Tottenham made a critical error with their summer business, and it is becoming clearer by the day. Spurs spent more than £300million in a bid to go from back-to-back bottom-half finishes to being European football contenders under Roberto De Zerbi, and despite a very poor start, it remains too early to tell whether all that spending will pay off.
The signs aren't good. Spurs do not look coherent and they do not look effective, but we have seen plenty of teams shake off poor starts in the past, until - or indeed if - this poor start crystalises, the season cannot be written off.
What we can do, even at this early stage, is look at the money spent and where it could have been spent more wisely, and there is one glaringly obvious mistake that Spurs made. It takes a lot to make a great football team, given the competition out there and the money spent, but there is a shortcut that many clubs know exist.
Every top team needs a pivot in the midfield who can break up play, arguably two, but one is non-negotiable. There are no top teams without that player, and Tottenham may argue they have one in Sandro Tonali, although we will reserve judgment until he has played a fair amount.
Tottenham's results so far
Brentford 3-0 Spurs
Spurs 5-1 Charlton (Carabao Cup)
Spurs 0-2 Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest 0-0 Spurs
Spurs 0-0 Everton
Liverpool 3-1 Spurs (Carabao Cup)
The shortcut to success without having the rest of the talent is a top striker who can reliably score goals. Granted, there aren't too many around, but they do exist. The Kylian Mbappes, Erling Haalands and even now the Harry Kanes look to be out of Tottenham's reach, but there are other reliable goalscorers out there.
Ollie Watkins left Aston Villa this summer. Victor Osimhen looked to be potentially gettable and was reportedly offered to them following stunning form for Galatasaray that saw him labelled as 'the best striker in the world' by Nigeria manager Eric Chelle.
Ivan Toney was also one to keep an eye on according to GMS sources, while Lautaro Martinez could potentially have been snatched at the right price, while Karim Adeyemi joined Barcelona and is off to a flyer in front of goal.
Instead, Spurs signed Omar Marmoush, who, although a fine player, often looks more like a winger playing up top, and they will rely on the still ineffective Dominic Solanke to provide competition, while Richarlison has been cast aside.
Spurs did some smart business this summer, but they must have known that signing a goalscorer could have offered them the quickest route towards those European places?
The proof is in the pudding, too. Spurs have looked painfully blunt in front of goal, failing to score a single Premier League goal so far. That will change, and some goals will come, but Spurs will likely not have a player who scores more than 12 Premier League goals this season, and if they are to fall short of their European ambitions, that will be the biggest reason they do.
To spend more than £300million and not have a genuine goal threat is stunning in the modern game, which is built on goals, unless you can effectively dominate the ball and press in the way that teams like Spain and Arsenal can because of their talent elsewhere on the pitch. Spurs don't have that level of talent, nor are they seeking to play that way under De Zerbi. They have failed to recognise perhaps their greatest need, and they may already be paying the price.
A deal for a player like Osimhen would have been game-changing and given them exactly what they are currently lacking.