Spurs sign £68m Palace star and Champions League finalist in £354m dream XI - if rumours prove true

To say the very least, Tottenham Hotspur have some work to do this summer if they want to get back on track. The outcome of the Europa League final notwithstanding, this has been a disastrous season, and the squad plainly needs some fresh investment.

A new manager may end up being Daniel Levy’s single greatest priority, but there could be quite a few new faces on the pitch, too – and keeping track of the many transfer rumours surrounding Spurs right now isn’t easy, making it hard to know who could be coming through the door and which stories simply aren’t plausible.

To make life marginally easier, we’ve used the accumulated knowledge accrued from months of trawling through gossip columns to put together a potential starting XI for Spurs next season, based on the most persistent and probable transfer tales currently doing the rounds. It adds up to a hefty £354m worth of talent on the pitch… but who knows which coach will charged with getting a tune out of them.

Goalkeeper & Defence

GK: Guglielmo Vicario (£17m); LB: Destiny Udogie (£17m), RB: Pedro Porro (£38m), CB: Micky van de Ven (£35m), Yann Bisseck (£35m*)

It looks increasingly likely that experienced Argentine centre-back Cristian Romero will move to Atlético Madrid in the summer, and there was arguably a need for a new centre-back anyway, so we expect Spurs to invest in that department in the coming months.

They like Dean Huijsen, Marc Guéhi and Jonathan Tah but all three are likely to move elsewhere (Real Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern Munich being the respective favourites), so we think the most likely of the current crop of reports to prove true is the link to Inter Milan’s Yann Bisseck, who seems to be up for sale despite a strong season which has helped his side to the brink of a Serie A and Champions League double. The asking price is unclear, with reports all over the place - £35m is a fair but conservative estimate.

Elsewhere, reports have suggested outside interest in both Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, but it all look a bit tenuous just now, with the clubs suggested seemingly prioritising other players – Real Madrid, for instance, are set to get Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester City want Andrea Cambiaso, so neither look that likely to move for Porro. As it stands, the odds that both stay put are solid.

Midfield

DM: Angel Gomes (free*), Pape Matar Sarr (£14m); AM: James Maddison (£40m)

Ange Postecoglou was practically begging for midfielders last summer and whoever’s in charge at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can probably expect to get at least one through the door this time around.

Reports suggest that Spurs are the firm favourites to land impending free agent Angel Gomes after his Lille contract expires, but it would be no surprise to see at least one more midfield turn up. Pape Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur will likely stick around to compete for places, but we expect Yves Bissouma to leave. Aston Villa are said to be interested.

We don’t expect James Maddison’s number ten place to be seriously challenged, especially with Dejan Kulusevski more than capable of playing there too – we think the investment in more creative areas will focus on the flanks.

Forwards

LW: Eberechi Eze (£68m*), RW: Rayan Cherki (£25m*); CF: Dominic Solanke (£65m)

We think Spurs will sign at least two wide forwards this summer, with the potential for more if they offer positional flexibility and can provide support for Dominic Solanke up front. Richarlison and Timo Werner will make more than likely make way.

Spurs seem to be high up the queue for Eberechi Eze, who has a £68m release clause in his Crystal Palace contract, while recent reports from France suggest that enquiries have been made over the prodigiously talented Rayan Cherki, who is probably available for an affordable fee from his cash-strapped Lyon side.

Spurs are apparently hoping to negotiate the purchase option they have in Mathys Tel’s loan deal down to a more affordable amount after his performances improved in recent weeks, but the gifted Frenchman’s future remains up in the air. Son Heung-Min will, of course, still be around.

While Spurs are also keeping tabs on several strikers, including Jonathan David and Liam Delap, they currently seem unlikely to land either and may end up not signing a senior centre-forward, instead using more flexible players like Tel to provide cover as required. A young back-up is a definite possibility, but financial constraints mean that Spurs are unlikely to land a big-money number nine.