Tottenham Hotspur have had an underwhelming summer window so far, but TBR Football projects that big transfer funds should be available to spend in the final week.
Mohammed Kudus and Joao Palhinha are the only two new arrivals through the door at Hotspur Way this summer, despite links to Eberechi Eze, Morgan Gibbs-White and Nico Paz.
Spurs will also be rather disappointed with their failed attempts to offload players, with Son Heung-min to LAFC for £20m their only permanent sale.
To assess the lay of the land heading into the final six days of the summer window, TBR Football’s football finance expert, Adam Williams, has been discussing the North London club’s financial situation.
Tottenham could afford to spend another £100m this week
Williams has projected that Tottenham Hotspur could afford to spend around £100 million, without needing to shift their deadwood first.
Spurs’ inability to move players on who Thomas Frank deems surplus to requirements will be a concern for the fans, but at this stage, it’s unlikely to affect their ability to spend big in the final few days.
Williams told TBR Football: “Historically, Spurs have funded most of their transfer business through instalments. That means they have very high transfer debt. In 2023-24, which is the last published financial year, it was £337m. That was behind only Chelsea in the Premier League.
“At the same time, they were only owed £58m by other clubs. So you have a net commitment of nearly £280m there. £146m of that was due before the end of 2024-25, so that will have significantly impacted cash flow in a year with no Champions League income.”
TBR Football understands that Tottenham are quietly confident of signing Savinho following further talks with Manchester City. They also want to add a number ten to Frank’s squad.
“If they spend another £100m or so on Savinho and another midfielder, their spend this summer is going to be close to £200m if they don’t make any further sales. It’s likely that at least a third of that has been paid upfront. Looking at the business they’ve done, I don’t think that transfer debt figure is going to move too much,” Williams claimed.
“The annual wage bill is going to rise above the record £251m in 2022-23. My conservative forecast would be about £300m. On top of that, they had operating expenses of £160m in 2023-24. Costs have risen since then. Being back in the Champions League costs a lot in terms of logistics, while services and utilities are more expensive than ever. Let’s say £175m. So that’s £475m in costs before any fees associated with transfers. Add £150m there and they’re over £600m in terms of total costs. Then, you’ve got interest at about £30m per season.
“These are very rough calculations and there’s some margin for error, but they won’t be too far off. So they need £630m or so to cover those costs, plus investments in infrastructure, like the on-site hotel.”
Daniel Levy will be aiming for £650m in revenue
To cover these costs, Daniel Levy will be aiming to generate a record revenue of £650m, especially with the club having returned to the Champions League.
“So how are they affording this? Personally, I don’t think they need any financial help from the owners just yet. They’ll be aiming for revenue of £650m with a good season on the pitch. Getting out of the league phase in the Champions League is absolutely key here. Commercial revenue is going to continue growing, as is matchday,” added Williams.
“They have a credit facility – which is basically an overdraft – with about £50m of capacity they can draw from, although that comes with interest. Their cash balance was £79m at the end of the last accounting date too, though that will have come down in the last 12 months.
“So while I think they’re probably pushing the limits of what’s available with their current cash reserves and revenue, I don’t think their current level of spending necessarily requires a cash injection from ENIC. If there had been an injection of money through equity, that would be documented in Companies House. They would have one month to file that with Companies House, so unless it has taken place in the last month, we would know about it.”
ENIC unlikely to have made Tottenham cash injection just yet
Currently, it’s deemed unlikely that ENIC will have made a cash injection into Tottenham just yet, given that it would be a complete change of tack.
TBR Football’s football finance expert finished by adding: “It’s possible that there could have been an investment from ENIC via a loan agreement, but that would be a complete departure from what we have seen from ENIC in 25 years at the club.
“I think it’s possible that there could be a plan to inject money into the club at some point in the season, depending on revenue projections, but I’m fairly confident it hasn’t happened yet.
“There was talk of a naming rights deal being close, but there have been many, many false dawns in the past. I don’t think we’re likely to see that until next season at the earliest. It would be a left-field move to do it mid-season.”