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Tottenham Hotspur secured the permanent signing of young Bayern Munich gem Mathys Tel this summer, which means in a transfer window that was already derailed by a delayed coaching decision, Spurs will have at least gotten one important move right.

Even though Tel has the potential to be a star on the left wing in North London for years to come, that isn't necessarily the left wing position sorted out for the 2025/26 season. Tottenham still have to figure out what's going on with club legend Son Heung-min, who has one year left on his contract and is being linked with a retirement-like moves to leagues such as the Saudi Pro League and Turkish Super Lig.

Therefore, Tottenham have to keep a running shortlist of potential left wing options on the transfer market that they can bring in this summer, in addition to the permanent transfer of Tel. So far, Tottenham haven't been concretely linked to any left wingers other than Eberechi Eze, who is an attacking midfielder who can also play on the left wing if necessary.

Interestingly enough, a rival club in London thinks a notable name in the Premier League will be headed to Spurs this summer. Per a report from Hammers News, a spokesman for West Ham's owners informed the site that the club believes Aston Villa left winger Jacob Ramsey will be joining Tottenham this summer. This information was revealed amidst reports indicating that the Hammers were keen on the 24-year-old.

Mathys Tel is better, though

This information is quite interesting and almost completely out of left field, since no well-known national or international transfer experts have directly linked Ramsey to Tottenham. So it is wild to see a rival club's spokesperson telling an outlet covering a local Premier League rival that Tottenham are expected to sign Ramsey - perhaps they have some information through backchannels that others don't.

Ramsey himself would be a very surprising signing, too. He's a decent player and relatively young but in 19 starts and 10 substitute appearances last season, he only had one goal and three assists. Ramsey works hard for the team and is a good athlete, but would be a backup rotational option on the wings for Tottenham with a fraction of the upside of a Tel or Wilson Odobert.

It's highly unlikely Tottenham sign Ramsey this summer, but apparently since West Ham think they will, he's now a name to watch in case bigger outlets around the United Kingdom weigh in. Aston Villa and Tottenham have traded blows in Champions League races lately, and while neither reached the top five last season, Tottenham did make the Champions League by virtue of winning the Europa League while the Lions were competitive in the UCL race at points in the 2024/25 campaign.

Tottenham would love to hurt Aston Villa directly by signing a player who started 50 percent of the Premier League fixtures last season, but most Spurs fans would like to see the club aiming higher. At the very least, they wouldn't view Ramsey as a starter over Tel.

Tottenham Hotspur star center back Cristian Romero is a wanted man. Just a couple of months ago, Tottenham fans were resigned to the thought of losing the 27-year-old central defender to La Liga giants Atletico Madrid, as countryman Diego Simeone was highly keen on bringing the hard-nosed center back to the Spanish capital. And for his part, Romero was telling everyone that he dreamed of joining a club in Spain.

Romero won back Tottenham fans with several heroic performances in elimination games in the knockout stages of the 2024/25 Europa League, including a shutdown performance alongside fellow star center back Micky van de Ven in a 1-0 victory over fellow struggling Premier League side Manchester United in the Final. That sealed Romero's status as the official Player of the Tournament.

It also sealed Romero's value to Tottenham, and even Daniel Levy was shutting down transfer interest in the World Cup and Europa League hero by setting an even richer asking price of 70 million euros. Atleti were already coming nowhere near a reasonable evaluation of Romero months ago, and now that he upped his value with a Europa League title and Player of the Tournament honors, his price definitely went up.

Diego Simeone is beyond determined

Unfortunately for Tottenham fans who thought this meant Romero was guaranteed to stay, even after the firing of Ange Postecoglou (whom the defender had a close relationship with), Atletico Madrid are making their move and evidently pushing even harder to sign Romero.

Per a report from Argentinian outlet DSports, Atleti have submitted an improved offer of 55 million euros plus an additional 10 million euros in add-ons to Tottenham for Romero, and they are now very close to signing the Argentinian star from Spurs since they are now just five million euros away from meeting the valuation that the Premier League powerhouse set for the 27-year-old center back.

