We are now in the final week of the transfer window so it's time to take a look at what there is left for Tottenham Hotspur to do in the market
Tottenham have left themselves with plenty to get done in the remaining week of the summer transfer window in order to back Thomas Frank for the season ahead.
Spurs want to compete across all four competitions this season, including their return to the Champions League, but have thus far only brought in two new faces in the shape of
Mohammed Kudus and Joao Palhinha while selling Son Heung-min to LAFC and losing
James Maddison to an ACL injury for much of the season, with Dejan Kulusevski also out for the long term.
Frank admitted to
football.london on Friday that numbers-wise his Tottenham squad was therefore similar to the one he inherited before the window opened, albeit with the added quality of Kudus and Palhinha within his new system.
So what do Spurs have left to do in the window before it closes on September 1 if they are going to bring in the No.10, winger and the centre-back that
football.london has previously reported that Frank would like to bolster his squad with to the levels required for the fixture-packed season ahead?
Here's the state of play with Tottenham's transfer window, split into the three main areas.
Defence
The goalkeeping department appears to be set with Frank making it clear that Antonin Kinsky would not be heading out of the club this summer, despite links with a move to Ligue 1 side Lille. That means he has Guglielmo Vicario, Kinsky and Spurs' only senior club-trained player in Brandon Austin as three senior goalkeepers to use across the season.
Josh Keeley left the club for Luton in a £1million deal with a sell-on clause this summer and the club also have young keeper Luca Gunter, who could get a loan again after last season's spell at non-league Wealdstone.
Frank told
football.london out in South Korea during the club's pre-season tour that he felt he had enough cover in the full-back spots with Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie, who returned to training last week, Djed Spence and Ben Davies, with Archie Gray also able to cover both sides.
Frank made it clear that Davies is an important, experienced player for his squad but the player himself admitted on the tour to
football.london that with 10 months left on his contract, he's not entirely sure what the future holds for him.
Frank does want another centre-back because of his propensity to switch to a back three at times and concerns over the availability of new captain Cristian Romero and Micky van de Vento after the pair played in just 26 and 22 games respectively of the 60 fixtures in the previous campaign.
There is also Kevin Danso, Davies, Radu Dragusin who is on his way back from his own ACL injury, and summer signing Kota Takai, who is back working outdoors as he recovers from a plantar fascia problem in his foot, while 18-year-old Luka Vuskovic is expected to join Ashley Phillips and Alfie Dorrington by heading out on loan to get regular match experience if Spurs can bring another defender through the door, with
football.london previously reporting that Hamburg, where his brother plays, are keen to bring him to Germany.
A new centre-back is lower down Tottenham's priority list than the new No.10 and winger but it is a position Frank would like bolstered if possible before the window closes.
football.london understands Spurs held discussions earlier in the summer about a potential transfer for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Piero Hincapie, with the 23-year-old Ecuadorian having long been a player of interest under former managing director of football Fabio Paratici.
However, a move for the player did not proceed after that point and those within the club claim there has been no active interest or contact with Leverkusen regarding the defender since.
Links to Burnley's Maxime Esteve were also knocked down earlier in the window, with the Frenchman later signing a new contract with the Clarets.
It could be that, as is the case with Hincapie, Spurs look for a centre-back who can also cover one of the full-back slots to give some extra depth to Frank's options.
The new contract for Romero was seen as a big building block for the Dane's defence but he still wants a further body in there for when the games mount up with technical director Johan Lange and the now consultant Paratici working through a list of potential targets in the role.
Midfield
The signing of Joao Palhinha has already proved to be a popular one within the squad with the 30-year-old former Fulham midfielder quickly settling into life at Tottenham. It's no secret that Frank would have liked to have brought long-time player Christian Norgaard with him from Brentford but by that point the Bees captain was already locked into a move to Arsenal.
However, Palhinha has already proved to be a great fit for Frank's system and Spurs have a £27million option to sign him from Bayern next summer after this season-long loan.
Spurs are looking to tie up a new contract for Rodrigo Bentancur this season with the Uruguayan in the final year of his deal and revelling in Frank's midfield. Yves Bissouma is in the same contract situation but Tottenham are looking to move on the Mali international, who has been disciplined by Frank after being repeatedly late this summer. It was the 28-year-old's third summer in a row of disappointing a head coach before the season began.
Frank has plenty of young, exciting midfield talent in Pape Matar Sarr, who has quickly emerged as one of his favourite go-to-players, along with teenagers Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall.
Tottenham have tried to sign a new No.10 to play in Frank's midfield with two bids made for Morgan Gibbs-White - the first at £60million and the second amid a chaotic couple of weeks that ended with the England international signing a new contract with Nottingham Forest.
