It has been a long window for Tottenham Hotspur.
They changed managers in June, lost their best midfielder to an ACL injury in August and then sold their most popular player and captain. They went through not one but two high-profile sagas, failing to sign either Morgan Gibbs-White or Eberechi Eze. At times this summer, it felt like Tottenham were unable to land the level of player they so desperately needed. And at times, the fans were furious.
But at the end of the window, Thomas Frank has four new first-team players, following permanent deals for Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons, and loans for Joao Palhinha and Randal Kolo Muani. The team looks in better shape now than it was at the start of the window.
It has been a strikingly busy, turbulent and emotional window across the board. It is difficult to judge how much teams have been strengthened until much further into the season. But maybe, if these four players settle well, this will be the window where Spurs started to claw some ground back.
Remember Ange Postecoglou’s last words as Tottenham manager. In his weary press conference after his last game in charge — the 4-1 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion — he explained clearly what the club needed in the summer window. Regardless of the identity of the manager.
He pointed to the “little gap in the development” left by the summer 2024 window, when experienced players left and were replaced — Dominic Solanke notwithstanding — by youngsters. He talked about the need to “bring some experience in” this time. “Players who have played at that level, who are going to be comfortable at that level. Not players who are stepping up to that level. That’s the difference.”
That analysis was no less correct just because the man who delivered it was subsequently sacked. With Frank coming in, there was still an obvious need to add players who could hit the ground running. Tottenham had stood still in the transfer market in previous years. They needed to move fast just to catch up.
The fact they had such a dramatic end to last season made things harder rather than easier.
In an ideal world, any club would be lining up all their summer deals long before the end of the season, ideally in March. But Tottenham did not know they were playing Champions League football in 2025-26 until May 21. Postecoglou was sacked on June 6, with Thomas Frank appointed six days later. Their new CEO Vinai Venkatesham, who was heavily involved in the window, did not start until June. They were always going to have to move fast to compete with their rivals.
Their eventual focus on experience does not mean they took their eye off the youth market entirely. Their first new signing this summer — aside from finalising the permanent deals for last year’s loanees — was for Kota Takai. The 20-year-old Japanese centre-back came in from Kawasaki Frontale, a clear sign Tottenham want to keep bringing the best young talent from around the world. Luka Vuskovic, an 18-year-old centre-back lined up two years ago, finally joined from Hajduk Split before being loaned out to Hamburg.
But the priority was experience. Players who had already shown that they could do it in the Premier League, and who could help Frank from the first day of the season. Especially those who could improve Spurs’ attacking options in the final third. With Son Heung-min on the way out — he left for LAFC after the Asia tour — Tottenham needed more firepower.
In mid-June, Spurs made an enquiry to Bournemouth about Antoine Semenyo, their Ghanaian winger. They were put off by the £70million ($94.8m) price tag, and Semenyo went on to sign a new contract, but the intention was clear.
There were other players out there who fitted that bill, not least from Brentford, Frank’s former club.
Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa had both shone under Frank’s coaching in west London. He was interested in bringing both to Tottenham and did speak to them. But Mbeumo’s heart was set on Manchester United, whereas Wissa was difficult to do without sales. His proposed move to Newcastle United became a saga all of its own. He finally moved to St James’ Park on deadline day.
Chelsea were linked with Kudus, but it was Tottenham who moved first and fastest. On July 5, they had a £50m bid rejected. Four days later, they agreed a fee of £55m plus add-ons. Kudus became the first big-name signing of the Frank era.
Tottenham announced the arrival of Kudus on July 10. But that day became dominated by a different transfer story, one that became one of the most dramatic of their summer.
That was the day Spurs sent Nottingham Forest a formal offer for Morgan Gibbs-White, for an overall package — including add-ons — that would have constituted a club-record buy. Gibbs-White had a £60m release clause, and the offer was in excess of that. It felt for a brief moment that Gibbs-White was certain to join Tottenham. He even had a medical pencilled in.
It was a moment of real excitement for the Tottenham fanbase. Kudus was a good signing, but Gibbs-White would have been a real statement: a 25-year-old England international, the captain and best player of the team who finished seventh the previous season. He could bring technical skill, athleticism and leadership into any midfield. He was the level of player who you would expect to move to Manchester City or Liverpool if he did leave Forest. And now he wanted to join Spurs.