While that doesn't mean Romero is guaranteed to leave just yet, it does mean that Atletico Madrid have put a twist in the story and given Spurs supporters new reason to seriously worry about losing Romero, just when it seemed like there was almost no chance of Romero leaving the club after a beautiful end to the 2024/25 campaign - and Levy's reassuring valuation of the player.

Simeone and Atleti have identified Romero as their guy, and it's easy to see why. Atleti have been investing heavily in transfer lately, as evidenced by the coup of Argentinian star Julian Alvarez from Premier League titans Manchester City last summer, and it looks like Romero could be the next domino to fall after all. Stay tuned.

Timo Werner, once one of Europe's most prolific forwards, is heading to Major League Soccer off the back of his forgettable loan spell at Tottenham.

Werner, who's struggled to replicate the destructive form he displayed over several years at RB Leipzig in the Premier League, spent 18 months on loan in N17, but barely featured in 2024–25.

The German was somewhat serviceable during his first six months at the club, recording five goal contributions in his first 13 Premier League games. He fitted the mould of an Ange Postecoglou winger, with Werner able to use his blistering speed to reach the byline before drilling crosses across the box for a potential beneficiary.

However, the same issues which plagued his spell at Chelsea continued to manifest in north London. Werner was once again remarkably inconsistent in front of goal. Still, he apparently did enough to convince the club to extend his loan by another year, but 2024–25 was one to forget for the 29-year-old as he fell down Ange's pecking order and went AWOL down the stretch due to an apparent injury.

Timo Werner is heading to MLS after failed Spurs move

Werner returned to Germany at the start of the summer without a fuss being made. In truth, many had forgotten about him.

However, the German, who has 57 caps for the national team, has no future in Saxony either. His next move depicts just how far Werner has fallen. In 2020, Europe's elite were chasing his signature off the back of a 28-goal Bundesliga season. Now, he's merely been able to garner intrigue from across the Atlantic.

Fabrizio Romano reported over the weekend that Werner is open to joining the New York Red Bulls after the MLS club made their interest known. Talks are said to be ongoing, with initial contact believed to have been made as early as February.

This may well be the end of the road for Werner at the highest level, but the German has already achieved plenty in the European game before turning 30. Sure, the stints in England will probably be remembered with a chuckle, but Werner has more than 20 goals for his country, over 100 in the Bundesliga and a Champions League medal to come to home to every evening. He's done okay.

The decision to retain him for 2024/25 was ill-advised, but we'll always have those moments against Manchester City—you surely haven't forgotten his opening goal in the Carabao Cup fourth round?!—and that magical afternoon at Tamworth.

All the best, Timo.

It's been another summer of change at Tottenham Hotspur so far, and a busy pre-season lies ahead for the new manager and his players.

Despite the exit of the man who guided the club to their first piece of major silverware in 17 years, Spurs will hope to build on the momentum gained from that glorious night in Bilbao throughout the summer and into the new season.

We've gotten used to fresh starts in recent times, many of which have proven to be nothing more than false dawns, but there's optimism that Thomas Frank, having turned Brentford into an established Premier League outfit, will finally oversee the "painful rebuild" that Mauricio Pochettino warned us all about all those years ago.

A transfer policy that has focused on youth should be vindicated with the Dane at the helm, but supporters will hope that the squad is further emboldened by transfer market activity.

We're still some distance away from August 16 and Burnley's visit on the opening weekend of the 2025/26 Premier League season, and Frank will first have to navigate a hugely important maiden pre-season in order to best prepare his squad for the fresh campaign.

Here's Tottenham's confirmed 2025 summer schedule.

Tottenham 2025 full pre-season schedule

While Brentford toured the United States under Frank's watch, the Bees' summers generally revolved around domestic friendlies and a European training camp. It's a little more hectic in these parts—not to sound overly patronising—with Spurs jetting off to the Far East at the end of July for a pair of fixtures against Premier League outfits.

Before that, though, Frank's unofficial managerial bow arrives at Kenilworth Road against a Luton Town team that have suffered back-to-back relegations and are now playing in the third tier of English football. Our first friendly of the summer is scheduled for 26 July at 15:00 (BST).

