The transfer window is heating up at Tottenham and bringing with it new faces and no little drama in recent days.
Spurs are still hoping to complete a transfer hat-trick with the signing of Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White to further boost new head coach Thomas Frank's squad with more quality ahead of a season that brings with it a return to Champions League football following that Europa League triumph.
However, as the 25-year-old England international was set for a medical thanks to a £60million release clause in his contract at Forest being triggered, it became apparent that the Midlands side were considering legal action against what they believe was an illegal approach from Tottenham along with concerns over the potential revealing of a confidential release clause.
The north London side had already completed a £55million move for West Ham attacker Mohammed Kudus on Thursday after sealing a £5million deal for Japan international centre-back Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale earlier in the week. They then looked to be about to end the weekend by completing
Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold answered plenty of questions from our readers on the current goings-on at the club in the transfer window yesterday afternoon and here's a full transcript with everything he was asked and how he responded.
elliottharvey: "As things stand, how likely is it Spurs get the Morgan Gibbs-White deal over the line?"
Alasdair says: "It's difficult to predict right now with complete certainty as it's an unusual situation, and that's reflected in media coverage across the board, but the feeling among many at this early stage seems to be that Forest are more likely to hold up the deal than prevent it.
"The fact that this has all happened just before a weekend means little was likely to progress in these two days when it comes to legal matters or potential Premier League complaints.
"Neither club is commenting on the situation and the Premier League also declined to comment when I approached them today about whether a complaint has actually been lodged by Forest.
"Spurs are believed to be hopeful the deal will go through eventually while Forest are distinctly unimpressed by the whole thing, as they could lose both Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga in the space of a handful of days which won't go down well with their fans.
"Much will come down to the legal aspect of the contract and the details within it, for from the outside it seems simple enough that amid it all a release clause has been triggered regardless of whether the Midlands club wanted knowledge of it to be available.
"The worry of course for Tottenham fans will be whether this delay in proceedings allows another club to enter the fray and go about it in a way that Forest do not have an issue with.
"However, that also surely gets messy from a legal standpoint as Spurs had the deal all but done with the player set for his medical before Forest reportedly cut off communications.
"I would imagine Monday will bring with it far more answers and clarity in terms of whether a complaint has been formally submitted with the Premier League and whether anything of a legal nature has truly begun or whether it was simply considered and found to be fruitless."
tomphillips64: "With the rumours around an investment and a stadium naming right from Saudi, do you think Tottenham will spend high amounts of money, beyond their record. Eg, Palace have reportedly labelled Wharton with a price tag near £100 million. Would Spurs pay this?"
Alasdair says: "Wharton is certainly a player that Tottenham have liked for a few seasons and they considered making a move for him when Palace signed him from Blackburn early last year for a deal worth up to £22m.
"Could I see Spurs paying a £100million fee for him? I would be surprised if Tottenham shelled out that amount right now and if they did pay such a sum it'd probably be for someone more established than having played 36 Premier League games.
"I've reported in recent weeks about a growing expectation of investment coming into the club, with ENIC potentially pumping funds in, and the commercial side of the club have been big performers in recent years so I wouldn't be surprised if something is also in the offing with them.
"Spurs' AIA kit sponsorship deal runs until the end of the 2026/27 season so will have been explored. That deal brought in £320m across eight years when signed in 2019.
"That's £40m a year and all these years on the sum potentially available from a new deal will have risen.
"There's also the stadium naming rights, a talking point since before the building opened in 2019 and Spurs found they were actually making plenty of money and opening doors to unexpected opportunities by keeping the club name on the ground.
"Whether they could tie up a shirt and stadium deal in one would certainly require a huge amount of money from someone. For instance the Staples Center in LA became the Crypto.com Arena in 2021 in a $700million (£518mllion) 20-year deal. In the same city, the SoFi Stadium, home of the LA Rams and Chargers, has its own 20-year $625million (£463million) deal.
