The summer transfer window was hugely successful for Tottenham Hotspur, as Thomas Frank attempts to be a success during his first season in charge in North London.
He was handed over £100m to make the changes he craved to the first-team squad, adding new bodies to multiple areas of the Lilywhites side ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Joao Palhinha is just one of the new additions made by the Dane, with the Portuguese international already making an immediate impact with his new side.
The 30-year-old may be a defensive-minded option, but he’s already opened his account for the Lilywhites, netting the second goal in the 2-0 triumph over Manchester City at the Etihad.
He’s just one of numerous additions made by the new boss over recent times, with other players hoping to make a similar impact during their own stint in the Premier League.
Spurs’ moves to land Tel & Kolo Muani this summer
Deadline day was a frantic one for Spurs, as they looked to provide further quality and depth to help build on their excellent start to life under Frank’s guidance.
Randal Kolo Muani moved to North London on a season-long loan from French giants PSG, subsequently fending off competition from Juventus, the club he spent six months on loan at last campaign.
The deal to land the 26-year-old doesn’t include an option to buy next summer, but the deal could see Frank land a new talisman – especially if he can replicate his tally of 10 goals in 22 matches in Italy during 2024/25.
His compatriot Mathys Tel also made a move to join the Lilywhites, but the 20-year-old’s switch to England was a permanent one after spending the second half of the previous year on loan during the Ange Postecoglou tenure.
The hierarchy forked out £30m to land the youngster during the off-season, but such a move has already caused controversy, given the decisions around his selection.
Tel wasn’t selected in the club’s Champions League squad for the group stage – a decision that has surprised many, whilst undoubtedly being an upsetting one for the player himself.
The former Spurs star who’s worth more than Tel & Kolo Muani
Spurs’ youth setup has produced numerous top-level talents over the last couple of years, but none more so than Harry Kane – rising through the academy before cementing his place in the first-team.
The Englishman ended up making over 400 appearances for the Lilywhites, ending his decade-long spell in North London on 280 goals across all competitions.
Such a tally is the highest of any player in the club’s history, overtaking the record set by the late Jimmy Greaves – subsequently cementing his place in the club’s history forever.
He would depart in a £82m transfer to join German giants Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023, with the club banking a huge profit on one of their homegrown talents.
However, the same can’t be said for winger Noni Madueke, with the Englishman failing to make a name for himself during his own stint in North London.
The attacker spent four years in the Lilywhites’ academy side between 2014 and 2018, but was unable to make a jump into the first-team – subsequently leaving the club on a free transfer to join Dutch outfit PSV.
The 23-year-old would go on to spend just shy of four years at the Eredivisie side, racking up a total of 20 goals – before getting his big-money move to Chelsea in January 2023.
Madueke, who’s been labelled “sensational” by content creator George Benson, joined the Blues for a fee in the region of £29m, but made yet another transfer move during the recent summer window.
He moved across the capital to join Spurs’ North London rivals Arsenal, costing a staggering £52m in an attempt to provide needed depth and cover to compatriot Bukayo Saka.
As a result of his big-money switch, the attacker is now valued at £34.6m by Transfermarkt – further highlighting the mistake the Lilywhites made in allowing him to depart for nothing.
October 2019
£520k
April 2020
£3.9m
October 2020
£5.2m
October 2021
£15.6m
September 2022
£13m
January 2023
£29m move to Chelsea
June 2023
£26m
October 2024
£30m
December 2024
£34.7m
July 2025
£52m move to Arsenal
His subsequent value is higher than those of Tel and Kolo Muani, with the French duo only currently valued at £30.3m and £25.9m respectively by the same site.
There’s no denying that the aforementioned duo are excellent players and ones that would thrive under Frank’s guidance – but that doesn’t take away from the mistake of allowing Madueke to leave for absolutely nothing.
His tally of 13 Premier League goals is higher than both of the Lilywhites’ new additions, potentially being a more suited option in England’s top-flight – but it’s now down to the new boss to get the best out of the players currently at his disposal.