I'm not a huge fan of facing domestic rivals in pre-season, and many were critical of the decision to stage the first-ever North London Derby overseas. I understand the complaints, but it does offer those who may otherwise never get the chance to see this iconic fixture in the flesh. We'll be facing Arsenal in Hong Kong on 31 July before taking on Newcastle in the home capital of Son Heung-min, Seoul, three days later.

There was seemingly an agreement in the Harry Kane transfer to play Bayern Munich every summer until the world caves in, and this time we're heading to Munich for a friendly against the Bundesliga champions. Hopefully, that'll prepare us for our first experience of the UEFA Super Cup the following week.

Tottenham Hotspur will be represented in Saturday's U21 European Championship final after England down the Netherlands in Wednesday's semi-final.

In a similar tale to last summer, the opening two goals were shared between the two teams before England struck late. While Ollie Watkins was the man who sent a nation into delirium last July, Harvey Elliott was the Young Lions' hero this time around.

The Liverpool star scored twice in England's semi-final triumph, and his winning goal was a stunning solo effort. In a bid to preserve their advantage, Lee Carsley sent on Spurs starlet Archie Gray in stoppage time, and there's hope the 19-year-old will play a part in the tournament's showpiece event on Saturday.

Archie Gray's England into U21 Euros final but French starlets miss out

Gray started two of England's three group games—one in midfield and the other at right-back—but was an unused substitute in their quarter-final victory over tournament favourites Spain and only played a minor role in the semi-final.

The Spurs man is competing against the likes of Elliot Anderson, Alex Scott and Jack Hinshelwood, who scored a brace in N17 on the final day of last season, for minutes in the middle of the park, while Tino Livramento got the nod at right-back on Wednesday. All have more Premier League experience than Gray, one of the younger members in Carsley's squad.

This England side are inspired by Liverpool's Elliott, and they'll lean on the compact and powerful playmaker to lead them to back-to-back championships this weekend.

However, the Young Lions will have to bypass a Germany team boasting the tournament's star: Stuttgart's Nick Woltemade. The towering young forward has six goals in Slovakia this summer and was on the scoresheet again in Germany's semi-final victory over France.

Tottenham's Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert were in the starting XI for their 3-0 defeat, as Monaco's Soungoutou Magassa endured a night to forget. The 21-year-old was hugely responsible for the concession of two early goals that France failed to recover from.

Tel, in particular, had impressed at the tournament, with the new Spurs arrival delivering the magic moment to defeat Denmark in the last eight. While Odobert was withdrawn, Tel lasted the full 90 and almost teed up Thierno Barry in stoppage time to set up what could've been an exciting finale.

But it wasn't to be for those two, who'll soon be reporting to Enfield for the start of a new era under Thomas Frank.

Tottenham Hotspur haven't made any real signings in the summer 2025 transfer window thus far, as their lone acquisition has been the acquisition of a player already there on loan and the most no-brainer signing of them all - the agreement of a permanent, 35 million euro transfer for Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel.

While praising the obvious is important when it comes to a club like Tottenham that so often drops the ball on what is clear and obvious, Spurs definitely need to do more than just sign Tel in order to ensure they finish substantially better than 17th in the Premier League and actually compete in the Champions League next season. Not to belittle what Spurs accomplished in the Europa League, but there are no Bodo Glimts in the Champions League semifinals - let's just put it that way.

There's also a logistical issue when it comes to competing in the Champions League. Tottenham need more homegrown players. They currently have seven homegrown Premier League talents in their 23-man squad and will need to sign one more this summer.

The easiest solution is to sign Kyle Walker-Peters, a former Tottenham prospect who started sparingly at right back for them for nearly a handful of years before becoming an above-average Premier League right back and a regular starter for Southampton.

Tottenham already missed out on easy signings this summer

But now that Southampton have been relegated again after being the literal worst team in English football last season, Walker-Peters has always been expected to walk as a free agent this summer. Not without trying, though, as the Saints did push hard to keep KWP with constant negotiations throughout last summer and winter; he was so valuable to Southampton that they risked losing him for free in order to keep the door open for him to stay.

Now, Southampton have confirmed via their official site that Walker-Peters will leave the club this summer after his contract lapses upon the conclusion of the month of June, meaning he can join Tottenham - or any other club, for that matter - for free ahead of the 2025/26 season.

