Tottenham Hotspur summer transfer news, odds and predicted Ange Postecoglou line-ups
Tottenham Hotspur are preparing for their second season under the guidance of Ange Postecoglou.
The Australian’s debut campaign was an interesting one, with Spurs earning their way back into the European scene by finishing fifth and making the Europa League. However, that proved to be a disappointing finish, with Tottenham starting strong and looking like outside title contenders, then even failing to make the top four.
- Tottenham odds to win the Premier League 2024/25: Predicted finish, transfers, best players and full squad
- Hearts 1-5 Tottenham: Lankshear celebrates new contract and Bergvall impresses on Spurs debut
But there was enough promise and exciting football on show to suggest that Postecoglou can be a success in north London. At the very least, he’s earned the right to prove himself in this second year. He will now be hard at work figuring out the best ways to strengthen his pack ahead of 2024/25, with youngsters Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall already through the door and Yang Min-hyeok agreed to arrive in January. Bryan Gil and Emerson Royal also look set to follow the likes of Eric Dier, Ryan Sessegnon and Joe Rodon to the exit door.
Here, we take a look at the strong rumours and bookmakers’ favourites for who Tottenham might sign this summer, building some possible starting XIs we could see from Postecoglou next season.
Ivan Toney
Tottenham are just one of a host of Premier League heavyweights linked with Ivan Toney this summer and it’s even thought that, after failing to generate as much interest as they initially expected, Brentford are now willing to slash their asking price.
Toney started well after returning from his eight-month ban last season, scoring four goals in his first five appearances back. However, he dropped off dramatically thereafter, failing to score in any of his next 12 outings, notching just two assists.
Of course, we know Toney is capable of far better, as evidenced by his 20-goal return in 2022/23 and the service he’d get from the likes of James Maddison and Son Heung-min would surely result in an even better output.
Right now, Spurs look like they are facing competition from London rivals Arsenal and West Ham for Toney’s signature, but having still not really replaced Harry Kane, you could argue the Lilywhites need him most. One possible sticking point for this deal is Brentford’s new signing Igor Thiago possibly facing months on the sidelines with a meniscus injury, so unless other targets are identified, Postecoglou could continue with Richarlison as his No.9.
Conor Gallagher
According to Sky Bet, Spurs have drifted out to 4/1 third-favourites to sign Conor Gallagher from Chelsea this summer, behind Aston Villa (2/1) and Atletico Madrid (7/4). However, with Villa having just shelled out £50m on Amadou Onana from Everton, you have to think that will affect their push for another midfielder.
Spurs have just let Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg leave on loan to Marseille with a permanent option, so their need for a high-energy pressing machine in the middle is high and there are few better at that than Gallagher, who won possession in the middle third 2.84 times per 90 minutes for Chelsea in the Premier League last season.
This rumour rumbled on through Euro 2024, where Gallagher played five times to help England reach the final, and you can bet it’ll keep going for some time yet, with Chelsea understood to be desperate to sell in order to improve their PSR balance sheet.
Eberechi Eze
It looks like Spurs are determined to raid the London market this summer, with Eberechi Eze another heavily linked with a switch.
You can understand why every man and his dog are interested in Eze after he notched 11 goals and four assists in 27 Premier League appearances last season, earning a spot alongside Gallagher in the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 squad, playing three times.
Eze is capable of playing across the front three or as an attacking midfielder. Some combination of him, Son, James Maddison and Toney (or Richarlison, or Kulusevski, or Werner. Seriously, Spurs are underratedly stacked) leading the line for Spurs is an exciting thought.
According to the Daily Mail, Eze’s release clause stands at around £60m plus add-ons, which may have also attracted the attention of Manchester City. However, Spurs are the 5/6 odds-on favourites to get this one done according to Sky Bet.
Jacob Ramsey
According to Fabrizio Romano, Aston Villa and Spurs are currently discussing a swap deal that would see Jacob Ramsey head to London in exchange for Argentina international Giovani Lo Celso, who recently helped his country win Copa America. At the moment, nothing is close, but we know that Ramsey has been a player Spurs have admired for some time now.
The Birmingham-born midfielder is a product of the Aston Villa youth academy and has made 122 senior appearances for the club so far. Ramsey has great attacking qualities and has notched 13 goals and 12 assists across those outings.
Injuries have stalled Ramsey’s progress more recently but he’s still only 23 years old. Given how open the England national team midfield battle is right now, he may well fancy a move to Spurs as the way to force himself into the reckoning.
Three ways Tottenham could line up in 2024/25
The dream
Postecoglou is most likely to stick with the 4-3-3 he’s used so far at Spurs, although he does have the personnel to switch to a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 if needed. In reality, the back eight of his team is very high quality and doesn’t need any sweeping changes, barring rotation at depth. But if Spurs got the Toney and Eze deals over the line, putting those two alongside Son, that would make for a super-charged forward line capable of making them a Champions League team.
A new midfield?
Of course, Spurs are being linked with midfielders for a reason, and maybe Ange just doesn’t fancy some of the options at his disposal right now. Putting Gallagher and Ramsey into the mix would make for a high-energy approach, while perhaps freeing up Maddison to focus more on his creative brilliance than anything too strenuous without the ball. We’ve put Kulusevski in here to highlight just how much depth Spurs have, which is often missed.
Play the kids
It’s hard to make any sweeping judgements from a friendly, but Lucas Bergvall was fantastic in Spurs’ 5-1 win over Hearts — they look like they’ve got a real talent on their hands. And then there’s Archie Gray who, despite preferring to play in midfield, excelled as a full-back for Leeds last season. Why not throw them in? And why not stick with Brennan Johnson on the wing after he notched five goals and 10 assists in the Premier League last season?
If we really wanted to push the boat out, we could throw the likes of Will Lankshear, Alfie Devine and Ashley Phillips in from the bench, while Yang Min-hyeok could stake a claim when he arrives in January. There’s some talent in N17 right now.
