Spurs in unfamiliar territory heading into summer transfer window
For the first time in a while, Spurs can take an outsider's view of the chaos going on around the Premier League this summer
You know the usual summer drill at Tottenham Hotspur with the big transfer meeting showdown set for all parties just days after the season ends?
It's been a part of life at the club for years. In 2022 it was such a big deal that it was set to define whether Antonio Conte remained at the club for a second season with talks of a summit to be held in Italy between chairman Daniel Levy, then managing director of football Fabio Paratici and the head coach all ready to thrash things out.
In the end, that didn't quite materialise. With a successful end to the season, Conte had already agreed to stay anyway and, instead, it was just he and Paratici who met in Turin to decide on the summer's targets.
Hindsight showed us that the hope of that meeting would eventually fizzle out over the season as the awkwardness of the Conte and Tottenham pairing grew ever more glaring with each passing month.
So when will the big Ange Postecoglou transfer showdown happen this year? Who will be assembled around the table with the Australian, like a scene from one of the Godfather movies? Will Paratici lurk in an armchair in the shadows, providing the odd word of consultation as some kind of freelance consigliere?
The answer, which might disappoint some fans of the above scenario, is no, as there does not look to be any such showdown on the horizon, because - and whisper it quietly - Spurs actually look like they know what they're doing already and have their plans in place.
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