Although Walker-Peters would just be a backup player, that's all Spurs need at the right back position behind one of the world's finest options in Pedro Porro. And after losing out on a straightforward veteran squad addition that Thomas Frank wanted, it would be a double whammy for Tottenham to miss out on an even easier transfer in Walker-Peters.

Obviously, Walker-Peters would love to join Tottenham, even as a backup. And obviously, Tottenham should want a decent, veteran backup fullback at affordable wages who knows the culture of the club, especially when he fulfills a vital squad requirement for the most financially important and most prestigious competition in club football.

Tottenham Hotspur started the offseason on the complete wrong foot, taking ages to come to any sort of a decision on Europa League-winning manager Ange Postecoglou before promptly discarding him after weeks, setting themselves back unnecessarily on the transfer market.

Whlle Spurs have gotten the choice of his successor right, picking Brentford's Thomas Frank to the lead charge, all the ills of the last month have caught up to Frank. Previous targets linked to Tottenham like Johnny Cardoso and Rayan Cherki have already chosen to move to big European clubs, and now even Frank's preferred transfer targets are falling off the map.

Tottenham have effectively given up the chase for what should have been their most obvious priority on the transfer market, Frank's top Brentford pupil Bryan Mbeumo with nearly 30 Premier League goal contributions last season. Mbeumo is almost certainly headed to Manchester United.

To make matters worse, though, Tottenham have now 100 percent lost out on an even easier Frank disciple to sign. And to make matters even worse than that, they have lost this player to their most hated rivals, Arsenal FC.

Arsenal embarrass Tottenham once more

According to Fabrizio Romano, an agreement between Brentford and Arsenal is officially done, and defensive midfielder Christian Norgaard, a key veteran leader in Frank's tactical system over the years, will be headed to Tottenham's chief North London rivals for a meager 11 million euros. Norgaard is now set for a medical after agreeing personal terms with the Gunners.

Tottenham had just started to show concrete interest in Norgaard, but Arsenal saw that and accelerated their interest. What should have been a neck-and-neck race ended very quickly with Arsenal signing the quality Premier League holding midfielder for close to nothing, replacing him with departing free agent Thomas Partey.

While Tottenham are prioritizing younger players, 11 million euros for a captain-level player, an above-average starting defensive midfielder, an upgrade in that role on current players in the squad, and a favorite of the new coach's would have been a very miniscule fee to pay for one veteran player on a very, very young squad.

It's outright shameful for Daniel Levy and Tottenham to miss out on a player with this close ties to Frank - and to Arsenal, no less, who should have had no advantage over Frank and Spurs at signing Norgaard. Tottenham just won the Europa League, yet Levy and Co. remain the archtiects of the continued demise of this brand. All Levy does is prove the old adage right that Tottenham will never support its coaches, no matter who they are or what they win.

It's been a slow start to the summer for Tottenham, despite making the Mathys Tel signing. Every summer I seem to go through the same thought process: lack of big moves, convince myself Levy sometimes gets it right when he leaves it late, bring up Rafael van der Vaart as an example … then remind myself that, as great as that signing was, 2010 was actually a long time ago now.

No doubt we need to strengthen more, and big money quality additions, such as Eze, would be great. Thinking about free transfers too, though, I had hoped we would sign Leroy Sane. I also hoped we would move for Roony Bardghji (not free but with his contract nearing expiry, the fee was minimal). Neither can now happen as they are off to Galatasaray (Sane) and Barcelona (Bardghji), but there are still other options for Thomas Frank when it comes to free transfers.

Jonathan David

David is not short of offers and Juventus seems one very possible destination. Whatever the complications of a deal here, if Spurs aren’t at least trying to make this happen it would be disappointing. He has been a very consistent goalscorer for Lille, particularly over the past 4 seasons and offers versatility to play as a lone striker, one of the three behind, or even in an old fashioned 4-4-2. Attack is an area of need for Spurs. This would not be easy to complete but would be well worth it.

Kyle Walker-Peters

Another area of need is full-back, so there’s three on this list. First, Kyle Walker-Peters as everyone loves to see youth players in the first team, even if this would be his second spell with Tottenham. I don’t think he had enough games when he broke into our first team before moving to the Saints. He has been consistent there and now has plenty of Premier League experience. I would not expect him to overtake Pedro Porro but with the number of games we will potentially have in this coming season, there will be plenty of opportunities.

