Tottenham Hotspur begin their pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea on Saturday, against defending J League winners Vissel Kobe.
By the end of the tour, which concludes a week later in Seoul against Bayern Munich, Ange Postecoglou should have a good notion of how his squad is shaping up for the new Premier League season, which begins in little over three weeks.
The North Londoners faded towards the end of the 2023/24 season, and a few late defeats ensured that they failed to qualify for the Champions League, with Aston Villa stepping in to take their place.
Postecoglou will likely look at himself first and foremost, wondering if he could have done anything better or differently to improve the situation at the business end.
A thorough and intensive examination at the entire squad would have undoubtedly followed, allowing the Australian to make a few decisions for the team’s sake.
Though the clubs projected to be around them during the upcoming Premier League season will have strengthened over the summer, Spurs must maintain the form they demonstrated at the start of last season for the full 2024/25 campaign.
Bringing in quality players will help them achieve just that, and Ipswich Town has unintentionally helped them in this area.
Tottenham will benefit from Ipswich’s purchase of Jack Clarke
According to i Sport (subscription required), they have offered Sunderland £18 million for Jack Clarke, and given that Tottenham secured a 40% sell-on option when selling him to the Black Cats, they stand to profit handsomely from the transaction.
That money is likely to go straight into the club’s coffers, giving Postecoglou and Daniel Levy some leeway in terms of Financial Fair Play when it comes to transfers.
