There certainly needs to be some more creativity and goalscoring threat from midfield. That has been missing since Grace Clintion returned to Man Utd. The signing of Gaupset would undoubtedly help in that regard. Here she is scoring against Roesnborg recently:
I’ve been given indications that the January window will be busy for Tottenham Hotspur Women. Securing Golden Girl nominee Gaupset’s signature as part of that would be a real signal of intent from the new regime at Hotspur Way.
There could be exciting times ahead, with Signe Gaupset’s arrival just one part of it. #SignSigne, anyone?
Eveliina Summanen’s free-kick against London City Lionesses has been nominated for WSL Goal of the Month for November. The Finn found the net on 69 minutes.
The stunning strike was Spurs Women’s second equaliser in the game. However, it was not enough to get the team any points, as the hosts scored two subsequent goals. The result was highly frustrating, but there is no doubting the quality of Summanen’s goal.
Alessia Russo and Drew Spance in the Spurs vs Arenal game in WSL
The managers’ post-match reaction revealed all you need to know about the Spurs vs Arsenal WSL result. Tottenham head coach Martin Ho came bounding towards the shivering hack pack, shaking hands with everyone. Meanwhile, Arsenal boss Renee Slegers took a long time to come over and stood with arms crossed as she answered questions.
There is no doubt that this is a far better result for the hosts than the visitors. Never mind the need to get something after a terrible result at London City Lionesses last week, Spurs had to prove they were not returning to the bad old days of always losing to the “big four”.
This wasn’t a pretty Spurs performance. Daphne van Domselaar wasn’t forced to make lots of big saves to keep Arsenal in it. The Gunners had 13 shots in total, four on target, compared to just four total shots by Ho’s team.
It was a tough, gritty performance though. This was personified by Drew Spence, who battled throughout and was rightly named Player of the Match. “Drew maybe goes under the radar a little bit because maybe she’s not as flashy with the ball,” said Ho of the Jamaica international. “But technically, tactically… her wining mentality is phenomenal. She sets a real tone for us.”
The manager also explained that Spence is amongst the senior players that can be used for.. game management. “I felt like we had to be a little bit more smarter and game smart and that’s just game craft. That’s with a little bit of experience with some players and you maybe see like Drew, Beth, Martha, they kind of have that in terms of how to kill the game, how to slow it down, when to kind of work the ball down the sides,” he said.
As for Slegers, she acknowledged that “Tottenham are much stronger this year than last year.” Furthermore, she said that the home side “have a more aggressive pressing structure, they can do it physically and are very brave on the ball when they build.’ It was noticeable that stars like Alessia Russo, whilst always dangerous, were largely kept quiet during the game. Stina Blackstenius was the standout Gunner.
Spurs vs Arsenal WSL Vibes
Of course, the point is a good result for Tottenham Hotspur Women. It was hard-fought and deserved. However, there are still plenty of areas in which they team can improve. Most noticeably, the crossing is not good enough. Jess Naz and Matilda Vinberg are the main culprits of this. (We discussed it on Hometown Glory after the game.) Also, Olivia Holdt is really, really good.
While the end result was fine, I confess I still can’t quite get my head around the starting 11 or, indeed, the substitutions. Tinka Tandberg once again started, with Bethany England on the bench. Tandberg is excellent and battled hard up front, but I’m confused about any Spurs starting 11 that doesn’t have Bethany England in it. The skipper did not come on until the 64th minute.
Martha Thomas came on too. The Scotland forward was busy but wasted what was perhaps Tottenham’s best chance. Cutting in from the right-hand channel, she blazed her shot over instead of hitting the target or cutting it back to England, It was extra time and a bit more calmness and quality could have seen Spurs take all three points.
As the minutes ticked by, it became torturous. The home fans realised they were getting closer to a really meaningful point. The away fans were getting ever more frustrated. (Indeed, so were the players. Katie McCabe, on a booking, had to be removed at half time.) At the final whist, it felt like Spurs had won.
And that’s why not losing again was so important. The fans and players could head into the League Cup game and then international break with some positivity. Never has there been a more joyous 0-0 home draw.
Martin Ho Reacts
Here is what Martin Ho said to journalists following the Spurs 0 – 0 Arsenal match on Sunday, 16th November 2025.
I had the pleasure of making my debut on the Home Town Glory podcast this week. I joined to be part of their monthly deep dive into the women’s team. It was such a joy to be able to unpack a great start to the seasons with Rosa and Lauren and not a horrible derby defeat.
During the show, we discussed our pride at the Spur performance in the North London Derby, the vibes at Brisbane Road, the highs and lows since Martin Ho arrived, the form (and quality) of Jess Naz and Matilda Vinberg and how the squad is developing. In truth, I was most stressed about my culture pick…
You can listen to the episode on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
![Signe Gaupset: Spurs Sign One of Women’s Football’s Hottest Prospects [Updated]](https://lilywhitewoman.theaddition.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/SigneGaupset-1.webp)