"So any Spurs deal would need to be around that same ballpark figure or be a far shorter deal so perhaps a stadium and kit deal would have to be two separate entities unless a mega deal is on the way."
elliotlast1: "If you could do any non-playing role at the club what would you pick?"
Alasdair says: "I'm not qualified to do any of the ones I'd most like to do like head coach, chairman or director of football so it's probably best I'm not in any of those roles! With my media background I guess I'd have to pick a role in helping the club communicate with the fans and general public better but that seems to hopefully be changing for the better since the arrival of the new CEO Vinai Venkatesham."
tulsamatt1: "With Spurs headed east for another preseason tour, do you think there is any hope for USA fans of a tour in America in the coming years? Or will it likely be after the World Cup?"
Alasdair says: "I really hope so. I've loved the tours to Asia and the Australian trips but it's only fair that the club head back to the States in the near future. Like you say, the World Cup is a factor. I guess it could work both ways in terms of worrying about a saturated market next summer or alternatively capitalising on the rise in interest. I would be surprised if Spurs are not back in the USA at some point over the coming summers though. With the NFL aspect if feels like a missed opportunity in pushing the "soccer" brand at the same time."
subin: "I'm curious about Son Heung-min. It is confirmed that he will play on a recent contract for the Korean tour, but I'm curious if the meeting with coach Frank has been held, and the longer the talk about renewing his contract or confirming his stay, the closer he feels to a transfer. What do you think?"
Alasdair says: "Son only returned to Hotspur Way on Friday after some pre-agreed extra time for family commitments and the first day at the training ground would have been about bloodwork and tests. Then it would have been about that 1km run that has been knackering the players out before a return to training.
"It might be that it's too early for that conversation to have been had yet. From Frank's side, you would think he would want to look at Son up close in action before making up his mind on the current level of a player who has done so much for Spurs and the Premier League.
"For me, the decision should be Son's. If he wants to stay after 10 years at the club and see out his contract then he's earned that right but if he wants to make a move then that avenue needs to be explored.
"I'm sure the two men will have an open and honest chat, a Frank conversation if you will.
"Also I'm not sure whether Spurs are contractually obliged to have Son playing on the tour to Hong Kong and South Korea but it may be that there are some financial penalties if he doesn't appear should he move beforehand.
"We've got our first press conference with Frank on Friday so we might get more clarity then."
Okan5858: "Is Bissouma a candidate for departure? His name has been mentioned a lot with other teams recently. Fenerbahce and now AS Roma are reportedly keeping an eye on him."
Alasdair says: "I think he naturally has to be because he's in the final 12 months of his contract and Thomas Frank has already shown his fondness for Rodrigo Bentancur, also in a similar contract situation, in his first interview after joining the club. Bissouma will be looking to impress as he did under Postecoglou in those early months but Frank will be aware of the inconsistency and disciplinary and availability issues that came after."
kkh0406: "What's the latest on our interest in Antonee Robinson?"
Alasdair says: "Good player but those within Spurs have played down any serious interest in the Fulham man in recent weeks."
rossfj: "Kulusevski has been a key player, but say the Morgan Gibbs-White signing goes through can you see him leaving?"
Alasdair says: "I'm a big Dejan Kulusevski fan and I think Thomas Frank will love him as well. He's got a lot of the tools the Dane admires with his creativity, power and workrate as well as his winning mindset.
"He'll be able to use him across the three behind the striker, as a deeper midfielder or even as a support striker at times. First the Swede must get fully back in the swing of things after his patella surgery and that could take a little while."
koronos: "Do you think we beat PSG, then lose to Burnley? It seems the Tottenham thing to do."
Alasdair says: "The PSG clash does look rather terrifying right now with the form they are in but if Spurs can get Gibbs-White through the door with Kudus and some other statement signings before that August 13 game then some nerves might be dulled.
"I'm also clinging to the fact that the Champions League winners reached the Club World Cup final so will need to have the next three weeks off at least, meaning they will only return to training just days before the Super Cup in Udine.
"They might not be as sharp as we're seeing them right now. That's what I'm desperately clinging to anyway.
