How Spurs’ £270m starting XI of instant top four contenders could look next season

A new manager, a new season – a new beginning for Spurs? The 2022/23 campaign may have devolved into something of a disaster, and Harry Kane may well be leaving after all these years, but any new chapter provides some cause for optimism, and a quick look at the Spurs squad still shows up plenty of quality – even if Kane isn’t in it.

And with a lengthy list of high-calibre players being linked with a move to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium this summer, the starting eleven could still be pretty strong as the Ange Postecoglou era gets underway. Today, we’re going to break down a plausible starting side for the Australian head coach, and see what impact some of those new signings could have.

Postecoglou has pretty much exclusively played a 4-3-3 formation since taking over as Australia manager back in 2013, but he’s been very flexible in how he lines up his midfield, playing to the strengths of the players he has rather than trying to shoehorn them into predetermined roles – at Celtic he’s used Callum McGregor as a deep-lying playmaker, but at Australia he preferred a double pivot. That means there’s a lot of options when it comes to the combination he employs at Spurs, but we can reasonably anticipate the basic set-up he’ll be using.

Using projected transfer fees, Spurs’ past payments and estimated values of current players, we reckon it all adds up to about £270m of talent that Postecoglou will have to play with – but would this team have what it takes to send Spurs back into the top four?

GK: David Raya - £35m

Spurs seem to have jumped to the front of the queue for the Spanish stopper, and while negotiations are ongoing – an initial bid of £20m was rejected out of hand, with Brentford holding out for closer to double that – the Lilywhites have stolen a march on Manchester United in the battle for the goalkeeper’s signature.

Raya has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League for the last two seasons, with outstanding shot-stopping statistics behind him and hugely improved distribution. With a long-term successor to Hugo Lloris one of Spurs’ top priorities, they could make a huge signing here.

LB: Ivan Perišić – Free

No solid rumours have emerged linking Spurs with an upgrade at left-back, which means that Perišić and Ben Davies are likely to continue to compete for the role.

Postecoglou likes to his wing-backs to become key cogs in the attack, typically shifting to three at the back in possession and moving one of his wide defenders up to supplement the attack. That probably makes the Croatian the main man, although at 34 years old there will be plenty of rotation going on.

CB: Jonathan Tah - £15m

Spurs have recently entered the race to sign the German international centre-back, and are starting to look like his most likely destination – although he may yet sign a new contract with Bayer Leverkusen, or head elsewhere with West Ham United strongly linked.

Tall, powerful, a composed passer of the ball and a rock solid all-round presence at the back, Tah could be a great addition to a backline that needs some extra steel after struggling for large parts of the recent campaign. The price is likely to be somewhere slightly north of £15m.

CB: Cristian Romero - £15m

Probably Spurs’ best centre-half since arriving from Atalanta two years ago, Romero would make a good foil for an imposing physical presence like Tah. With Clément Lenglet unlikely to be signed permanently after a disappointing season in north London, Romero and Eric Dier will both be used heavily as Spurs look to battle their way back to European football – and based on recent performances, Romero is probably the favourite for the starting berth.

RB: Pedro Porro - £40m

Cover your ears, Tim Sherwood – Porro may not have tickled the fancy of the former Spurs coach successfully, but impressive performances against the likes of Manchester United, Leeds United and Crystal Palace gave the lie to a slightly rocky start for the Portuguese full-back, and there’s no reason to believe that Tottenham will try to wriggle out of their £40m obligation to buy.

Spurs are one of the many clubs linked with a move for Galatasaray’s right-back Sacha Boey, so it’s possible that Porro could end up with some competition for a starting spot – but it looks very likely that he’ll be the first-choice man on the right flank for the start of the new campaign.

CM: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg - £15m

If Postecoglou does want someone to play the deep-lying role that McGregor has for Celtic this season, then he could do a whole lot worse than the Danish midfielder, who is just as tidy in the tackle as he is with his distribution.

The former Southampton man has been practically an ever-present since arriving in 2020, and there’s nobody on Spurs’ shopping list that’s likely to dislodge him from the starting line-up this summer.

CM: Rodrigo Bentancur - £20m

The typically combative Uruguayan midfielder would work well either in a double pivot or as the second leg of a three-man midfield, and his solid passing and impressive defensive game mean he’s likely to see plenty of game-time.

Spurs may be in the market for another midfielder cut from a similar cloth – they’re supposedly one of the many suitors for Fulham’s João Palhinha – so his spot is perhaps a little less bolted on than Højbjerg’s, but don’t expect him to fall too far down the pecking order, regardless of what Oliver Skipp or any new recruits can do.

CM: James Maddison - £40m

One thing Spurs do need is a genuine creative force in the heart of the park – and they’re one of quite a few clubs in the running for Maddison. Whether they win that bidding war is up for debate – they may have a hard time topping any offer that Newcastle United make, for instance – but the rumour mill has been sending Spurs’ name to the front of the queue of late, and they seem to be serious contenders for the England international’s signature.

If Kane does end up departing, they’ll badly need someone who can link up the lines and fill the half-spaces between attack and midfield the way their star striker has done so effectively for many years. Maddison fits the bill beautifully.

LW: Son Heung-Min - £50m

Despite rumours linking Son with a move to the Saudi Pro League in 2024, he’ll still be lining up with Spurs come September barring something very surprising – and if the South Korean star can find his best form again, he’ll be hugely important for any chances of a charge back towards the top four.

Whether he can regain some of the spark he seemed to lose last season – especially with his partnership with Kane possibly being broken up – remains one of the biggest questions hanging over the new season.

CF: Elye Wahi - £20m

A new name linked with Spurs in the last few days, if Kane does end up moving to Madrid then Spurs could do an awful lot worse than the 20-year-old Montpellier striker, who racked up 19 goals in Ligue 1 during a hugely impressive campaign.

Fast, skilful and blessed with a proven eye for goal, the France Under-21 international is going places at serious speed, and would be one hell of an investment at the rumoured £20m price point. He also won this season’s goal of the year award in France for his sensational overhead kick against Lyon.

RW: Dejan Kulusevski - £20m

One of the smaller transfer sagas bubbling away this summer has been that of Spurs’ attempts to seal the permanent signing of the Swede from Juventus after a hugely impressive start to life in London while on loan. Juve want Spurs to honour their €35m option on the deal – Spurs want to shave it down to more like €20m.

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We’re going to assume that, despite his hardball negotiating style, Daniel Levy makes sure this deal goes through sooner or later, even if he can’t get the discount he wants. Kulusevski has been one of Spurs’ best performers over the past year or so, and it would be a bad start to life under the new regime if he wasn’t in the squad that shows up for pre-season training.