After taking over at Tottenham Hotspur, Ange Postecoglou may have had the busiest and most difficult summer of any Premier League manager.
When it came to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London, it was far from a vintage season, with the team missing out on Europe entirely.
Antonio Conte’s diatribe that cost him his job was revealed to be an honest appraisal, and the club became the first in the Premier League to remove their interim manager, not that employing the old manager’s assistant was ever going to work.
Chelsea may have finished lower than them, but there’s a strong case to be made that Spurs have significantly more work to do.
With Postecoglou no doubt going through his very long to do list we’ve decided to give him a hand by outlining what they need to do to return to the top four.
The most important thing
It almost goes without saying, but Tottenham must ensure that they retain Harry Kane regardless of what happens.
Although he only has one year left on his contract, it appears like Daniel Levy is desperate to keep him for it and urge him to stay beyond.
Manchester United appear to have already opted against a long-drawn-out bid to recruit the England captain, which is likely to fail anyhow, which is a change for them.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have also been mentioned as possible destinations if the club’s all-time leading scorer decides to go, but this seems more improbable.
As far as nice start to the transfer window goes, this is well up there.
Spurs were so bad last season that you could pick any number of positions as the top priority but it does seem like James Maddison is the man they most desire.
The Leicester City star has also been linked with Newcastle United, and Spurs may be unable to compete with them just on financial grounds.
Harvey Barnes is also desired in north London, and he might join his Leicester teammate or come as an option.
If the aim is to play Maddison on the wing, Spurs should look to Manchester United to sign Jadon Sancho.
Even after returning after a couple of months away from the team, he has yet to reach the projected heights and is supposedly available for roughly £60 million.
Centrally Mallorca star Lee Kang-in could be of interest, especially as he’d have South Korea teammate Son Heung-min alongside him, although PSG are interested too.
Whilst not missing out on a Sporting star as they did with Bruno Fernandes is another option, if they go for Pedro Goncalves.
Who needs to go
Once again, the question is where to begin with a team that clearly wasn’t good enough last season and arguably hasn’t been for a few years.
Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, and Sergio Reguilon were all on loan last season and should now have permanent deals.
Captain Hugo Lloris has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, and the club’s entire backline might follow him.
Ryan Sessegnon, in particular, has failed to live up to the hype he received while at Fulham, and Ivan Perisic’s fame has not translated well into English football.
You have to wonder if Postecoglou will be able to keep any of the defenders from last season, and if that would be a problem.
It’s improbable, but if someone offered Spurs the same amount of money they paid on Richarlison, they’d definitely accept it…
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