"As for the Burnley game, I do think some people are forgetting, or have not realised yet, how soon that game comes after the PSG match. Spurs will likely arrive back the UK in the early hours of the Thursday and will need to recover that day. They will only have Friday's final light training session to prepare for the Premier League opener the next day.
"Frank is going to have to rotate his squad on the opening day of the season which is something we've never had to see before and it does raise the chances of an upset as we saw with Spurs' games in the final months of last season as they focused on the Europa League. It will be an eye opener for both him and us."
kallamch: "Do you think that Tottenham are going to sign another attacker, or does it depends of whether Richarlison leaves or not?"
Alasdair says: "I think they're pretty stacked with attackers now and much would depend on who heads out of the door. Don't forget those pesky club-trained rules as well."
edamonne: "What does Peter Charrington do? Is he a presence around the club and on match days like Scott Munn?"
Alasdair says: "I don't believe so. Vinai Venkatesham will be the main presence around Spurs now in terms of running the football operations of the club."
rjbh1: "This transfer window seems very unSpursy - do you think this indicates a new dawn under Vinai Venkatesham and the start of a retreat to a more suitable position (CFO or similar) for Daniel Levy?
Alasdair says: "To be fair they moved quickly in Postecoglou's first summer with Vicario and Maddison through the door before pre-season even began. The plan however is for Venkatesham to take on the daily running of the football club while Levy looks at big picture stuff."
carl1882: "With Spurs having several thousand centre backs at the moment, can you see Romero (if he stays) or any of the others being converted into a 6?"
Alasdair says: "I'd be very surprised if Romero is converted into a six. I get the logic but it's a bit of a waste of his centre-back ability and I don't think the change in positioning or anticipation would suit him. He would need to be constantly moving up and down the pitch throughout the game."
Okan5858: "Do you think there could be some improvement at full-back? Udogie, Porro, and Spence are very few. Davies and VDV can help on the left, but we should really have a wider selection there."
Alasdair says: "I think they need another full-back personally. Spence being able to operate on both flanks (and looking better on the left last season) gives them more flexibility in who they bring in. What happens next with Davies could go some way to deciding things and there's also Archie Gray who can play at full-back on either side, but I think they need to look at that area."
dazlingwiz: "Anything on the outgoings? The squad is quite bloated right now."
Alasdair says: "It's on Thomas Frank first to look at and compare the players in training and decide for himself who he wants to keep and who needs to move on either on loan or permanently. It shouldn't take him long you'd imagine now everyone barring the U21 and U19s Euros players is back in the swing of things in training."
Lennonler: "Do you think Marc Guehi will be a target for Spurs this summer?"
Alasdair says: "He has been in the past and they made an approach in January. Any approach this summer would have to be if someone like Romero did leave because the centre-back department is stacked with up to 10 players who can play there. The problem with Guehi as well is that all the top teams would take him and some will be ahead of Spurs in any race."
beamon05: "How long will Spurs wait for this Gibbs-White saga before they move on to other targets?"
Alasdair says: "It depends whether there is likely to be any substantial wait and if Spurs feel they have anything to answer to. Things should become clearer in the next couple of days. See my reply right at the bottom for more on that."
jpostalwaite: "Are there any players you think won't leave this summer but will miss out on the Champions League squad?"
Alasdair says: "That's down to Thomas Frank but perhaps one or two of the new young defenders in Kota Takai or Luka Vuskovic, depending on whether the latter isn't sent out on loan with various clubs awaiting a decision on that. I think we'll see a lot of loans this season when it comes to Spurs players."
Spurs1972: "We have a number of development players on the cusp of the first team squad: Donley, Dorrington, Lankshear, Scarlett, Devine, Phillips etc. Where do you see our stronger youth players playing their football next season?"
Alasdair says: "I think a couple need to be kept because of the homegrown aspect but I think the bulk of those players will head out on loan and maybe one or two could even leave permanently. The pathway is blocked in certain departments and some might just not be seen as Champions League level players."