All of a sudden, it felt like a different window, a different Tottenham.
But there was a hitch. Forest’s view was that Spurs’ bid did not, in fact, meet Gibbs-White’s release clause. They refused to do business.
Gibbs-White’s club maintained this position even when Tottenham returned with a second, higher bid. Forest dug in, and considered reporting Tottenham to the Premier League. It was an unusual situation, to put it mildly. There was little more that Tottenham could do. Gibbs-White even called Frank to apologise for the move not going through. On July 26, Forest announced that Gibbs-White had signed a new contract with them.
Much of the excitement of July 10 amongst Tottenham fans had started to curdle into frustration.
This was a window when Tottenham had to address multiple issues simultaneously. And while the No 10 dilemma remained, they also needed a solution in defensive midfield.
Frank knew that the team needed more stability in the middle of the pitch, a player who could be relied on to keep his position and stop the opposition attacking through the middle. “When I came in and assessed the squad, it was an area where I thought we could need something there,” Frank said on the Asia tour. Rodrigo Bentancur could play there, but he wanted something more. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who played for Frank as a youngster in Denmark, was not an option as his loan move to Marseille became permanent.
At Brentford, Frank had used his captain Christian Norgaard there. Taking him to Tottenham might have been attractive, but Arsenal moved quickly, and Spurs never had an opportunity. He signed for Arsenal on July 10. But over the course of that month, another option came into view. A player with Premier League experience and who was clearly available for a move.
Joao Palhinha had not made much of an impact under Vincent Kompany at Bayern Munich but he had proven in his two years at Fulham how competitive he could be in this league. Bayern were happy to let the Portuguese go. Spurs had a free run, Arsenal having considered Palhinha before deciding to sign Norgaard instead.
Tottenham’s initial preference was for a loan, and they soon reached an agreement with Bayern, covering the midfielder’s wages for the season, with a €30m (£25.9m) option for next summer. He had a medical in Germany on August 1 and signed his deal.
Two days later, the issue of creativity in midfield became even more serious. James Maddison, slowly on his way back after a knee injury suffered in May, went down during a pre-season friendly in Korea. He had ruptured his ACL and would need surgery. Maddison would miss most of the forthcoming season. Tottenham were staring down the barrel of going into the season with no fit creative players.
Missing out on Gibbs-White was even more painful now than it had been in July. They needed to move fast.
The club had been well aware of Eberechi Eze’s talent for years. They had always admired the Crystal Palace man but never made a serious move. But in August, they finally started to push. He had an active release clause of £68m but Spurs were confident they could negotiate a lower fee. They entered into indirect talks and, on August 18, Levy and the Palace chairman Steve Parish met to agree the framework for a deal: £50m plus £10m in add-ons.
But when it came to negotiate those add-ons, agreement was impossible. The demands kept changing. The deal suddenly felt unlikely. On the morning of August 20, Tottenham decided to agree to Palace’s demands and submitted a formal offer.
But they never heard back.
All of the fans’ frustration, that had been simmering since Gibbs-White fell through, suddenly boiled over.
Spurs had missed out on not one but two high-profile Premier League-proven No 10s. Regardless of the particulars of the two cases, they looked weak and unable to close deals in the eyes of the fans. They needed to complete the next one. Levy’s reputation was at stake.
What Spurs needed was an exciting name to reset the mood. They had already asked Manchester City about Savinho, discussing with them a package worth €50m, but City had said no. They were interested in Como’s Argentina midfielder Nico Paz, too, although Real Madrid had the right to match any bid that they made, as well as future release clauses all of their own for him.
But there was another option they could turn to, a top-quality No 10 who could win games by himself: Xavi Simons.
RB Leipzig were not averse to selling Simons, but the expectation all summer was that Chelsea would move for him. As they waited, Tottenham pounced. Simons travelled to London on August 27 to discuss the move.
As with any potential signing, Spurs wanted to know the player’s motivations, rather than convincing him to join them. The talks went well, Simons was keen to join in part because of his good relationship with Dutch international team-mate Micky van de Ven. Tottenham put their official bid in the next day for an initial €60m, potentially rising to €70m. Simons had his medical that Thursday evening and the deal was completed overnight. Simons signed a five-year deal (with an option for a further two) to become a Tottenham player.
