Spurs look to spend ambitiously after years of being prudent with their money.
Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur are too exciting for fans to still be ranting at Daniel Levy during games, but if you scrape just beyond the surface on social media or speak with enough fans, you will find persistent bitterness towards the chairman.
Understandable dissatisfaction with ticket prices (expensive), past football and business decisions (sometimes terrible), and Spurs’ lack of silverware under Levy (one trophy in 23 years) persists.
The majority of the complaints, however, stem from a widespread belief among Levy skeptics that he has not and will never authorize the level of investment required for Spurs to compete with the best.
Today, however, as Everton and Nottingham Forest face charges for violating the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations (PSR) and a number of other top-flight teams worry about the status of their own books, it is time to admit that Levy’s strategy is working for Spurs.
They are the only top-flight team to spend £26 million on defender Radu Dragusin this month and plan to sign a midfielder before the end of January.
While Eddie Howe, manager of Saudi Arabia-backed Newcastle, argues that the club does not have “the freedom” to recruit players like Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke due to PSR, and Aston Villa’s Unai Emery claims that they must sell before they can buy, Tottenham has no such concerns.
The north London club’s financial results in 2021-22 were strong, and they are on track to meet PSR in the coming year.
Spurs are in a strong position because to prudent financing and the sale of their greatest player, Harry Kane, to Bayern Munich for £100 million in the summer.
They have spent within their means, much to the chagrin of their supporters, and are the only Premier League club with wages that are less than half of their revenue.
It is no secret that Levy supports spending controls, and in February 2023, the same week that Manchester City was hit with 115 charges by the Premier League for historic financial irregularities, Levy welcomed “the changes to the governance of the game which will compel greater financial sustainability and financial fair play”.
In response to City’s lengthy charge sheet, the club’s head coach, Pep Guardiola, effectively exposed Levy as a behind-the-scenes advocate for increased regulation.
“Ask the chairman, CEOs, and Daniel Levy,” Guardiola stated at the time. “These 19 [rival] Premier League clubs established a precedent. Be careful with what they’ve done to us.”
Perhaps Guardiola is correct, and some of City’s rivals who pushed for their sanction may reap what they sowed, but Spurs are almost certain to spend within their means as long as Levy is in charge, keeping them within the current financial regulations at home and in Europe.
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