As Tottenham Hotspur gear up for a defining summer transfer window, The Spurs News has spoken to a football finance expert to get the low down on the club’s finances.
It’s expected to be a summer of change at Spurs as Ange Postecoglou continues to re-shape the first-team squad in his image.
The Aussie boss delivered a fifth-place finish in his debut season, which sees Tottenham return to the European competition after missing out last term.
Reports claimed just last month that Spurs are ready to offload 15 players this summer and progress has already been made on that front.
The club announced just yesterday that Eric Dier, Ryan Sessegnon, Japhet Tanganga and Ivan Perisic have all been released.
We’ve spoken to TBR Football finance expert Adam Williams about the general state of play at Tottenham and how these four departures may impact the summer spending.
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Tottenham could ‘outspend almost every Premier League club’
Following the departures of Tanganga, Dier, Sessegnon and Perisic, Spurs are set to save around £17 million per year in wages.
With Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) currently having a huge impact across the Premier League, Tottenham also find themselves in a commanding position on that front.
Williams has told The Spurs News that Daniel Levy’s approach at Tottenham seems to be paying off with the Premier League and UEFA placing more emphasis on long-term, sustainable growth.
With the current position Spurs are in when it comes to PSR, they could technically outspend the majority of clubs in England’s top flight this summer.
But whether or not that becomes a reality is ultimately down to Levy and ENIC’s approach in the upcoming transfer window.
“Having looked at the numbers, it looks as though Spurs will save about £17m per year in wages for the four players. By extension, that’s £17m that will be factored into their PSR calculation for 2024-25,” Williams told The Spurs News.
“They’ll be disappointed not to have been in a position to receive a fee for Tanganga. As an academy product, any cash they had received would have counted as ‘pure profit’ in terms of PSR.
“That’s why, for those clubs flirting with the upper limits of PSR, academy players are often the first to be sold.
“And with a new squad cost control ratio set to tighten the net and effectively anchor spending to revenue, every extra pound counts – even for the likes of Spurs, who have ample room for manoeuvre.
“The other three players had net book value of either zero or close to zero at the close of their contracts, so there is not much lost in terms of opportunity cost.
“Essentially, they have got their money’s worth – in accounting terms, at least. Their exits will show up as neutral in the accounts, while their salaries will be deducted from PSR.
“In theory, Spurs have more scope to spend this summer than almost every other Premier League team under PSR.
“Daniel Levy’s decision to invest in sustainable, long-term growth appears to be paying off, with both UEFA and the Premier League now placing more emphasis on this area.”
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Ange Postecoglou’s spending at Tottenham so far
While Tottenham have often received criticism over their approach in the transfer market, Postecoglou has received sufficient backing so far.
The club moved to bring in Micky van de Ven (£43m), Guglielmo Vicario (£17.2m), James Maddison (£40m), Brennan Johnson (£47.5m) and Alejo Veliz (£13m) last summer.
Spurs also made Dejan Kulusevski’s move permanent for £25 million before swooping for Radu Dragusin for a fee worth £26.7 million in January.
In total, Tottenham have spent £211.4 million on transfer fees since hiring the Aussie boss last summer.
It would appear the club have the scope to continue their spending this summer and Spurs supporters will certainly be hoping to see more big names arrive at Hotspur Way over the next three months.
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