Spurs season preview: Solanke raises levels, Richarlison has point to prove (2024)

Tottenham Hotspur start the new Premier League campaign with a trip to face Leicester City on Monday following an eventful summer.

Since Ange Postecoglou’s side beat Sheffield United 3-0 on the final day of last season, they have played friendlies in Australia, Scotland, Japan and South Korea, reshuffled their coaching staff and broken their transfer record. Multiple players impressed at the European Championship, while Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso won the Copa America with Argentina.

Postecoglou lifted the mood at Spurs during his first year in charge but expectations will be a lot higher now. They narrowly missed out on finishing fourth and qualifying for the Champions League, so will be hoping the arrival of Dominic Solanke in a £65million ($83.4m) deal can push them closer to success.

Here, The Athletic breaks down pre-season preparations and what to expect over the next nine months.

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The summer and pre-season have been

Back-to-back friendly defeats to Bayern Munich have slightly dampened the mood — but there should be a lot of optimism heading into the new season.

Solanke is a statement signing. For most of the summer, it felt as if the only way Spurs would sign a new striker was if Richarlison moved to the Saudi Pro League. Keeping Richarlison and adding Solanke is a huge boost for Postecoglou. Tottenham have serious strength in depth up front when you factor in Son Heung-min, Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner and Manor Solomon.

The academy’s brightest talent, including Will Lankshear, Jamie Donley and Mikey Moore, received plenty of minutes during pre-season while new arrivals Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray settled in straight away. Solomon returned to action for the first time since last October after recovering from knee surgery while Djed Spence’s performances surprised everybody.

The pursuits of Conor Gallagher and Jacob Ramsey have been unsuccessful but there is still more than enough time for the recruitment department to find a new, high-energy central midfielder before the transfer window closes.

Are they in a better place than when last season finished?

The majority of players who have left this summer were ill-suited to Postecoglou’s style of play or, in the case of Ryan Sessegnon, injury-prone. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s leadership will be missed but there are lots of alternative options in midfield who are better in possession than him. Tanguy Ndombele’s contract was terminated a year early while Joe Rodon joined Leeds United as part of the deal that brought Gray to north London.

Gray and fellow new signing Bergvall are both 18 but have lots of senior experience. It is unlikely they will be thrust straight into the starting XI but they look capable of contributing. Postecoglou believes Solanke will be a “great fit” stylistically and it will be exciting to see him combine with Son. Radu Dragusin’s performances for Romania at the Euros underlined why chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange went to so much effort to sign him.

The lingering concern is that this squad is too light to juggle multiple competitions. Tottenham played only 41 games last season and that number will significantly increase because of their participation in the Europa League. What happens if Dragusin, Romero or Micky van de Ven pick up a long-term injury? Ashley Phillips’ lack of consistent game time in pre-season suggests Postecoglou does not believe he is quite ready to play regularly at centre-back yet.

The squad was rocked by a couple of injuries last season. Hopefully, that does not happen again.

Which player are you most looking forward to watching?

When I flew to Stockholm in May to watch Bergvall play for Djurgarden, I was impressed by his quality on the ball but wondered how long it would take him to adjust to the Premier League. Judging from his pre-season performances, he will have no issues. The midfielder is extremely comfortable receiving the ball from deep, driving past players and attacking the box.

Bergvall’s assist for Dejan Kulusevski’s second goal against Bayern Munich last weekend encapsulates everything he offers. He won the ball high up the pitch and then poked it with the outside of his boot straight into Kulusevski’s path. He might need a few months to fully adjust to the intensity of Postecoglou’s demands but he looks like a star in the making.

The player with a point to prove is…

There are a couple of potential options here, including Richarlison who has rejected interest from the Saudi Pro League to remain with Spurs. When Richarlison was fully fit last season he excelled in Postecoglou’s system and scored nine goals in 10 games between December and February. The Brazilian scored only once after that, though, and needs to become more consistent. He will be feeling the pressure following Solanke’s arrival.

Spence falls into this category too. Many people thought he would be sold after spending the past 18 months on loan with Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa respectively, but it appears Postecoglou is willing to give him a second chance.

“I think he’s been very, very good for us this pre-season, in terms of the way he’s trained and his general attitude,” Postecoglou said about the full-back while on tour in Japan and South Korea. “I think there’s an opportunity for him here, for sure. Thinking about building a squad, he would definitely be somebody who could (contribute) with the attributes he has.

“A lot of these things are in the players’ hands themselves. They decide their own future in many respects, and I think Djed’s in that boat. Maybe he’s learned a couple of things over the last couple of years about himself and, hopefully, we can sort of bear the fruit of that.”

Which player could have a breakout season?

It has been an incredible few months for Moore.

In May, he became the youngest player to represent Tottenham in the Premier League when he came off the bench in their 2-0 defeat to Manchester City. He followed that up by scoring four goals for England at the Under-17 European Championship and then excelled on Tottenham’s pre-season tour. The 17-year-old winger signed his first professional contract this week and it is becoming hard to contain the excitement around him.

Keep an eye on Lankshear, too.

The deal they still need to do before the end of the window…

Two years after Yves Bissouma joined Spurs from Brighton & Hove Albion, there are still question marks about whether he is the perfect No 6 for this team.

Finding an upgrade on him will not be easy or cheap, however. Spurs want a central midfielder who can play further forward too but looked to have missed out on Gallagher while Ramsey appears to be staying put at Aston Villa.

Which Euros or Copa America player would be an ideal signing?

Take your pick from Spain’s midfield.

The game I’m most looking forward to is…

Spurs host Arsenal on September 15 just after the first international break. Dragusin, Van de Ven and Romero, who missed the bulk of pre-season after starring for their countries at the Euros and Copa America, will hopefully be fully up to speed by this point along with Destiny Udogie, who is still rebuilding his fitness following injury.

Solanke will have a few games under his belt and a better relationship with his new team-mates. After losing the last north London derby in April, Tottenham will be determined to strike back and deal an early blow to Arsenal’s title chances.

The stat to watch out for this season…

Spurs conceded 16 times from set pieces last season, which put them level with Burnley and Aston Villa. Only Luton Town, Sheffield United (both 19) and Nottingham Forest conceded more (23). Bayern exposed this weakness twice on Saturday. It is a problem that refuses to go away.

How likely is the manager to survive the season

Postecoglou’s appointment represented a shift in strategy from Levy following on from the divisive reigns of Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho. It would take something pretty dramatic to pull the plug on this project when the signs so far have been encouraging.

The Australian has been backed in the transfer market with incomings and outgoings and time will be needed for this young squad to reach its potential.

What is their best XI as things stand?

(4-3-3) Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bissouma, Maddison, Sarr; Johnson, Solanke, Son

A good season means…

Securing qualification for the Champions League and tasting success in the Europa League or one of the domestic cup competitions.

Predicted league finish

Fourth.

(Top photo by Daniel Pockett and Ian MacNicol, both via Getty Images)

Jay Harris reports on Tottenham Hotspur for The Athletic. He worked for Sky Sports News for four years before he joined The Athletic in 2021 and spent three seasons covering Brentford. He covered the 2022 World Cup from Qatar and the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. Follow Jay on Twitter @jaydmharris