There has been much bemusement in footballing circles over Tottenham's huge summer transfer spend
Tottenham Hotspur have raced out of the blocks to be the biggest spenders of the transfer window so far, with Sandro Tonali's impending arrival set to be their fifth signing of the summer.
Newcastle accepted Spurs' offer for Tonali on Wednesday with the deal set to bank the Magpies £92.5million up front with a further £7.5million in achievable add-ons.
It comes fresh off the back of paying £85million to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United and spending £52million on Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke.
Spurs have also signed Bournemouth's Marco Senesi and Liverpool's Andy Robertson on free transfers, with all five players set to be on huge wages.
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It has felt jarring for many supporters to see Spurs able to spend so much money having just avoided relegation on the final day of the season to finish 17th in the Premier League for the second successive campaign.
They have cherry picked players from clubs like Newcastle, who played Champions League football last season but need to sell to buy after finishing in 12th place last season - a first misstep in four seasons after finishing fourth, seventh and fifth in the three seasons prior to that.
Bournemouth and Brighton will both play European football this season, too, but have lost players to Spurs, whose revenue streams they built up before the days of FFP, PSR and now SCR rules came into effect, at the time they were deemed part of the 'big six' alongside the two Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, allowed them to create a closed shop for teams below them to compete financially.
Aston Villa, who have qualified for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons and won last season's Europa League may have to sell Morgan Rogers to one of those clubs to be able to spend money in the transfer window and comply with spending rules.
Spurs' stadium is a huge source of fortune, too, and it has allowed them to become a commercial superpower that can effectively offset poor performance on the pitch by excellent performance on it.
In an exclusive chat with Chronicle Live, football finance expert Kieran Maguire has described the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as an 'entertainment complex' which has allowed Spurs to create a £200m revenue gap between themselves and Newcastle, which explains why they can sign Sandro Tonali and how they can afford his £100million fee in a summer where they've spent £237million on transfers.
"Spurs are very good at what they do," Maguire told Chronicle Live. "And what they are very good at doing is being an entertainment complex. That's how I'd describe them. Whereas Newcastle United is a football club.
"Tottenham made, on average, £83 per fan per seat and that compares to Newcastle at £49 according to the 2024/25 figures. Spurs also have 30 non-football events a year at full capacity.
"As a result of that, their commercial income has gone through the roof. They made £277million from commercial income. That compares to £123million Newcastle netted. So there's £140 million [gap]. You've got £70million more in matchday income. You put those two together, and that's £200million.
"As far as the broadcast income is concerned, it's £3million a place. So they finished 17th, Newcastle finished 12th. So Newcastle got an extra £15million in TV money. But offset against that, Spurs are getting £200million more in commercial and matchday and that's why they're in a position to be able to effectively cherry-pick.
"They're also very good at not paying wages. In the sense that their wages are 45% of revenue. Newcastle's was 73%. So if they have to pay more money on wages, they've got the scope to make a blockbuster offer to a player without having any fears of breaching PSR or SCR, whereas Newcastle have to walk the tightrope."