The north London side have been gradually building an extremely exciting, young squad over the past few summers
It doesn't take a genius to work out Tottenham's priorities for this summer's transfer window. So far, Spurs have added three 18-year-olds to their squad: Archie Gray from Leeds, Lucas Bergvall from Djurgarden (who agreed his move in January) and Yang Min-hyeok from Gangwon FC. Meanwhile, veterans Eric Dier, Tanguy Ndombele and Ivan Perisic have all moved in the other direction.
Last season, Ange Postecoglou helped breathe new life into a club that had seemingly lost its identity, trusting in a crop of young players to help navigate the post-Harry Kane era. And those in charge of recruitment in north London have only expedited the process of youthful regeneration over the past few months.
What made Tottenham's transfer activity especially noteworthy is the rival clubs they were able to fend off to secure their priority targets this summer. Gray had looked all set to join Brentford, only to be wooed by Spurs at the eleventh hour, amid interest from Chelsea too. Bergvall, meanwhile, turned down Barcelona's advances in January in favour of life under 'Big Ange', and 17-year-old centre-back Luka Vuskovic will arrive next summer after Spurs beat Manchester City to his signing in September 2023.
Clearly Tottenham are now adept at presenting themselves as the ideal home for world football's top young talent. Just how have they managed to do this, though, and what does it mean for Postecoglou and Co ahead of the new season?
Getty ImagesAcceleration of existing strategy
While Spurs' teenager-filled transfer window represents an extreme break with the past, there has been a gradual move towards a more youthful recruitment policy over the past few years. In summer 2021, Matt Doherty, Gareth Bale, Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg and Carlos Vinicius were all over 24 when they signed.
Then, ahead of the following summer's window, Fabio Paratici took over as managing director. Under the Italian's stewardship, there was a clear move away from these practices, with Bryan Gil (20), Emerson Royal (22), Pape Matar Sarr (18) and Cristiano Romero (23) their marquee additions during his first summer.
In 2022-23, the age profiles were generally a little higher, as Spurs sought to compete in the Champions League under Antonio Conte, though this was offset by Destiny Udogie (19) and Djed Spence (21) arriving for significant fees. Last season's windows followed a similar pattern with the recruitment of Brennan Johnson (22), Pedro Porro (23), Micky van de Ben (22), Radu Dragusin (21), Alejo Veliz (19) and Ashley Phillips (18).
In short, Tottenham were buying young players for some time before this summer. However, it appears that some backroom manoeuvring, necessitated by Paratici becoming involved in the Juventus amortisation scandal, has resulted in Spurs narrowing their focus even further on the potential stars of tomorrow.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWhat's been said
The back-office shakeup led to ex-Aston Villa executive Johan Lange being made technical director in October 2023. Upon his unveiling, Spurs were eager to talk up his track record in youth recruitment, and it's a reputation that's proved justified in his first few months in charge of transfers.
Speaking after completing the Bergvall transfer back in February, Lange expanded a little on Tottenham's plan in the market. "First of all we want to be a destination for the best young talent out there," he explained. "That can be talent coming into our academy in the foundation phase, or later being developed [when] coming through the academy. Or, as in the case, of Lucas it can be a player we decide to try to buy from a club abroad, in this case Djugardens."
Lange added: "We're completely aligned as a club on how we want to build the squad over the coming years, which is hugely important. But this is not only about Ange or myself, this is a club strategy, a club alignment and Ange and myself have been brought in in different roles to execute this."
This "alignment" in priorities has been pretty clear this summer. When selling themselves to their young targets, being able to point to their track record of recruiting youthfully will have been a useful in making themselves stand out among the crowd. This isn't just PR bluster; Spurs really do want to make themselves place for the stars of tomorrow.
Getty ImagesAcademy stars
Tottenham's emphasis on young players isn't restricted to their recruitment strategy, either. This bold transfer approach has been accompanied by the emergence of their most exciting crop of academy players in recent memory.
Without doubt, the crown jewel is Mikey Moore. The 16-year-old forward already boasts a hatful of goals at youth level for club and country, and he's been turning heads in pre-season too, netting a superb, solo strike against Hearts in July. He's already being described as Harry Kane's spiritual successor and Spurs look set to fend off interest from Manchester United in their teenage sensation.
Spurs' strength at age-group level is also reflected in the Under-21s lifting the Premier League 2 title last season, with squad members Jamie Donley, Will Lankshear and Jude Soonsup-Bell all nominated for the Player of the Season award. Lankshear – plucked from Sheffield United as a teenager – would eventually lift that gong, with his own pre-season performances likely to see him earn first-team involvement in some capacity this campaign.
Getty ImagesIdeal position to be in
All of the above would seem to leave Tottenham in a strong position on the pitch moving forward. And it's not hard to see why they've adopted this future-first approach. Realistically, there is a cartel of European clubs – revenue-generating giants like Real Madrid and state-owned outfits such as Manchester City – that Tottenham will never be able to compete with in the transfer market. This precludes them from signing top talent that are entering or are in their peak years.
As a result, it makes sense to position themselves as the leading destination for developing footballers. They have taken steps over the past 12 months to ensure this is the case. Not only does the club's new stadium give Tottenham similar revenue-raising power to Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, the appointment of Postecoglou has given them an exciting, coherent and distinct playing identity.
Combine that with the club's state-of-the-art training facilities and it's little wonder that the likes of Gray and Bergvall turned down proposals from traditionally 'bigger clubs'. It's now easy for these types of players to see a bright future at Tottenham.