The new Premier League season is almost upon us and Tottenham Hotspur open their account with the short trip across London to take on Brentford on Saturday evening.
Pre-season is complete, everything now is geared towards that season opener and Roberto De Zerbi getting the new season up and running with three points.
After back-to-back 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League, things could not get much worse for Spurs, save for suffering relegation, which they just managed to avoid on the final day of last season by beating Everton 1-0.
De Zerbi will be tasked with getting Tottenham back towards the top of the table once more and challenging for the UEFA Champions League spots.
In trying to do that he has made a swathe of changes to the squad he inherited from Igor Tudor at the end of March. Eleven players have been moved on, with the two loanees - Joao Palhinha and Randal Kolo Muani - not returning to the club either. Six new players have arrived and there are expected to be more incoming and outgoing deals completed before the summer transfer window closes on September 1.
With the new season just five days away for Spurs have completed their pre-season preparations and GIVEMESPORT takes a look at what we and De Zerbi will have learned from it.
Tottenham need a striker
Ok, so this is hardly something we learned in pre-season, we knew this before the summer, but with the season almost here, it's crystal clear that one piece of transfer business remains unattended.
Spurs had Richarlison and Dominic Solanke in their ranks last season, with Kolo Muani able to play through the middle too. Now, with the ineffective Frenchman gone, the emphasis is on just Richarlison and Solanke.
De Zerbi remains unsure as to whether Richarlison actually wants to stay at the club, while Solanke has hardly played in pre-season - continuing to have injury problems that blighted his 2025/26 campaign.
Solanke can be the perfect No.9 for De Zerbi, if he stays fit, but there is a clear need for another striker to arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.
Central defence hint
There has been no sign of Micky van de Ven in pre-season so far. And with Cristian Romero departing the club for Atletico Madrid this summer, you would have thought the Dutchman would be the first name on the teamsheet at the back against Brentford.
New signings Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi were paired together in the 3-0 win over Hoffenheim on Saturday and played 81 minutes together.
It appears they will be the first choice pairing for the opening game of the season, with van de Ven edged back into contention as the weeks go on and increasing his minutes over time.
Sandro Tonali is the real deal
Tottenham supporters will be expecting a lot from Sandro Tonali, since he has become the club's first £100million player - providing the add-on bonuses are met over time.
Speaking after the win over Hoffenheim on Saturday, football.london's Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold said: "The 26-year-old will become Spurs' metronome. He will dictate their rhythm, their tempo and the way that Roberto De Zerbi's team will play. The Tottenham boss has wanted Tonali to play for him for years and finally he has taken charge of a club with the means and willingness to make it happen.
Tonali is not a headline maker. He won't score many goals or crunch into tackles but he is the conductor of the orchestra.
The Italian will have got up to speed with 90 minutes in that match and will be a key component of the way De Zerbi wants his Spurs team to play football.
Who else plays in midfield?
Tonali was joined in the middle of the park by Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall on Saturday, with fellow new signing Mateus Fernandes, James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr playing against the same opposition on Sunday.
De Zerbi has a wealth of options in that area of the pitch and it will be interesting to see who gets the nod alongside Tonali. If De Zerbi plays his 4-2-3-1 formation, you'd imagine Tonali will play in one of the more reserved roles, with Maddison, if deemed fit enough, the creative link to play in the 10. That means Bergvall, Bentancur, Fernandes, Sarr and Gallagher, as well as Archie Gray who filled in at right-back on Saturday, are all fighting for one other position. The strength in depth is hugely encouraging.
Attack needs work, but it could be very exciting
If Spurs do sign a new No.9, they will not stop there. There are plans for the Lilywhites to bring in three new signings before the transfer window shuts, with two side forward also on the agenda.
It just would have been nice to get all of the business wrapped up before the season began, after starting the window so promisingly with that influx of defensive and midfield signings.
Tottenham are in advanced talks with Manchester City and Liverpool over the signings of Savinho and Cody Gakpo respectively and it would make for a very exciting frontline and squad in general if Spurs do get three attacking signings over the line before September 1's deadline.