Tyrick Mitchell

He could be staying with Crystal Palace who seem in a very good place now with Oliver Glasner and fresh off an FA Cup win, but if Mitchell was available, Spurs should be interested. Each time I see Palace, he is impressive, both going forward and defensively. Like Walker-Peters, he has been consistent at right back and has a lot of Premier League experience in the last few seasons. I would expect Mitchell to strongly challenge Pedro Porro and contribute a lot to the coming season.

Nelson Semedo

At the risk of including more right backs than a Gareth Southgate England squad, I’ll add a third here. Semedo is older than Walker-Peters or Mitchell but is still only 31. He would offer a greater attacking threat than the other two right backs I’ve mentioned, particularly taking on opponents. This perhaps makes him a little too similar to Pedro Porro but his form at Wolves and his consistency would make a valuable addition to the squad.

Marco Verratti

Verratti feels like a very un-Tottenham-like signing, but someone very experienced in playing and winning big games could boost the squad. He might not have to play every game, but his passing ability, the way he can keep play moving and help to control the tempo of a game, is different from other midfielders we have. Bergvall can be that player, and he might be aided by having someone like Verratti in the squad at the moment, too.

Thomas Frank isn't going to be handed a 'war-chest' by Daniel Levy this summer, but there's hope that a collection of shrewd additions will be complemented by a statement arrival.

Contrary to popular belief, Spurs have spent a lot of money on transfer fees over the past five years. Our next spend of £463m since 2021 ranks third-highest in the Premier League. The wage bill is an issue if Spurs want to bridge the gap, but we know that the club prefers to create rather than cultivate superstars.

Nevertheless, it seems as if a big chunk of our summer kitty will be dedicated towards bolstering our frontline. While we had few issues scoring goals despite our Premier League woes last season, few would be content entering 2025/26 with the same attacking personnel. Moreover, there's a chance Richarlison and Son Heung-min end up leaving the club.

Right now, it seems as if there are four key targets on the table for Spurs. Interestingly, the quartet differ rather drastically in profile, rendering it tough to gauge what the club want from their 'statement' signing.

Nevertheless, we had a go at ranking these four supposed targets based on four criteria: how much they'd cost, their fit in N17, whether their profile is needed, and how good they are at football.

Many would argue that a right-sided attacker should be the club's priority this summer, especially if Son stays.

Brennan Johnson was the club's leading goalscorer last season, and Wilson Odobert was often stationed down the right (although I prefer him off the left) during his debut season, but there's otherwise little depth. We must remember that Dejan Kulusevski will miss the start of 2025/26 due to a significant knee injury.

Semenyo is thus a player Spurs could do with, given his two-footedness and capacity to play down both sides. He's a physical behemoth whose ambipedal nature renders him a unique talent. Frank will appreciate his ability to break open a game in transition, as well as his defensive contribution. Last season was the most productive of his career, as he scored 11 Premier League goals, but there are a few question marks regarding the Cherries' huge £70m valuation.

For that fee, I'd like to have seen more consistency from Semenyo (in front of goal, in particular) and a greater impact against the league's best. He's very good, but I wouldn't spend that much.

Price: 3

Fit: 7

Need: 8

Talent: 7

Overall: 25/40

No player was more efficient in the Premier League last season than Bryan Mbeumo, who scored 20 goals and outperformed his xG by 7.7 (via FBRef). Some may be sceptical as to whether the Cameroonian international will ever be able to reach such heights again, but Mbeumo may be in that bracket of players, like Son, who's capable of consistently defying the underlying metrics.

Mbeumo is a numbers-over-aesthetics guy. More Mohamed Salah and Eden Hazard on that ideological continuum. Frank maximised Ivan Toney's Robin and converted him into Batman off the back of the Englishman's Saudi departure.

I don't think he's the most gifted of the four names listed, but his nose for goal, ability to work superbly in tandem, and success under Frank render him a great fit for Spurs in an area of need. Unfortunately, he wants to join Manchester United.