That collapse was especially disappointing for Frank because he had wanted the midfielder for years at Brentford and Spurs had also tracked him for some time. He was his top choice for the role as the Dane felt that his mobility and creativity as a No.10 would be perfect for his new-look Tottenham side and it was a deal the club felt they could make happen.
Gibbs-White is believed to have called the new head coach to apologise for how things played out, with the Dane said to have told him he had nothing to apologise for.
Spurs then suffered double trouble when they went for Eberechi Eze and thought they had a deal done for the 27-year-old with both Crystal Palace and the player, only for Arsenal to come in and sign the boyhood Gunners fan, who they released as a 13-year-old youngster.
With the injury to Maddison on top of the Kulusevski wait following his patella surgery, the need for a new No.10 is even more pressing.
As a younger player with a high ceiling Tottenham have shown plenty of interest and held discussions about Como's 20-year-old starlet Nico Paz, but there has been a feeling within the club that any move was likely to be a non-starter. Real Madrid own 50 per cent of the player and have a €10million (£8.7million))buy-back clause for him with many believing that he is still a Madrid player in all but name.
Spurs are long-time admirers of Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, along with most of the Premier League's big clubs, but suggestions of a successful move being launched have been played down for the 23-year-old who has a long contract until 2030 with Unai Emery's side.
The north London club have looked at Leicester's Bilal El Khannouss, although the 21-year-old would come with far less top flight experience than the likes of Gibbs-White and Eze.
Lucas Paqueta would certainly bring that and Spurs have interest in him, but it remains to be seen whether West Ham, even with their financial restrictions, would let yet another key player leave the club, and a second to the north London side following Kudus' exit. The Hammers are reported to be interested in Bissouma and perhaps that could be an avenue of attack for Tottenham.
Lange, Paratici and head of scouting Rob Mackenzie have drawn up a list of No.10s for Frank's priority position, some of which are not believed to have reached the public domain yet.
Heading out of the club have been youngsters Alfie Devine and Jamie Donley, who can play in that No.10 role, to Preston and Stoke respectively, while deeper midfielder George Abbott has gone to Wycombe Wanderers and Tyrese Hall to Notts County.
Attack
During the club's tour to Asia, Frank continued to assess his squad and when Son finally made the move to LAFC, the new Spurs boss made it clear to the hierarchy that another winger was required to add more guile and creativity to the flanks.
football.london understands that Tottenham remain intent on trying to sign Savinho from Manchester City, with the 21-year-old said to be keen to head to north London. Key will be Spurs making a big enough bid to change the stance of the Citizens, with some inside the Manchester club wanting to keep the Brazilian who has the potential to become a star, but also the need to replace him if he does go.
For Spurs, Savinho can also play in a No.10 role while there is the option to play him on the right with Kudus able to move inside into the central position.
If Tottenham cannot wrestle Savinho away then they have other wing targets to turn to. Frank had been interested in bringing Bryan Mbeumo with him from Brentford but the 26-year-old was always set on moving to Manchester United.
Southampton's Tyler Dibling is a player Spurs have tracked for a while although the youngster looks set for a move to Everton, while the older, versatile Ademola Lookman is an attacking player the north London club and various Premier League sides have been offered as his time at Atalanta appears to coming to a close.
Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche is someone who Tottenham have been tracking in recent seasons and the exciting 23-year-old, who can play out wide or centrally, is on the radar of plenty of clubs across Europe as his reputation grows following a strong campaign in Ligue 1 last time out.
Frank has Kudus and last season's top scorer Brennan Johnson as his senior wing options while Spurs made Mathys Tel's loan from Bayern a permanent deal this summer and the head coach has Wilson Odobert able to play on both sides, while Kulusevski can also play on the right when he eventually returns.
Manor Solomon is back in training although a move remains likely for the Israel international this summer, especially if Tottenham do bring in another winger while the club are looking to find Bryan Gil an exit route as his contract runs towards its conclusion this season.
Yang Min-hyeok was sent to Portsmouth on loan to continue to gain experience of the English game and young talent Mikey Moore is at Rangers to get plenty of minutes for his development, while Damola Ajayi is enjoying his first loan spell at Doncaster Rovers.
Up front, Frank said Richarlison told him on the first day of pre-season that he wants to stay at the club and the Spurs boss told him he wanted the same. Richarlison has responded with fine performances in recent weeks and now it is about keeping him fit as the other striker option to Dominic Solanke, a player Frank has always admired.
Yoane Wissa was a player Spurs would have looked at had they lost a striker and the 28-year-old Brentford star can play out wide, although Newcastle currently appears to be a potential destination for him if the Bees do decide to let yet another key man go.
In terms of Tottenham's young forward prospects, Will Lankshear has gone to Oxford United on loan for the season with Alejo Veliz back at Rosario Central, while the club are looking to move on Dane Scarlett as well.
There is plenty for Tottenham to do in the week ahead if they are to build upon Frank's fine start to life in N17.
