Whether Conor Gallagher and Souza can be added to Tottenham’s Champions League squad

Tottenham are adding two more players to Thomas Frank’s armoury but can they be brought into his Champions League squad?

Tottenham are set to seal two new arrivals this week in the shape of Conor Gallagher and Souza and the Spurs supporters will be wondering whether both new signings can play in the Champions League.

Gallagher is undertaking his medical at Hotspur Way on Tuesday to complete a £34.7million move from Atletico Madrid. Meanwhile 19-year-old left-back Souza is set to land in England later on Wednesday so should put the finishing touches on his £13million switch from Santos the following day while awaiting a work permit.

In their final two Champions League games in the league phase, Spurs welcome Borussia Dortmund next Tuesday night (January 20) and then travel to Frankfurt on Wednesday January 28.

The first question is can either Gallagher or Souza play in those two matches? The answer unfortunately is no. The squads are set now for the rest of the league phase of the competition.

Some supporters might be hanging their hopes on the same UEFA rule that allowed Tottenham to bring Mathys Tel into the squad last month to replace the injured Dominic Solanke, when they see Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus out until April with their injuries.

However, that rule only allows a team to bring in a squad substitute if a player has been ill or injured for 60 days and on top of that it can only be done up until the sixth game of the league phase, which fell on the encounter against Slavia Prague.

In more positive news though, either player can be brought into Thomas Frank’s squad next month in the Champions League should Spurs, who sit 11th in the table, reach the knockout stages.

Tottenham would have the opportunity to make three changes to their current squad when submitting their list for the knockout stages by 11pm on February 5.

An added bonus is that nowadays you can add players who have already played in the group stages in any European competition so Gallagher, who has appeared six times so far this season in the Champions League for Atletico and scored once, will still be able to be added to Spurs’ squad in place of someone else.

Those last few words remain the crux for Tottenham as they are six over the squad limit of players to fit into their Champions League squad. You can find all of the full explanation behind that by clicking right here, but ultimately if Gallagher and Souza are both to play in the competition should Spurs progress then two current players will have to be left out.