Price: 6

Fit: 9

Need: 8

Talent: 7

Overall: 30/40—reduced to 25 due to desire to join Manchester United.

Mohammed Kudus lit up east London in year one, but his second year at West Ham was forgettable at best. He performed as if he had no interest in being there, which, to his credit, is fair enough.

Signing Kudus was a major coup for the Hammers, but many will feel let down by the Ghanaian if he was to depart this summer. However, that's not suggest any potential suitor would be signing a talent already on the decline. Far from it.

Kudus clearly backs himself, and he wants to be performing under the brightest lights. Our glorious night in Bilbao means we can offer the West Ham star Champions League football.

I'm not exactly sure what role what suit Kudus best in a Frank 4-2-3-1, but I know that he's pretty adept across the board. He's a risk-taker in possession and a magnificent ball-carrier. You want him operating centrally as much as possible, so he can devastate defensive structures via his ability to resist and weave beyond hopeful challengers. However, Kudus is also effective when cutting infield from the right and can shift past his man before hitting the byline down the left.

He's a wonderfully exciting footballer whose best is yet to come on these shores. He reportedly has a £85m release clause, but West Ham may accept closer to £65m. However, I can't see them letting us get our hands on the former Ajax playmaker.

Price: 7

Fit: 5 (might be a d***head)

Need: 8

Talent: 9

Overall: 29/40

I've said it once and I'll say it again. Eberechi Eze is so Tottenham Hotspur.

Our interest in the Crystal Palace playmaker is long-standing, and things are starting to heat up this summer. With a £60m release clause in place and Eze having two years left on his deal, Palace may be keen to cash in. Steve Parish surely won't make it easy for us, though.

Some suggest he's a wide player, but Eze, for me, is someone you must have working from a central position as much as possible. While adept down the touchline, his most ingenious work arrives from more congested but dangerous zones between the lines. That's where his innate playground-like feel for the game manifests most wonderfully.

He's scored double-digit goals in two Premier League seasons and enters this summer off the back of a scintillating run of form which catapulted Palace to their first major trophy. Eze is not a profile Spurs are crying out for with James Maddison and Kulusevski on board, but, you know, they could play together. Startling, right?

Not only is Eze an incredibly watchable footballer, but he's a great character, too. Frank would love him.

Price: 8

Fit: 9

Need: 5

Talent: 9

With around £125 million of European prize money in the coffers, an exciting new manager at the helm, and Daniel Levy demanding nothing less than glory in England and the Champions League, Spurs supporters have plenty of reasons to expect the club to target world-class players during the current transfer window. Johan Lange kicked off the summer by signing Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso to permanent deals—both of whom have Champions League experience—which left fans anticipating news about Eberechi Eze or another high-profile signing. Instead, they got Kota Takai.Â

Talented as the 20-year-old Japanese international may be, Thomas Frank now has nine central defenders to squeeze into perhaps four Champions League roster spots. While it’s unlikely Takai will be registered for that tournament, Lange has produced Spurs’ version squid game at central defense. The news is not only mystifying given the decision to re-sign Ben Davies, it must be disheartening for summer arrivals Luka Vušković, Ashley Phillips and Alfie Dorrington. July training sessions could turn into a blood bath.

The summer transfer window is in full swing, meaning Spurs fans once again find themselves suspended in the bardo of silence, speculation and bewilderment.

But that’s not entirely true. A document exists—byzantine and arcane though it may be—that could provide clues to Spurs’ future transfer plans: Part IV, Article 31 of UEFA's Player Registration Rules.

Alasdair Gold outlined some of the dilemmas facing Tottenham due to UEFA rules in an in-depth article for football.london, which has tempered expectations and prompted measured conjecture about how Spurs can target summer signings that will adhere to the parameters of UEFA's bylaws.

The UEFA Registration Framework

The relevant facts are as follows: Teams competing in UEFA tournaments are allowed to register 25 players on List A, with 17 places allocated to "non-locally trained players." The remaining eight places on List A are reserved for four "locally trained players" who have been registered with the club for three years between the ages or 15 and 21, and four "association-trained players” who have been registered with a club in the same association for three years between the ages or 15 and 21. If teams are unable to fill all of those spots on List A, squad numbers will be reduced accordingly.

