The 2023/24 campaign was always going to be one of transformation for Tottenham Hotspur but Ange Postecoglou certainly started life in London with a bang.
After ten matches in the Premier League, Spurs had collected eight victories and drawn twice, once on the opening day at Brentford and again at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal.
And this despite the sale of august talisman Harry Kane; Tottenham's record scorer is a lionised figure at the club but after last year's eighth-placed finish he departed for pastures new and moved to Bayern Munich.
There have been bumps in the road but that was to be expected. What matters at this stage is that Spurs have an identity once again and are displaying signs of continual growth under their Australian manager's leadership, having overcome a blip before the festive period to now yield just one defeat from the past eight league outings, fifth in the table.
With so many outfits fighting for prominence, it was vital chairman Daniel Levy got it right during the January transfer window.
Spurs' January spending
Before the winter market swung open its shutters, Postecoglou had revealed that his priority was to strengthen Tottenham's central defensive options, with the absences of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero punctuating the seasonal efforts with setbacks.
As such, Radu Dragusin, aged 21, was brought in from Genoa in a £27m deal to replace Eric Dier, who had been languishing on the periphery for most of the campaign and has now completed a loan move to Bayern Munich, with a £3m buy option inserted.
While Tottenham have not augmented their defensive ranks as such, youngster Ashley Phillips also completing a loan move to Plymouth Argyle in the Championship, Postecoglou is starting to mould his players to his liking and Dragusin has been regarded for his "complete & dominant" style by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
With Heung-min Son away at the Asia Cup with South Korea, Timo Werner was also landed from RB Leipzig on a six-month loan deal – with an option to buy for £15m – and while he has been something of a mixed bag across his opening fixtures, the German international already has two assists to his name.
While Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher was pursued throughout the month, Tottenham were seemingly told that their interest would bring no fruit and an official offer was never lodged.
Spurs may already have their own Conor Gallagher in the academy
The Lilywhites could promote one of their own and put that money to better use elsewhere.
ByJack Salveson Holmes
The window was rounded off nicely on deadline day. Spurs had already conducted the necessary business of the month but an attempt to hijack Barcelona's prospective deal for teenage sensation Lucas Bergvall was successful and the Swedish midfielder was landed for £8.5m, linking up with the London club from Djurgårdens IF in the summer.
A centre-forward was not signed, however, and while there were several names discussed, Levy and co must rue the fact that Brentford stood firm and rebuffed any notion of a move for their prolific talisman Ivan Toney.
The centre-forward Spurs wanted
Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle United were all eyeing a move for Toney last month but Bees boss Thomas Frank had verbally slapped a £100m price tag on the England international to dissuade suitors. It would seem that it worked. Spurs obviously weren't willing to pay a club-record fee for the attacker.
Toney returned to competitive action several weeks ago after completing an eight-month suspension after breaching FA betting rules and has scored in both of his Premier League matches this term, displaying little sign of ring rust.
The 27-year-old may yet be available in the summer and this is something that Tottenham will be following with a vested interest, but Levy and co may look back with a rueful gaze at an opportunity missed, with teams likely to be better-equipped for heavy outlays after the close of the campaign.
Ivan Toney's best qualities
So will Tottenham fare well having opted not to sharpen their arrowhead last month? In fairness, Heung-min Son has proved his worth as a central striking force this season and Richarlison has bagged nine goals from his past eight matches in the top-flight.
1.
Erling Haaland
Manchester City
14
1.
Mohamed Salah
Liverpool
14
3.
Dominic Solanke
Bournemouth
13
4.
Son Heung-min
Tottenham Hotspur
12
5.
Ollie Watkins
Aston Villa
11
5.
Jarrod Bowen
West Ham United
11
7.
Richarlison
Tottenham Hotspur
10
7.
Hwang Hee-chan
Wolverhampton Wanderers
10
7.
Alexander Isak
Newcastle United
10
7.
Cole Palmer
Chelsea
10
To say that the Brazilian has been in clinical form would be quite the understatement, having finally unlocked his destructive streak after struggling for so long since moving to the capital from Everton for £60m back in 2022.
But for all his prolificness, Richarlison does not offer the dynamism and intelligence of Toney, whose style of play even led Declan Rice to proclaim that he is "like Harry Kane", scoring 20 goals from 33 Premier League appearances last term but also providing four assists, winning 6.7 duels on average each game and creating a whopping 12 big chances.
To emphasise this point, Toney ranks among the top 13% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive passes, the top 17% for interceptions and aerial duels won and the top 12% clearances per 90, as per FBref.
Described as a "monster" of a centre-forward by Frank, Toney really could be the final piece of the puzzle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Postecoglou must ensure that the club prioritise his acquisition if funds are put aside to sign a new striker in the summer.
And while Son and Richarlison are both excellent players, the former's best qualities are found on the left wing and evidence suggests that Toney could match Richarlison's striking rate while blending different facets together to increase the cohesion and fluency down N17.
