Guardian writers’ predicted position: 8th (NB: this is not necessarily David Hytner’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 8th
Prospects
Is it possible to put the Harry Kane saga to one side? Maybe not – and not for the first time, this summer having carried echoes of the one from 2021 when the attempt of the club’s star player to force a move to Manchester City (albeit without success) cast long shadows. But let us try because it is a new Spurs dawn and, for the first time since Mauricio Pochettino’s departure in 2019, there is a sense of alignment that has provided the basis for optimism.
What it boils down to is the concept of identity – what Spurs are under the chairmanship of Daniel Levy and how they might best thrive. Moreover, and more importantly, what the fans want them to be. To answer the first part, they are a club that operates in a self-sustaining way, developing and promoting academy talent, making prudent moves on the transfer market. In terms of the second, they want to win by playing exciting, proactive football.
Levy’s appointments of José Mourinho and Antonio Conte felt like coups when he made them; there is no point in pretending otherwise. But, as with Nuno Espírito Santo in between times, they did not work; the fit was wrong. Ange Postecoglou, Levy’s latest move to recreate the good vibes of the Pochettino era, seems to tick all the boxes, although he knows that the job is enormous on every level. Spurs fell alarmingly last season, down to eighth place and missing European qualification for the first time since 2008-09. The only way has to be up.
The manager
Ange Postecoglou loves a rebuild, which is just as well. The one in front of him begins with the requirement to restore morale – shattered under Conte – and to reconfigure tactically. Conte’s squad was tailored for his 3-4-3 system while Postecoglou wants to play his trademark 4-3-3 in which the full-backs step high and inside in possession and the emphasis is on spaces and options, risk and domination. For the 57-year-old, it has been a long road, taking in the leagues in Australia, Japan and Scotland – plus the Australia national team. He has had to be flawless at every turn. The same applies again.
Leading the shirt sales
Richarlison may lag behind the runaway leader, Son Heung-min, but Brazil’s No 9 is not without his marketability, especially as he always comes across on social media as such a fun-loving character. His problem last time out, after a £50m switch from Everton, was his lack of goals and everybody remembers Conte’s comment from March. “Richarlison said: ‘My season is shit’ and he is right,” Conte said. Richarlison would finish with three Spurs goals and what they want now is more of the international version. Richarlison impressed at the Qatar World Cup, scoring three times, including the scissor kick that was named as the goal of the tournament.
Folk hero
There is something about Cristian Romero that many Spurs fans cannot help but love. It is death or glory when the Argentina centre-half throws himself into a challenge or, at least, cards/errors or thrilling wins and this is a part of it. The physical attributes are pronounced – the pace and the strength – and then there is the basic relish for the one-on-one contact, the nigglier the better. But really it is the strutting self-assurance, the sense he was born to win the World Cup, which he has now done, and play for whichever club is lucky enough to have him.
One to watch
Spurs have had to wait for Destiny Udogie, signing him last summer for £16.8m from Udinese and loaning him back for the season, but the feeling is that it will be worth it. The 20-year-old, born in Italy to parents of Nigerian heritage, is recognised as a left wing-back but foresees no problems in adapting to a left-back role under Postecoglou. Listed at 6ft 2in, the Italy under-21 international is a powerhouse who loves to drive forward with the ball, showcasing his pace and spirit of adventure. He looks ideal for Postecoglou.
