Tottenham transfer window state of the union

As the summer window draws to a close, we look at those who’ve been added to the first team at Tottenham and who have left the club, whether permanently or on loan.

So far, the 2023-24 campaign under Postecoglou has gone exceedingly well, consisting of a season-opening draw at Brentford and two masterful 2-0 wins at home against Manchester United and away at Bournemouth.

Aided by the new gaffer’s attack-oriented system and several signings, the Big Ange era is off to a superb start. Let’s take a look at which players have been added this summer and integrated into the first team.

Incoming: James Maddison (from Leicester City, €46.3 million); Guglielmo Vicario (from Empoli, €19 million); Micky van de Ven (from Wolfsburg, €50 million); Alejo Veliz (from Rosario Central, €15 million plus add-ons); Ashley Phillips (from Blackburn Rovers, €2.3 million); Manor Solomon (from Shakhtar Donetsk, Free); Dejan Kulusevski (from Juventus, £30 million)

Maddison, Vicario, and van de Ven are all off to solid, if not excellent, starts in Spurs’ AIA kits. After years of chasing down the midfielder known as “Madderz,” Spurs finally got their man.

So far, he’s been worth every pound they paid for him. He did suffer a minor injury scare heading into Saturday’s match at Bournemouth, but he started anyway and scored his first Spurs goal, leading him to win Man of the Match honours. His signing was a major coup for the club.

Vicario has taken over from long-time club captain Hugo Lloris, and he’s been a great fit for Ange’s attack. He’s excellent with the ball at his feet, helping start our offensive advances, plus he’s pulled out some solid saves thus far.

van de Ven was acquired after a summer-long saga, and he’s helped to solidify a Spurs’ defense that has sorely needed another standout center-back to team up with vice-captain Cristian Romero.

Although we initially brought on Kulusevski (aka “Kulu”) 18 months ago on loan, we made his deal permanent over the summer.

He’s been a superb addition to our attack, spearheading the offense alongside captain Heung-Min Son and Maddison. He finally notched his first goal of the campaign in the victory over the Cherries.

Solomon is another under-the-radar signing that adds punch to the attacking unit.

Veliz and Phillips are two for-the-future additions that align with Postecoglou’s vision, and the type of business Spurs have traditionally done: signing young talent on the rise to integrate them into the first team long term. Phillips could be another starting center-back in the future, while Veliz could be the next long-term starting forward.

Each of them has a potentially bright future.

Outgoing: Harry Kane (to Bayern Munich, €100 million plus add-ons); Harry Winks (to Leicester City, €11.6 million); Lucas Moura (to Sao Paulo, free transfer); Joe Rodon (to Leeds United, loan); Alfie Devine (to Port Vale, loan); Troy Parrott (to Excelsior Rotterdam, loan)

After years of rumours and a prolonged stretch of negotiations that took most of the transfer window, Levy finally sold Kane, allowing the legendary striker to leave for Germany for over 100 million euros.

Does the loss hurt?

Of course, it does. Losing arguably the best performer in club history is a challenging thing to overcome. However, we must move on. Yes, Kane’s scoring and playmaking ability will be sorely missed, but as long as Ange is supported by Levy and the rest of the staff, the sky’s the limit.

The rest of the departures don’t hurt the club too much in the long run. Moura provided the club with so many good memories, most notably his hat trick against Ajax in the 2019 Champions League semi-final that clinched our spot against Liverpool.

However, as soon as former manager Antonio Conte tried to turn him into a wingback, it was only a matter of time before he was gone.

Winks declined since that final versus Liverpool, battling injuries and losing consistent playing time under the previous four managers. Getting the fee we received for him was an excellent sell by Levy.

Rodon has underwhelmed ever since he was brought in by Jose Mourinho. Seeing him go out on loan again, this time to Championship side Leeds United, might lead to a sale or a spot on Ange’s squad moving forward.

Devine and Parrott, meanwhile, left on loan to gain more playing time.

Parrott’s chance to prove he could be the next stud striker for Tottenham has probably passed, but who knows what his season in the Netherlands might bring.

Devine has the tools and potential to be a long-term fixture in our midfield but needs the consistent playing time that Port Vale can provide.

So far, the window has been productive. However, with only a few days left, Spurs need to sell or loan several more players. We’ve been linked with numerous players throughout the past few weeks, such as Nottingham Forest attacker Brennan Johnson, Gent’s Gift Orban, and Torino’s Perr Schuurs.

All of these additions would be excellent for Ange’s squad.

However, moving on from players such as Sergio Reguilon, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Eric Dier, Ryan Sessegnon, and Lloris will help the club raise more funds to facilitate at least one of the above prospective transfers.

To optimize success under the new Postecoglou era, we must leave the past behind as quickly as possible.