Premier League profile 2015/16: Tottenham

All in all, it has been a successful pre-season for Tottenham in the transfer window. Although they haven’t made any superstar signings, those they have made are definitely astute.

Spurs are 6/1 with Coral for a top four Premier League finish this season and there is a general feeling that manager Mauricio Pochettino is gradually building the foundations of a very promising team at White Hart Lane.

In Kieran Trippier, he has signed a young, hungry right back with plenty of potential, crucially, he is English. Acquiring Belgian centre half Toby Alderweireld on a permanent basis could prove to be one of the smartest pieces of business this summer by any club, after the player decided to turn down Southampton having spent last season there on loan.

Pairing him with international teammate Jan Vertonghen at the centre of the Spurs backline could forge one of the best partnerships in the Premier League and with the irrepressible French number one Hugo Lloris behind them, the foundations are in place to keep clean sheets and build from there.

Further forward, it is expected that Pochettino could persist with a young core that served Spurs so well last term. In Ryan Mason, they have a player who has a huge amount of potential and the 24-year-old is expected to break into the England team if he carries his form across into the new campaign.

Next to him, Nabil Bentaleb at 20, has all the attributes to take the Premier League by storm, while Christian Eriksen and Nacer Chadli provide the creative spark and a certain joie de vivre to the Spurs attack.

Harry Kane, who had a breakthrough season last time out, scoring 31 goals in 51 appearances, makes up a core of players that Pochettino can build his squad around. At just 22, with the right guidance he can become one of the best in the world and is 14/1 to be the top Premier League goalscorer this term.

While this is enough evidence to suggest Spurs have a talented crop of players, it is unlikely that Pochettino is done in the transfer market. He is steadily shipping out dead wood and having already parted ways with Paulinho, Vlad Chiriches, Etienne Capoue and Benjamin Stambouli this summer, it is clear he is making space for new recruits.

Emmanuel Adebayor is expected to join Aston Villa, Roberto Soladado is attracting interest from Villarreal, while if an offer comes in for Erik Lamela they will consider it. Then there is Aaron Lennon, also said to be surplus to requirements and having spent last season on loan at Everton, the Toffees are expected to return with a permanent offer.

That would leave Spurs needing at least one striker to compete with Kane and Saido Berahino has been strongly linked this summer, while a winger and a central midfielder would also be on Pochettino’s radar.

It is still unclear whether Mousa Dembele will stay at the club, however, what is transparent is that Spurs have the basis of a very good team and if they can identify a couple of top targets during the rest of the summer window, they can be competitive this season.