As the Premier League season draws to a close, rumours are rife as to what Antonio Conte’s first summer transfer window will look like at Spurs, with the Italian reportedly keen to add as many as six new signings to his squad (Telegraph).
It remains to be seen just how much backing Conte will get, but Daniel Levy must give his manager the tools to succeed. And, according to recent murmurs around the club, Levy is willing to give it one big push to enable Spurs to challenge at the very top again (Athletic).
With player sales and investment from the top, I think roughly £100 million could be the magic number to well and truly make Spurs a force to be reckoned with, and here are the summer signings Spurs should make happen.
Dean Henderson
Signing a goalkeeper is certainly on the agenda for Conte, especially given that Pierluigi Gollini’s loan spell at the club hasn’t worked out. Hugo Lloris only has another two years in him, so we need to prepare his successor as soon as possible.
There has been much talk of Sam Johnstone coming in on a free (Football Insider), with his contract at West Brom coming to an end. However, Johnstone hasn’t even started consistently in the Championship this season, and we have to question whether he is really good enough to be our future first-choice keeper.
Instead, a fee of roughly £25 million might be enough to convince Manchester United to part with their number two keeper, Dean Henderson, who looks like a much better long-term investment. He can push Lloris, learn from the Frenchman, and ultimately take over the number one jersey in the near future.
Tariq Lamptey
Perhaps the most glaring area of weakness in this current Spurs team is at right wing-back. With the new formation introduced by Conte, it became apparent very quickly that Emerson Royal couldn’t quite fulfil the role.
While Matt Doherty enjoyed an incredible resurgence before his injury last month, Spurs desperately need more options on the right side of defence.
We have been strongly linked with Djed Spence from Championship side Middlesbrough, and the youngster has been a shining light in his loan spell at Nottingham forest this year (Sun).
However, the priority for Spurs this summer is to sign more experienced players (Athletic). Tariq Lamptey is proven in the Premier League, and fits our aggressive style of play perfectly. It would take some negotiating, but a fee of £30 million might just be enough to prize him away from Brighton.
Josko Gvardiol
Another area that’s crying out for attention in Conte’s 3-5-2 formation is the left-sided centre-back role. Ben Davies has performed admirably in the position, and would remain a valuable squad player, but we need some real quality alongside Christian Romero and Eric Dier moving forward.
There have been plenty of names linked with Spurs for this position, including Alessandro Bastoni (The Athletic) and Stefan De Vrij (Inter Live) from Conte’s former club Inter.
However, a cheaper, and arguably more exciting option, would be Joško Gvardiol, the young Croatian defender currently playing for RB Leipzig.
The 20-year-old has quickly established himself as one of the most promising and talented young defenders in world football, and already has 10 international caps to his name.
He’s tall, quick, composed on the ball, and could sign for a reasonable fee of £27 million (FootballInsider247).
Christian Eriksen
This one is a bit of a no brainer really, isn’t it? Tottenham fans were gutted to see Christian Eriksen leave the club back in 2020, and his resurgent form of late for Brentford has certainly got the Spurs faithful missing him even more.
Since his collapse on the pitch last year at Euro 2020, there were fears Eriksen may never play football again. But his miraculous recovery has seen him return to his very best already.
Having joined Brentford on an initial six-month contract, the Dane is available on a free transfer in the summer. Eriksen could make an emotional return to Spurs (90min), and also fill the playmaker void that we’ve struggled to solve since he left.
Ryan Gravenberch
Leicester star Youri Tielemans has been linked with a potential move to Spurs of late (GiveMeSport). He is an incredibly talented midfielder and you would be looking at a fee of around £50 million for him.
Ryan Gravenberch is one of the hottest properties in European football right now, and many of the top clubs are understandably monitoring his movement.
With just one year left on his contract, a transfer fee of around £30 million could be enough to force Ajax’s hand, although Spurs will likely face competition.
The Dutch star is a strong, physical player who also possesses a fine range of passing, an impressive engine, and just a splash of flair. If Spurs want to compete at the very top, this is the kind of player we need to be in the market for.
Andrea Belotti
Spurs have needed to sign a striker for a few years now, and it’s a miracle we’ve managed to get by without one for so long. Having Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son helps, of course.
Rumours linking the club to Paulo Dybala have come and gone (Foot Mercato), which is perhaps for the best with his injury record of late (TransferMarkt).
And of course, Lautaro Martinez speculation is once again doing the rounds, but his price tag would be somewhere around the £60 million region (Times).
The answer can be found in Serie A though, and it comes in the form of Andrea Belotti. The seasoned Torino striker’s contract is up at the end of the season (TransferMarkt), and the Italian could provide the perfect support for Kane, Son, and Kulisevski. Just imagine having Belotti’s goalscoring prowess on the bench!
Of course, all of this is pure, subjective speculation. Some are founded on genuine rumours, and some are more wishful thinking. But, whatever summer signings Spurs do make, we’re confident the boss knows what he’s doing.
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