'Tottenham vs Arsenal in New York?!' - Premier League matches in America scrutinised by ex-Spurs star who sounds police and player travel warning

With many top sides in England eager to expand their global appeal, pre-season tours in far-flung destinations have become common. Many teams head to the U.S. - with there an ever-growing market to exploit there – with even Wrexham treading that path now that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are at the helm.

Birmingham have reportedly seen a request to take a League One clash with Wrexham across the Atlantic knocked back, but the Premier League is said to be exploring ways of playing a competitive fixture outside of the United Kingdom – with American sports such as the NFL, NBA and MLB having shown what can be achieved when spreading collective wings.

There appears to be little chance of such a deal being sanctioned any time soon, with former Spurs and Birmingham winger Anderton – speaking in association with William Hill – telling GOAL when asked about Premier League games on foreign soil: “I don’t know how it will work. It obviously works for the NFL coming the other way, and they are always talking about ‘will there be a team in London?’. It may well happen. It would be a nice trip if it was in New York or something.”

Ex-England international Anderton added on the issues that organising a game a long way from home would cause: “Maybe Tottenham vs Arsenal, people from London go over to New York for the weekend – I’m not sure the police would like it! People love watching the Premier League over there, so it is probably something that they would love. I’m not sure how managers, players, owners would see it. As players, you travel and stay in hotels anyway, but if you had to go seven/eight hours on a plane to play a game, it would feel very bizarre. But the game is changing, the money and everything about it. It could happen but I don’t see it happening for a very long time.”

The likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal will all be heading to the U.S. this summer. Wrexham, meanwhile, will be facing Chelsea and Bournemouth – with the Blues boasting an American ownership group headed by Todd Boehly, while Hollywood star Michael B. Jordan is an investor in the Cherries’ boardroom.