There is the possibility that Tottenham lose half of Ange Postecoglou's leadership group this summer. Following his appointment as head coach in June 2023, the Australian named Son Heung-min as his Tottenham captain and Cristian Romero and James Maddison as vice-captains.
The trio would later be joined in the leadership group by Guglielmo Vicario. Just how the leadership group will look under new head coach Thomas Frank remains to be seen.
Ahead of the 2025/26 season, Son has been linked with a move away from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after 10 years with the club. football.london reported last month that the skipper is more open to leaving Spurs than he ever has been before.
Then there is Romero, who continues to be linked with a move to Spanish side Atletico Madrid. The World Cup winner took a swipe at the club in an Instagram account when paying tribute to Postecoglou following his departure, and whether he wants to remain at Tottenham or head elsewhere could become clear in the weeks ahead.
Frank will certainly be hoping to keep Romero at the club as he is such a pivotal figure at the back for the Lilywhites. If both Romero and Son are to head for pastures new before the summer transfer window closes for business then the head coach will have a decision to make over the captaincy and also leadership group. So who else could step up and form part of the group?
Dejan Kulusevski is certainly someone who should be considered after wearing the captain's armband for Sweden over the past 12 months. He already appears to have made an impact in terms of his leadership on the international stage if Sweden left-back Ludwig Augustinsson's verdict is anything to go by.
"He has natural leadership qualities. He is a pusher," he told TV4. "He wants to move forward, he takes the initiative. He drives the team on the pitch and more and more in the dressing room.
"He is much more open and outgoing than before. He is growing more and more into a leader and he has a lot of experience at the highest level. It feels natural that it is he who takes the armband."
That area of Kulusevski's game has grown massively and he has been a leader for Tottenham on the pitch in terms of his performances even if he isn't wearing the armband. For someone who speaks honestly, has high ambitions at the football club and is a regular in the team, he could be the perfect player to step up.
Rodrigo Bentancur should also be under consideration for a leadership role as he is a pivotal figure in the middle of the park. The Uruguayan is someone who has been a guiding figure for Tottenham's young midfield stars and he would certainly be worthy of a more senior role.
Bentancur was in fact captain for Tottenham's 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace at the start of May as Vicario, Romero and Son were on the bench and Maddison missing through injury. Rather than handing the honour to long-serving defender Ben Davies, Postecoglou gave the armband to Bentancur and that just shows how valued he was by the former boss.
One other possible contender for a leadership role could be Pedro Porro. After all, he was in every matchday squad last season and didn't miss a game through injury, which was in fact quite the feat considering the issues Tottenham had to deal with. The Spaniard is a very popular member of the Tottenham squad and is someone who has the attributes to be a leader.
Porro, who is very vocal, has in fact captained Spain Under-21s previously during a 3-0 win over Israel in November 2020. Amid the possibility of some players needing to step up if Son or Romero are to depart, Porro, Bentancur and Kulusevski could be key men in Frank's first season in charge.