The pressure's never far away when you are Tottenham Hotspur manager, and Thomas Frank is undoubtedly feeling the heat as he leads his team into the New Year.
Spurs scored a critical win on the road at Crystal Palace to see off 2025, but home form hasn't been good enough all year, and something needs to give.
The January transfer window has opened up new opportunities for Frank, who has been given financial backing by ENIC Group. Multiple positions need tweaking, but the £35m sale of Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace underlines the need for a new winger.
Spurs lining up Brennan Johnson replacement
With Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison both sidelined with injuries this season, Tottenham's attacking flanks have left plenty to be desired. Mohammed Kudus was brought in this summer, but the loss of Heung-min Son and his talismanic presence has been keenly felt.
Aggravating the quandary, Johnson hasn't kicked on after scoring 18 goals last season, including the winner in the Europa League final.
That could now change, with co-directors Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici having earmarked an exciting transfer target whose ceiling reaches higher than Johnson's.
As per TEAMtalk, Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis has been added to the shortlist as a new top target, having ticked all the boxes in the scouting and analytical departments.
Tzolis, 23, was appraised at around £28m during the summer transfer window, when Palace registered interest. Now, the Eagles are out of the equation, and Spurs have a real shot at an exciting attacking talent.
Why Tzolis would be a Johnson upgrade
Tzolis has been "an incredible signing" for Club Brugge, having scored 15 goals and supplied 11 assists across all competitions this season. Last year, he notched 37 goal involvements in all competitions.
Naturally prolific and exciting to watch, "absolutely exceptional" since leaving Dusseldorf in the second tier of German football and developing his skillset in Belgium with Brugge, as has been recently stated by journalist Antonio Mango.
He's not only prolific in front of goal but pacy and electric too, willing to dart forward and into the danger area, then striking on goal or influencing play with fleet footwork and clever passes.
Stunning creative flair suggests he would be exactly what Frank needs at Tottenham, with an average of 2.8 key passes per Pro League match this term, as per Sofascore.
When looking at how he scrubs up against Johnson across all competitions over the past 12 months, it's clear that Spurs would land a more expansive talent.
Tzolis has long been regarded as an elite talent, but he's ebbed and flowed through his fledgling years. However, that's the life of a much-touted prospect, recognised and championed for their quality and expected, unfairly, to channel that talent week in and week out.
Now, though, the one-time Norwich City prospect is coming into his own and establishing himself as one of the most exciting wide forwards currently playing outside Europe's top five leagues. The best is yet to come.
Johnson will always be fondly remembered for his title-winning goal in Bilbao, but we can't deny that he's been out of sorts throughout the campaign.
His overall play has left something to be desired throughout his time in north London, and in Tzolis, Frank may land the requisite upgrade to pump more dynamism and range into Spurs' attacking build-up system.