Q&A: The key issues facing Tottenham with big decisions to be made this summer

Tottenham’s underwhelming campaign took another turn for the worse on Saturday when Bournemouth inflicted a 10th Premier League defeat of the season.

Spurs are still be in the top-four race but with Newcastle, Manchester United and Liverpool to come before April ends, there is every chance they will drop out of the European qualification picture completely in the coming weeks.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what needs to happen at Tottenham this summer for the club and fanbase to be re-energised.

Who should be the next manager?

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A post shared by Antonio Conte (@antonioconte)

After three consecutive counter-attacking managers, Spurs supporters are desperate for the next man in charge to get the team taking care of the ball again. Tottenham’s DNA through the good and the bad times has always followed the traits of their great side from the 1960s, being on the front foot, dominating and scoring goals. Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and more recently Antonio Conte all tried to bring defensive solidarity to Spurs with their pragmatic approach and fans now want to see a return to a possession-based style. That is one of the key characteristics that chairman Daniel Levy must look for in the new boss in addition to being able to improve players.

How does the new boss rejuvenate the squad?

Our Captain 💙

✨ 10 years ago today we signed Hugo Lloris. pic.twitter.com/J9aFCMCXno

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 31, 2022

Former boss Mauricio Pochettino spoke of a “painful” rebuild in 2019 and while Spurs have finally started that during the past couple of seasons, there are key areas that need attention in the squad. It feels like captain Hugo Lloris is coming to his endgame at Spurs and a new first-choice goalkeeper will have to be found in the summer transfer window. Whether they play in a back four or five, issues remain defensively and upgrades are required, especially at the heart of the rearguard. The third big area that needs to be addressed is the lack of a creative midfielder in the squad. A number 10 to connect midfield and attack will be high on the list of targets.

Who needs to be moved on?

Tottenham have more than £200million worth of talent on loan and while Djed Spence, Destiny Udogie and Bryan Gil will hope to have futures at the club, it feels time to cut losses with big-money recruits Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso. There are other players who have spent a long time at the club who could be moved on, like Harry Winks and Davinson Sanchez, who was booed by his own supporters during Saturday’s Bournemouth loss. An assessment on youngsters like Japhet Tanganga, Ryan Sessegnon and Troy Parrott will need to be made. The bloated squad needs to be trimmed to help create better harmony and togetherness.

Crunch time for Kane – will he stay or will he go?

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The elephant in the room at Tottenham amid the chaos is Harry Kane’s future. He is fast approaching the final 12 months of his deal and is unlikely to sign new terms until a manager is in place. Discussions are likely to begin in the early part of the summer over another contract and there is three ways it can go. The ideal scenario for Spurs is Kane agrees to put pen to paper on a deal that would likely see him finish his career at his boyhood club. The alternatives are not favourable because one would be trying to claim the most amount of money for the England captain to help find his replacement while the other is to hold on to him for one last season before he departs on a free in 2024. Either way, a decision must be made.