Plenty of Tottenham Hotspur players are expected to head out of the door this summer either permanently or on loan but which ones could get a late reprieve?
Last summer Giovani Lo Celso was the main name that everyone expected to head off from the club but instead Ange Postecoglou took a shine to the Argentina international and he remained for the campaign, albeit still not getting the amount of game time at Spurs that he would have wanted.
This summer, Tanguy Ndombele, Eric Dier, Ivan Perisic, Joe Rodon, Ryan Sessegnon and Japhet Tanganga have already left the club with more set to follow them through the exit door either permanently or through loan moves, including the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Lo Celso as both seek regular football next season with their contracts reaching their final 12 months.
We've taken a look at whether any first team players or those around Postecoglou's squad have the chance of changing their likely exit route out of the north London club.
Djed Spence
The right-back, who turns 24 next month, has played just 43 minutes for Tottenham since signing two years ago. He has had three loans during that time to Rennes, Leeds and Genoa since, getting far more game time than he's had in N17.
When he returned between his Leeds and Genoa loan spells last season, Spence was sent to train with the U21s rather than the first team. So it was something of a surprise when he was handed 45 minutes by Postecoglou on Wednesday evening against Hearts in the first friendly. Not only that but Spence played very well, scoring a goal and providing an assist for Will Lankshear while acting as a guiding figure to the younger players.
Genoa have made no secret of the fact that they are keen to bring the full-back to Italy permanently but have yet to meet Tottenham's valuation of the player. Other clubs have also shown an interest in the young right-back.
Postecoglou praised Spence after the game, but his words were not exactly a ringing endorsement of the defender sticking around.
"Djed did well. He has had a tough couple of years. He is training with us and I think with all of the players they are here with us at the moment and when they are here with us I treat them as Tottenham players unless something suddenly changes," said the Australian. "He was good tonight. Took his goal well, he contributed well and got an assist."
The lack of defensive players currently available means Spence, who can play on the right or left, could well get a previously unexpected place on the tour for Tottenham's three matches in Japan and South Korea next week and then it's down to him to continue to make his mark.
Emerson Royal
This decision likely rests more with AC Milan than it does with Postecoglou although the Spurs boss will have the final say on the Brazilian's future.
Emerson has always been a willing and versatile member of the Australian's squad over the past year but he admitted recently that he had spoken to Postecoglou about his lack of starts last season.
Milan formally offered just £8.4million (€10million) for Emerson Royal, having already had that number turned down in a verbal offer. Spurs want at least £16.8million (€20million) for the Brazilian but if they do not receive that, with Dortmund and Saudi Pro League clubs interested, then Postecoglou probably wouldn't devastated to have him around for squad cover, although that's not what the player wants.
Sergio Reguilon
Of the senior first team players, we'd put Reguilon in the drawer marked 'least likely to stick around'. He and his fellow Spaniard Bryan Gil have been training with Tottenham but neither travelled for the match in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
After loans at Manchester United and Brentford, following a difficult injury-ravaged season at Atletico Madrid the previous year, Reguilon is unlikely to change Postecoglou's mind on him but that doesn't mean he won't be trying behind the scenes.
The tour squad list will give us a good indication of which first teamers are considered part of the plans under Postecoglou and with the lack of defenders available, Reguilon's absence would speak volumes.
Will Lankshear
The case with 19-year-old Will Lankshear looked pretty straight forward earlier this month - a talented young striker given a new five-year deal with the view that he probably needed a loan move to get the senior minutes to really develop him into the player many expect he can become. The number of Championship and League One clubs all showing interest only further backs that up about a teenager who scored 32 goals last season.
However, the teenager then had an absolute stormer of a week in training, impressing Postecoglou and his coaches to such a degree that he was handed the task of starting the second half against Hearts and duly scored a lovely goal just 10 minutes in.
"He was good. We kind of brought him in in this last week and yeah he has looked bright in training," said Postecoglou. "He works hard and I thought he took his goal well tonight. He had a very good year last year so it’s about rewarding that. With all the young guys it’s about the game doesn’t stand still. Whatever you did last year it’s about coming in this year and making an impact.
"Our two new signings are both 18 years old so there’s a measure there for our 18 year olds. Just because you are here doesn’t mean you get any kind of advantage apart from the fact you are in front of us every day. He deserved his chance today, trained well, took his goal well and I’m pleased for him."
If Lankshear continues to work hard in training and in the next friendly against QPR on Saturday then he might just grab a spot on the Asia tour and then who knows what happens with the season ahead if the teenager scores another goal or two along the way.
Alejo Veliz
Lankshear's pre-season form could directly affect Veliz's place in the squad for the coming season. The young Argentine scored his first Premier League goal last season for the club but then suffered an injury before heading off on a near pointless loan at Sevilla where he barely played.
He picked up a bloody nose after replacing Lankshear on Wednesday night which was so bad he had to be replaced himself by Dane Scarlett. Spurs' need to keep within their foreign player limits in their squad might mean another loan move for Veliz makes more sense in the season ahead, especially if Lankshear continues to sparkle.
Jamie Donley
Nobody expected Jamie Donley to start this pre-season as a left-back, but that's exactly what he's been doing for the past couple of matches, at Hearts and in the behind-closed-doors training ground friendly against Cambridge United. The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has done really well in the makeshift role.
It's unlikely that it's going to be a full-time gig for Donley as really good wingers would have a field day taking on an attacking teenager trying to play as a full-back for the first time.
His versatility at least continues to put him in the eye-line of Postecoglou though and a tour squad place will likely beckon because of that. Then a decision will have to be made over a loan move which surely looks more likely at this point.
Ashley Phillips
Another 19-year-old and Phillips is the only available senior centre-back right now at the club with Radu Dragusin, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero not back from their post-international rest, while Alfie Dorrington is not expected to return to action following his hamstring surgery until next month or even potentially September.
That should hand Phillips plenty of game time, although he might have been disappointed to see midfielders Archie Gray and Oliver Skipp played at centre-back to start the game at Hearts, even if he did play the entire second 45 minutes in the position and capped it off by forcing an own goal.
The big teenager was named Plymouth's Young Player of the Season after a terrific six months or so there and Postecoglou must decide whether another loan will serve him best or whether it's time to have him in around the centre-backs for the busy season ahead.
Alfie Devine
This time last year Devine was the wonderkid everyone was looking at within Tottenham as he impressed Postecoglou in pre-season. That brought loan moves to Port Vale and Plymouth with differing results in League One and the Championship.
Now the 19-year-old - yes another one - has returned to a Tottenham squad that has plenty of new young talent in his central midfield position in Gray and Lucas Bergvall, while Mikey Moore is the go-to young attacking midfield talent now in the academy.
Devine was excellent under Postecoglou last summer and with his experience from that tour he will be looking to force his way back into his thinking.
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