Tottenham were famously the only club in Europe’s “big five” leagues to not make a major signing in 2018. Four years on and with the summer transfer window only just open for business, they are one of the most active.
Spurs kicked off their summer recruitment drive by acquiring Ivan Perisic, one of Antonio Conte’s Serie A title-winners with Inter Milan, before adding Fraser Forster as an experienced backup to Hugo Lloris. Both players arrived on free transfers, but Spurs are now starting to dip their hands into ENIC’s £150m money pot with Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma and Middlesbrough full-back Djed Spence within their sights.
Spurs are closing in on Bissouma after agreeing a £25m fee with Brighton and a five-year contract with the Mali international, who is scheduled to undergo a medical on Thursday. And according to The Athletic, Spence could follow after expressing a preference to join Spurs ahead of other interested clubs including newly-promoted Nottingham Forest, where he spent last season on loan. Rumours of a Christian Eriksen reunion continue to bubble away too.
Conte’s outburst after an insipid defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor in February feels as though it took place a lifetime ago, rather than a few months back. The shift in mood around the club from that night until now has been remarkable. From being derided as a laughing stock, Spurs are suddenly being tipped as potential Premier League title challengers next season.
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Tottenham’s decisive action in the transfer market since is indicative of a club doing everything in its power to keep its manager happy. The out-of-the-blue announcement of a £150m capital increase to “invest further on and off the pitch” was a bullish statement of intent to Conte and fans and unique in the ENIC era. Spurs failed to improve from a position of strength in 2018 despite inexplicably going on to reach the Champions League final. Standing still is not an option this time.
The signings of Perisic, 33, in particular, and Forster, 34, to a lesser extent, were further indications of a shift in policy. Throughout the churn of managers, head coaches and sporting directors during ENIC’s 21 years in charge, the ethos has consistently been to develop stars rather than buy them. Perisic, a winner of three league titles with three different clubs, member of the Bayern Munich side that won the treble in 2020 and international centurion, patently does not fit that mould.
Perisic is a plug-in-and-play signing, someone attuned to Conte’s tactical methods and physical demands. It was under the Italian that he flourished as a left wing-back in 2020-21 after spending his entire career to that point as a wide forward. Perisic scored more league goals than Conte’s quartet of wing-backs combined last season and provided more assists than any of them individually. He can also provide backup to Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski in the forward positions.
Tottenham will be title contenders if they get this window right
By Sam Cunningham, i‘s chief football correspondent
Word’s been getting round football circles in recent weeks that the Spurs x Conte collaboration could be on the verge of causing a surprise in the season ahead. That Tottenham are a good summer transfer window away from seriously loosening the stranglehold of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea on English football.
Clearly Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has smelt something in the Hotspur Way air. Levy’s decision to convince majority shareholders ENIC Sports Inc to make £150 million available would not have been made lightly.
And looking at Conte’s record, it’s easy to see why people are so captivated by his thrall. Everything he touches turns to silverware.
Read Sam’s full analysis here
If they do indeed join, Bissouma and Spence are more in keeping with the club’s traditional strategy, but both absolutely fit the Conte template too. Bissouma, 25, ran the game during Brighton’s 1-0 win against Spurs in April and possesses the physical, technical and ball-winning qualities required to play in a two-man central midfield in Conte’s 3-4-3 system. Of players with 10 or more Premier League appearances last season, Bissouma ranked fourth for tackles per game and eighth for interceptions.
Bissouma is currently awaiting the outcome of a police investigation into claims of sexual assault after being arrested in Brighton last October along with a man in his forties. He remains under investigation after being released.
Spence, 21, is a work in progress but his potential is undeniable. The right-back’s dynamism and drive were integral to Forest’s style of play under Steve Cooper and he completed the fifth-highest number of dribbles in the Championship. Spurs lacked those qualities on that flank last season.
Only Manchester City (73) and Liverpool (70) took more points than Spurs (56) after Conte’s appointment last November, but in order to close the gap, a handful of signings were required. That Spurs are acting decisively to try and land top targets before the start of pre-season, rather than play a waiting game, shows that a shift in strategy has taken hold.
Spurs are rebuilding in Conte’s image and given he has won a major title in his first full season at each of his previous three clubs, that bodes well for the upcoming campaign.
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