List B is reserved for players "born on or after 1 January 2004 and [have], since [their] 15th birthday, been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years." The latter portion of the clause disqualifies Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel, Luka Vušković, Yang Min-hyeuk and Kota Takai. Meaning if Spurs want to register any of them, they will take up a coveted spot on List A.

To project Spurs' ongoing recruitment strategy, we've broken down Spurs' current squad into groups of players likely to be registered for Champions League and those who may find themselves surplus to requirements due to UEFA regulations.

Squad Breakdown

Non-locally Trained Players (17 spots)

Registered (14): Son Heung-min, Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel, Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall, Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky

Notable exemptions: Richarlison, Alejo Véliz, Manor Solomon, Bryan Gil, Yves Bissouma, Radu Drăgușin, Luka Vušković, Kota Takai

If Bissouma, Solomon, Gil, Véliz, and Richarlison are sold, transfer to another club, or simply not registered, Spurs would be left with three open spots to fill on their UCL squad list. The math changes if Cristian Romero were to leave for Atlético Madrid, Son Heung-min accepts a super yacht full of Saudi riyal, or players get injured during pre-season.

Association Trained Players (4 spots)

Registered (5): Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Djed Spence, Archie Gray

Notable exemptions (1): Ben Davies

Spurs can only register four "association trained players,” so one of the five players listed above would move to the "non-locally trained player" list. That would leave Spurs with only two spots to fill with new signings.

Locally Trained Players (4 spots)

Registered (1): Brandon Austin

Spurs' dearth of "locally trained players" could be seen as an indictment of the club’s vision and understanding of UEFA rules. But that's not totally fair given that FA and UEFA rules incentivize clubs to sell "homegrown" players in order to maximize profits and comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). In a season or two, Spurs will have no problem maxing out their "locally trained player" requirements with players like Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Mikey Moore. Until then, Brandon Austin is the only current player who satisfies all criteria.

Potential Solutions

Spurs can increase their Champions League squad numbers by bringing a "locally trained player" like Kyle Walker-Peters or Sunderland's Dennis Cirkin back to the club. But given the logjam at every position other than backup defender, there is nor rationale for Spurs to re-sign academy graduates like Romaine Mundle, Troy Parrott, Harry Winks, Oliver Skipp or Japhet Tanganga. Harry Kane is the only one that makes sense, and he ain't sauntering back through the door in lederhosen this summer.

Transfer Strategy

Thomas Frank could roll the dice with a small squad and play Archie Gray as a backup defender, or opt for depth and one of Kyle Walker-Peters or Dennis Cirkin. Either way, I can’t see Spurs investing in a non-locally trained player. A more realistic projection would see Spurs sign two or three players who could compete for starting roles.

Plausible Targets

Defensive Midfielder: Adding another central midfielder depends on Thomas Frank’s opinion of Yves Bissouma. With only has one year left on his contract, it would be no surprise to see him land in Turkey. If that comes to pass, Spurs could look to bring in a potential starter like Éderson, Morten Hjulmand, Lamine Camara or Angelo Stiller.

Attacking Midfielder: If Levy were to splash the cash on a marquee signing like Eberechi Eze or Xavi Simons, Tottenham fans would erupt in spontaneous ecstasy and turn the High Road into the Ibiza Strip. Frank already has two attacking options in James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, so nothing less than a bona fide star makes sense.

Versatile Forward: With Manchester United increasing their bid for Bryan Mbeumo and Bournemouth demanding an egregious £70 million to let Antoine Semenyo leave, Spurs could replace Richarlison with Jonathan David or Evann Guessand, a tall, versatile forward who could be deployed on the right wing, partner with Solanke, or play as a lone striker.

Dream Scenario

An ideal transfer window would see Spurs sign free agent Kyle Walker-Peters along with Éderson (£52m), Eberechi Eze (£68m) and Evann Guessand (£30m) for a total outlay of £150 million. But unless someone unexpectedly departs or a starter suffers an injury during pre-season, Thomas Frank would still need to leave an important player off his 23-man Champions League squad list.Â

The harsh truth is that Spurs are unlikely to sign four more players this summer. And the smart money is on three.