Spurs needed a mood-changing signing and they finally had one.
Simons was paraded on the pitch before the Premier League game against Bournemouth on August 30. Fans were talking about whether this was Spurs’ most exciting signing since their last Dutch No 10, Rafael van de Vaart, who joined from Real Madrid at the end of the summer 2010 window.
It still felt after Simons that there were a few loose ends for Spurs, or at least areas where they could still improve. They had numbers at centre-back but adding one more experienced alternative, someone as good as Van de Ven and Cristian Romero but who would not necessarily expect to play every game, was considered. That is a difficult player to find in the market, and while there was interest in Manuel Akanji of Manchester City, he went to Inter instead.
Instead, it was the forward line that received reinforcement on the final day of the window.
They did not secure another winger, having been told no by City on Savinho, but another striker instead. Randal Kolo Muani had been of longstanding interest to Spurs, who considered taking him on loan from Paris Saint-Germain during the January window. This time, they agreed a loan with PSG on deadline day.
Frank had said after the Bournemouth game that they would not necessarily go for a third striker, but with Solanke not having started yet this season due to a persistent ankle injury, a deal for the France international made perfect sense. It remains to be seen how he will fit in but it is inconceivable that he will not play a lot of football this season.
And now that it is finally all over, how do we assess it?
Some windows look far better in hindsight than they did at the time because they brought players to the club whose value took time to show. The 2015 window, when Spurs signed Toby Alderweireld and Son, looks far better now than it did after one year, when Son was largely written off as a flop.
But people want to see results now, especially given that last year Spurs’ focus was more on investments for the future rather than immediate upgrades. There has been a feeling for a while that Tottenham had let their rivals overtake them in the transfer market, and they needed to catch up. They entered this window under more pressure to deliver than they ever had been before. And there were moments this summer — when they missed out on Gibbs-White and Eze — that felt like they were getting nowhere.
In the end, though, Tottenham have emerged with three players who unquestionably elevate the quality of the first team in Kudus, Palhinha and Simons. Kolo Muani’s record is arguably as good as that of Richarlison or Solanke and there is every chance that he will score more goals than either of them this year.
Whether you think that is three or four players who improve the first team, it is a more productive window than most that Spurs have had in recent years. This is the second summer window for technical director Johan Lange, whose skills dovetail when required with those of consultant Fabio Paratici, and it has been an improvement on the first.
As Spurs fans all know, bringing in two players — never mind more — in any window who instantly improve the first team is not the normal way of things at Tottenham. The best window of recent years was 2023, when the squad was re-tooled for Postecoglou, and they signed Gugliemo Vicario, Maddison and Van de Ven, as well as Johnson, who ended up playing a bigger role than planned that year.
But beyond that? In summer 2024, it was only Solanke who came straight into the side, which cost the team dearly. The January window of 2022, quite unusually, delivered two first-team upgrades in Dejan Kulusevski and Bentancur. The summer 2022 window saw two big-name signings in Richarlison and Ivan Perisic, neither of whom did much for the team that season, and another in Yves Bissouma, whom Antonio Conte did not take to. In summer 2021, there was only Romero. In summer 2020 only really Hojbjerg. We could go on.
Maybe you have to go back to the summer window of 2012 — Jan Vertonghen, Hugo Lloris, Mousa Dembele — for something comparable.
There are still things that could be improved in this squad. They did not add another high-quality experienced centre back (if we do not count turning Danso’s loan permanent). If Romero, who signed a new long-term contract this window, and Van de Ven are injured, then it will be Danso and Dragusin again. They could probably do with another central midfielder who can pass the ball, as Saturday’s defeat to Bournemouth showed. Maybe they need another goal threat down the left, now that Son has left. Much will depend on what Frank can eke out of Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert.
But in the context of a normal Tottenham summer window, it is better than normal. The team is stronger now than it was when the last season ended, and will be better still when Kulusevski and Maddison eventually return.
Whether it will be enough to make up the gap between Spurs and where they want to be, only time will tell.
(Additional reporting: Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, Jay Harris)
(Top photo: Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)