When hope seemed to be lost in N17, Antonio Conte came in and changed everything. The Italian has had a major influence on the Tottenham side that were struggling under Nuno Espirito Santo.
The 52-year-old's impact has been seen on and off the pitch and helped Spurs finish the 2021/22 season inside the top four. This means they will return to the Champions League for the next campaign, which is even more of an incentive for potential transfer targets this summer.
Conte wants at least six new arrivals this summer and needs upgrades in various positions, to help strengthen his current Tottenham side. The Lilywhites already seem close to securing deals to bring Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic to N17, with both their contracts at their current clubs expiring this summer.
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Spurs' world-class manager, facilities and great location, as well as the attraction of Champions League football should all help in their push to bring players to N17. Christian Eriksen has already admitted that he would "love to play Champions League football again" and that is likely to be a thought shared with many others, whose current clubs can't offer it.
Conte doesn't only need new players for upgrades with the squad he already has, the Italian also needs to increase the size of his Spurs side. Earlier this month, the 52-year-old commented on the size of his squad, with Tottenham having to deal with numerous injuries and absences throughout the season.
"We need to improve a lot, a lot, to improve the quality of our squad and the numbers in our squad. At this moment, we are fighting with 14 players and 14 players is a tiny squad," Conte admitted.
The Italian was having to use a handful of the academy team in his matchday squads, due to his missing players. This will become even more important with the introduction of the five substitution rule next season.
This was something originally introduced in May 2020, due to the pandemic and will now return for the 2022/23 season. It wasn't used during the 2020/21 or 2021/22 campaigns but is something that will, next season, see managers be able to make enough substitutions to change almost half of their team during a game.
Quality on the bench is something Tottenham have struggled with this season, especially in some moments when game-changing players could've turned a defeat into a draw or one point into three. Therefore Conte needs these extra players to help solve that issue.
However, the upcoming World Cup could cause a blow in Spurs' pursuit for some players. One position the Lilywhites need backup in, is a striker, with Tottenham already being linked with the likes of Darwin Nunez and Gabriel Jesus.
Harry Kane is Conte's current number one striker and won't be pushed down the pecking order with a new arrival, meaning whoever made the move to north London would have to accept that they won't be in the starting XI every week. This is something Jamie O'Hara pointed out as a potential struggle for his former club, when speaking to Grosvenor Sport.
"It’s such a difficult one trying to sign a striker for Tottenham because every single striker knows if you’re coming to play for Tottenham you’re sat on the bench. You’re playing Carabao Cup games, FA Cup games and you might feature off the bench in the Champions League," he admitted.
"But Harry Kane is the number one and he’ll always be the number one, so you’ve got to be prepared to play second fiddle and that’s hard for a player when you’re going to a huge football club, to accept you’re not going to start. It’s a difficult situation for Tottenham."
During a normal summer transfer window, this could cause a problem for Spurs, not just for a striker, but with various positions. However, with the World Cup coming up, it causes even more difficulty.
Players will be battling to play for their country in the international competition at the end of the year. Unlike previous World Cups, the competition will take place just a few months into the Premier League season and if players aren't getting game time for their club, they aren't likely to be able to expect to be regulars for their country.
Tottenham will have a busy fixture schedule with league games, alongside cup and European matches, but will this be enough opportunity for some players? This will create a conflict of needing top players to strengthen the side and add depth, with the new five substitution rule, but also trying to encourage players who want game time ahead of the World Cup to still make the move.
Spurs will have to hope they have enough attraction in N17 to bring the right players into Conte's side, who can help them have an even more successful season than the one that has just come to an end.
