Can Spurs repeat their Champions League form in the Premiership?

Spurs’ Champions league dream may have ended in tears with a 2-0 defeat in Madrid, but n-one can deny that the Lilywhites were on top form throughout the campaign.

Mauricio Pochettino is justly proud of the fact that he took Spurs to their first Champions League Final in the club’s history. But he’s also right in saying that next season has to mark a new beginning for the club, and that major changes have to be made if Tottenham are to justify the money that’s been invested in them.

That investment includes nearly £16m on the new stadium, and it’s no secret that the club is currently roughly £600m in debt. That’s not a good position to be in when you want to rebuild a team ahead of a new Premier League season.

Fresh energy

Famously, Spurs haven’t signed a new player since Lucas Moura last January. But Pochettino has made it clear he intends to bring in new blood, and he’s right to do so. Spurs need a boost in their available talent pool, and they also need some fresh energy and ideas. New players­­, and more importantly ­the right players, are the only way to do that. But bringing the best new players on board takes money, and that’s one thing Spurs haven’t got.

Before we talk about how that particular problem might be solved, let’s take a closer look at why bringing in new players is so important. It’s not just a matter of talent. Of course it’s important to have a world-class side out there on the pitch, and each individual player contributes hugely to that end. It’s a no-brainer: the best team is the one with the best players.

But given that Spurs already have some incredible players, and no money to spend, might not the best idea be to make the best of what we’ve got? After all, what we’ve got, from Harry Kane down, is pretty impressive.

Unfortunately that’s not an option. Spurs had a great run in the Champions League, and in the 2018/19 season before that, but the unbiased observer would have to admit that their style of play was growing increasingly stale as time went on.

All change

Spurs need new players not just for their own sake, but to freshen up the whole team’s approach. New strategies, new styles of play and new dynamics are all desperately needed. Without this, Tottenham are going to start looking pretty tired pretty soon.

So Pochettino needs to buy in new players. How is he going to do it? The answer is simple: sell some of the existing squad. And yes, that means selling players that some consider our brightest talent, because they’re the ones that other clubs are going to be willing to pay big money for.

According to the Sportsbet.io Soccer News Main Page, Spurs were recently named fourth favourites to win the Premiership in 2020. That puts them behind Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United at roughly 12/1, but ahead of rival London clubs Chelsea and Arsenal, both at 20/1.

That means the Lilywhites are in with a real chance. But to pull it off they need to start thinking like a top club again. In fact, Spurs could do well to take a leaf out of Liverpool’s book. The Reds lost the Champions League in 2018 but went away and completely rebuilt the team. They’ve bounced back this season like nobody’s business.

A clean break

We need to let Danny Rose go, yes. But we also need to take the best offer for Christian Eriksen and Kieran Trippier. Toby Alderweireld has a £25m release clause in his contract, but there are plenty of clubs willing to pay that amount or more for his signature.

Letting go of players of Alderweireld’s quality is always going to be hard, but Spurs need a change of style as well as talent. With the money for those players, we can afford Ryan Sessegnon. We could bring in Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon, Giovani Lo Celso from Real Betis, and maybe swap Rose for Lucas Digne at Everton.

All these names are already in the frame. It’s just a question of making that leap of faith: letting some good players go, but bringing in players who are just as good and maybe better. But just as important is the very act of shaking things up.

Change and uncertainty are always frightening. Why change a winning formula? The answer is clear: it’s not a winning formula at all, because at the end of the day, we lost. Change is needed, and Pochettino needs to do whatever is necessary to make Spurs into a world-beating club with a world-beating mentality once again.