Tottenham are looking ahead to the summer transfer window to help improve the squad, with the need for some major moves to pull them out of consecutive seasons of difficulty in the Premier League.
While Tottenham Hotspur have had their struggles on the pitch, their off-pitch performance could see the hierarchy spend big in the summer transfer window with a clear change in approach. It comes as Spurs have struggled in consecutive seasons in the Premier League, finishing 17th last season, and in danger of repeating that feat or worse this season.
Injuries have been a clear problem, but there have also been questions surrounding the investment strategy at the club in recent years. Under Daniel Levy, Tottenham were praised for how well they were run financially, especially with their wage structure.
However, this didn't always translate to success on the pitch, but with a change behind the scenes in that time since, the Lewis family have made it clear that they want a new way of running the club. There have been early signs of that in the past two transfer windows, with the signings of Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Conor Gallagher in particular.
With that in mind, The Guardian reports that Tottenham are planning to scrap their wage structure this summer as part of a major overhaul. It's claimed that the club recognise that the reluctance to offer higher wages has seen them fall behind their competitors in the Premier League.
The most recent accounts for Tottenham, which were 2023/24, had the wage bill set at £222million, almost half of Manchester City's at £413m. Studies have suggested a positive correlation between league finish and wages, much more than transfer spend, showing where Spurs need to improve.
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The question remains over whether they can attract the right type of players, rather than just throwing wages at players, but the lack of player investment has been a complaint from the fans in recent seasons. While a summer of investment is expected, work may need to be done to keep some key players in the current squad happy.
Cristian Romero has been vocal on social media over his frustrations with those at the top of the club, while it's unclear how the rest of the players feel about their long-term futures at the club. One thing is clear, according to football finance expert Stefan Borson, and that's that some promises will need to be made to the current squad.
He told Football Insider: “I think there’s still a good chance that they get quite far in the Champions League, just because the way the draw has fallen. But the truth must be that they’re not going to be in a European competition next season, so that’s going to have an impact.
"I think it’s going to have an impact in terms of the players hanging around. They’re going to need promises. Look, it is possible that those promises are going to be made.
“They’re certainly going to have financially this season a fantastic year because they’ve managed to keep the wage bill under control. They’ve not spent hugely on football players. They’ve sort of tweaked the squad. They’ve got some compensation that they’ve ended up having to pay out to Frank. They’ve had the Champions League.”
On the finances, he added: "Overall, this season, I think financially it’s going to be really strong for them. It’s going to give them a bit of a war chest when it comes to squad cost ratios for next season and for the Uefa tests to the extent that they’re relevant next season.
“Of course, if they’re not in Europe, then they don’t need to worry about that. But I think the bottom line is, they’re going to have to spend some money this summer to keep the squad happy.”
It remains to be seen exactly who Tottenham could look to sign, and whether they will be able to convince them to make the switch, but the possible transfer war chest for the next manager could go a long way to helping them strengthen.