Tottenham fans will have their fingers crossed that Fabio Paratici springs into action in 12 days' time with the January transfer window opening for business. Although it may not seem that long action that players such as Djed Spence and Clement Lenglet signed on the dotted line at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 2023 is almost here and that means potential new incomings.
Having added depth to Antonio Conte's squad in the summer with six additions for the current campaign, now it is about Paratici adding some further quality to give the team a boost at such a crucial time in the season. He did exactly that earlier in the year with Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski transforming the Tottenham team and putting them on the path to a Champions League finish.
What Paratici and Tottenham need to avoid in January is going over the club's non-homegrown player quota as it has proved incredibly troublesome in the past. It is very much a balancing act as clubs are not allowed to name more than 17 foreign players in their 25-man Premier League or Champions League squad, with the rules slightly different in both competitions.
So where exactly do Tottenham stand at present ahead of the January transfer window? football.london takes a look.
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Premier League squad
Tottenham have two available spaces in their 25-man squad having only named 23 players (14 non-homegrown and nine homegrown) in September. Bryan Gil, Pape Matar Sarr and Harvey White are not part of the 25-man squad as the trio qualify for the Under-21s list due to their age.
As things stand, there is space for Tottenham to add two more non-homegrown players to their Premier League squad without the need to part with any of the current 23 players. Potential exits would open up the door for Tottenham to add more than two foreign players if they so wished.
However, what Paratici and the club must do is get the balance just right as the Premier League rules do differ to the Champions League.
Premier League non-homegrown players: Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski, Emerson Royal, Clement Lenglet, Hugo Lloris, Ivan Perisic, Lucas Moura, Cristian Romero, Davinson Sanchez (14)
Premier League homegrown players: Brandon Austin, Ben Davies, Matt Doherty, Fraser Forster, Harry Kane, Ryan Sessegnon, Oliver Skipp, Djed Spence, Japhet Tanganga (9)
Notable Under-21s players: Bryan Gil, Pape Matar Sarr, Harvey White
Champions League squad
As noted above, the Champions League regulations are different to those in the Premier League. Matt Doherty is classed as a non-homegrown player in Europe after learning his trade outside of England, with Eric Dier also in the same boat due to his years in Portugal.
Ben Davies was previously classed as a non-homegrown player but is now deemed homegrown by UEFA after they altered their position on Welsh players who trained at clubs affiliated with the English league system. The change did help Tottenham out in September as they were on course to be one over the non-homegrown rule until UEFA's stance changed.
In the UEFA competition, clubs also submit a B list for those born on or after January 1, 2001, and registered at the club for an uninterrupted period of two seasons. Bryan and Sarr are young enough to be included on the B list, but unfortunately for Tottenham, they haven't been at the club for an uninterrupted period of two seasons, meaning they are instead on the non-homegrown player list.
Tottenham are now bang on the limit of 17 non-homegrown players in Europe, meaning any new foreign addition would only be able to be added to the squad if a current foreign player was left out. Pape Matar Sarr could possibly be one who makes way after not featuring in the competition so far, while possible January exits would also help free up space.
Champions League non-homegrown players: Hugo Lloris, Matt Doherty, Davinson Sanchez, Emerson Royal, Eric Dier, Cristian Romero, Clement Lenglet, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Son Heung-min, Ivan Perisic, Dejan Kulusevski, Pape Matar Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison, Bryan Gil, Lucas Moura (17)
Champions League homegrown players: Brandon Austin, Fraser Forster, Ryan Sessegnon, Djed Spence, Japhet Tanganga, Ben Davies, Oliver Skipp, Harry Kane (8)
B list: Harvey White
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