Tottenham moved with uncharacteristic speed to sign six new players before the start of the season, dramatically increasing Antonio Conte's options.
Yves Bissouma is a dynamic, press-resistant midfielder and in Richarlison they have finally signed a worthy understudy to Harry Kane, as well as competition for Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski. Clement Lenglet is experienced defensive cover and, in time, Djed Spence is expected to be a shaped into a Conte wing-back.
Spurs also moved on all their unwanted players, although there is a danger they have only kicked the can down the road regarding the futures of Joe Rodon, Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, Harry Winks and Sergio Reguilon, who all left on loan.
Could they have been more proactive in capitalising on the club's position of strength after a £150million injection from owners ENIC and return to the Champions League?
Perhaps, and there are lingering concerns about their options at right wing-back and centre-half, while they were unable to upgrade on squad players Bryan Gil and Japhet Tanganga. Certainly Conte's reluctance to use his bench in the opening weeks of the season suggests he still has reservations about some of his players.
The head coach, though, was wary of doing too much business too soon and has said it will take three transfer windows to turn Spurs into title challengers, so a degree of patience is needed when considering their ongoing rebuild. Fans will also want more but should be satisfied with a solid summer window.
Grade: A-
In
Ivan Perisic (Inter Milan, free)
Fraser Forster (Southampton, free)
Yves Bissouma (Brighton, £25m)
Richarlison (Everton, £60m)
Clement Lenglet (Barcelona, loan)
Djed Spence (Middlesbrough, £20m)
Destiny Udogie (Udinese, £15m)
Out
Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic, £6.3m)
Steven Bergwijn (Ajax, £25.8m)
Jack Clarke (Sunderland, undisclosed)
Destiny Udogie (Udinese, loan)
Joe Rodon (Rennes, loan)
Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal, loan)
Tanguy Ndombele (Napoli, loan)
Sergio Reguilon (Atletico Madrid, loan)
Harry Winks (Sampdoria, loan)
