There was a lot of focus on the players coming through the door, but Tottenham Hotspur also let a lot of players go this past summer.
Ten players left in the summer permanently with another seven out on loan, as Roberto De Zerbi reshaped his squad following last year’s relegation scare.
And so we’re catching up on how those permanent exits have gone.
Luka Vuskovic
This is already looking like one that got away.
Following the Van Hecke/Vuskovic swap deal, it is the latter that has looked the better this season and has played a starring role in Fabian Hurzeler’s impressive Brighton team.
He has started all 10 games for the Seagulls, missing just two minutes of action so far this season, and has all the attributes that you would want from a modern centre-back.
Spurs reportedly inserted a clause into the contract but that was only to match any accepted bid rather than a pre-determined amount. If he continues like this, Brighton would not want to sell him for anything but a huge fee.
Cristian Romero
Another centre-back that left Spurs in the summer was Christian Romero, who took his sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe red card attitude to Spain.
Moving to Atletico seems to have served him well as he is now under the rule of ‘takes no s**t’ Diego Simeone.
He’s played eight games for the Madrid side so far, who are third in La Liga and have the joint best defence.
Djed Spence
Plenty of English players have enjoyed trips abroad but Djed Spence has yet to make a real mark at Inter.
He missed the first five games as he came back to fitness following the World Cup and was phased into the team, rather than given a starting spot from the off.
He did start the Milan derby, which Inter lost 3-1 to Ruben Amorim’s Milan, but was trusted to start again the following game, providing an assist in a 2-0 win over Como.
Will Lankshear
Even after the arrival of Omar Marmoush and Savinho, Spurs’ forward line looks the weakest area of the team. If only they had access to a striker scoring for fun.
Yes, it’s the Championship but Will Lankshear’s 13 goals in 13 games for Middlesbrough is hugely impressive and the 21-year-old already looks like an England star of the future. Keep scoring at that rate and he may well get a call-up sooner rather than later.
Spurs sold him for around £20m which looks on the low side already.
Alejo Veliz
If Spurs fans were annoyed about the sale of Lankshear, they were probably less unhappy with the transfer of Alejo Veliz.
Spurs fans would do well to pick him out of a lineup for he only played eight games for Tottenham since joining in 2023, amounting to 45 minutes in total.
He’s been on loan to both Espanyol and Rosario Central but moved permanently to Esporte Clube Bahia in Brazil.
The 23-year-old has got four goals in his 15 games for the club so far.
Ashley Phillips
It was not just Lankshear who left Spurs for Middlesbrough as defender Phillips also made the same journey in the summer.
He had plenty of Championship experience having spent the past two seasons in the division on loan at Stoke but Middlesbrough signed him in the summer for an initial fee of £7m.
He has since become a key member of Kim Hellberg’s side. He also scored a last-minute winner in a 4-3 thriller against Norwich, which is a great way to endear yourself to the fans.
Manor Solomon
Having been on loan spells to three different clubs, Manor Solomon left Spurs permanently in the summer to join West Ham.
Given the number 10 shirt for the Hammers’ first season back in the Championship, he started well with a goal on his debut but has faded in the last few weeks.
West Ham have been on a terrible run too with him in the side, having failed to win the last four games he was involved in.
Alfie Devine
Another academy product let go is midfielder Devine, who has joined Preston.
It’s fair to say, Preston are stinking the gaff out in the Championship and are bottom, having won two games all season.
Devine has played in all but one match so far, although it took 11 games to register his first goal involvement. Preston did, though, pull off an upset against promotion candidates Southampton in their most recent game, so maybe their fortunes are starting to change.
Dane Scarlett
Long-time youth product Dane Scarlett left in the summer having never managed to properly break into the Spurs first team.
He played 27 games for Spurs, of which 11 were in the Premier League for a combined 61 minutes, and has been out on loan here, there and everywhere.
He was most recently at Hibernian but has now joined Leyton Orient permanently. Since making the short trip, he’s got one goal in eight League One games.
Yves Bissouma
The player most likely to give successive managers a migraine left Tottenham this summer and headed for Ajax.
He was unable to play for the first seven games due to visa issues and even then was only gradually brought into the team, with his debut being just eight minutes long.
He finally started in Ajax’s final game before the international break but was hooked on the hour mark.
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