Here are five things we spotted in the latest footage and images from Tottenham's return to pre-season training at Hotspur Way
A large group of Tottenham's players are back for early pre-season testing and gym work at Hotspur Way and there have been plenty of things to notice about their return.
We spotted 23 Spurs players back inside the club's Enfield training complex on Friday to begin a series of strength and power tests before they will get to work with Roberto De Zerbi on the training pitches from Monday onwards ahead of their string of pre-season fixtures.
Those currently begin with a training ground friendly against MK Dons on Wednesday July 22 before the players fly off on their tour to New Zealand and Australia, where they will face Auckland, Sydney and Chelsea before returning to take on Getafe at Hotspur Way. Then come two fixtures against Hoffenheim, the first at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday August 15 and then a training ground friendly against the German side the following day.
The preparations have begun for the new campaign ahead and here's what we noticed from the opening days of Tottenham pre-season:
Tonali absence explained
One of the key absences from the returning group was the new £100million man Sandro Tonali. Spurs completed the deal with Newcastle earlier this week for a £92.5million initial fee with another £7.5million in potential add-ons.
However, while £85million signing Mateus Fernandes was there on the first day of pre-season work, along with new goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, there was no sign of Tonali among those heading back into Hotspur Way.
There is a reason for that though and it's that the Italy international has been awaiting his work permit. It's just going through the process with nothing to be concerned about, according to those within the club. Tonali has been playing in England for three years but a change in employer means a new work permit must be sought.
As soon as that is in place, the 26-year-old will be able to get down to work with his team-mates and De Zerbi.
Training ground improvements
Those eagle-eyed Tottenham supporters looking at the images and videos from the early pre-season work might just have noticed that the gym the players were using looked rather different.
That's because it is actually the smaller gym located in The Lodge, the luxurious hotel complex based within Hotspur Way, where the Spurs players will sometimes stay together ahead of matches or long trips, or after returning from games in the early hours. The facility is also used by international teams, often by Thomas Tuchel's England.
So why are the Tottenham players using that gym instead of their bigger usual one? Well it's because the first team gym in the main building is getting some much-needed renovation work. One of the key findings over recent seasons, including as part of new performance director Dan Lewindon's review, was that the gym was nowhere near the level of bigger club's ones.
That confirmed a feeling among coaching staff in recent years that with its luxury hotel on site the training ground was an environment more geared towards comfort than performance with some of the facilities not up to the standard of Europe's big clubs.
This summer, work has begun on fixing that for De Zerbi's men and others at the club, as Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham explained at a meeting last month between the club and the Fan Advisory Board.
In the minutes from the gathering, they stated that Venkatesham said that "football and performance are now positioned at the centre of decision-making which has led to numerous changes. An example being work is underway to reshape the first-team environment in the training centre, including a new player briefing/tactical room, a complete transformation to the gym, changes to the player restaurant and making the building feel like a true performance environment. The close season is the first window where changes of this scale can be commenced."
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Gray's new look
Players often return tanned from their summer holidays and some with new haircuts, however Archie Gray appears to have returned to Hotspur Way fully prepared for his upcoming trip down under.
That's because the 20-year-old was back with a new look, with his curled hair longer and in a mullet with frosted tips and a goatee, provoking plenty of coaches and team-mates grabbing his locks as they greeted him.
"Obviously we're going to Australia and New Zealand so I'm trying to be Australian," joked the midfielder in a club video. "I'm trying to [go for the Aussie look]. I might even go full moustache. I think actually want to, if I could, pick any other nationality, I think I'd actually choose Australian."
Those Spurs fans in Sydney are likely to appreciate the effort the youngster has gone to when they watch the team play and train in the city later this month.
Injured players back
It would have heartened both the players and the supporters to see some of the long-term injury absentees back doing the gym work at Hotspur Way.
Mohammed Kudus was back working with the team for the first time since his setback during De Zerbi's early days at the club in April after first returning from the quad injury he suffered in January that would eventually scupper his World Cup hopes.
Dejan Kulusevski has been out for more than a year since his complicated patella injury, with his own training ground setbacks along the way and ruined World Cup dream. The Swede has been stepping up his summer training back home in Sweden and seeing him in the gym in Enfield with his team-mates will spark hope that he will be back in action sooner rather than later.
Wilson Odobert still has a long road ahead with his ACL injury likely to keep him out until towards the end of this year but the Frenchman was also going through the testing with the Spurs players.
Tottenham have had far too many injuries in recent seasons and under former City Football Group man Lewindon's guidance and measures being put into place, the hope is that those changes will eventually bear fruit.
Forgotten faces
Pre-season is also a time when those who have been away from the club on loan return to see what lies ahead for them, particularly if there has been a change in manager while they have been gone.
Homegrown youngsters Dane Scarlett, Mikey Moore and Jamie Donley have all been spotted back in the building as they await De Zerbi running the rule over them.
Of the non-academy products, back in the building was Manor Solomon, who was on loan at first Villarreal and then Fiorentina last season. football.london has previously reported that he Israel international has been told by De Zerbi that he can look for a new club this summer as he is not in his plans for the coming campaign.
Solomon at least has played six times for Spurs back in 2023. Kota Takai has become something of a forgotten signing at the north London club since he arrived last summer from Kawasaki Frontale. The 21-year-old Japan international centre-back struggled with injury after arriving and then was sent out on loan to German side Borussia Monchengladbach in the January window where he made just eight appearances.
Also back was Yang Min-hyeok, who joined Spurs the previous summer, and the 20-year-old South Korea spent last season out on loan at first Portsmouth and then a less successful spell at Coventry, despite their promotion.
Then there is Ashley Phillips, who is also yet to play a competitive game for Spurs, returning after two loan spells at Stoke City, having been nominated for the Young Championship Player of the Year award last season.
In case you're wondering who the rest of the 23 players we spotted are, the remaining stars, not already mentioned above, were James Maddison, Dominic Solanke, Conor Gallagher, Richarlison, Destiny Udogie, Antonin Kinsky, Guglielmo Vicario, Ben Davies, Brandon Austin and Mathys Tel.
The World Cup players will start returning in stages, their dates based on at least three weeks of rest after their final participation day with their country.