Of the £75m that Tottenham have spent so far this summer to bring in five players, only two have them have come with any upfront transfer fees. Richarlison, £50m, and Yves Bissouma, £25m, are the two that have been purchased, whilst free transfers were completed for Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic, whilst Clement Lenglet joined on loan.
For five first team players, this represents good value and smart business. Antonio Conte has recruited a team of experienced players to supplement the attacking quality he already has in order to put pressure on Manchester City and Liverpool next season.
Even with the signing of Djed Spence from Middlesbrough, Spurs will have added six player to their squad for less than £100m, markedly better use of their money as opposed to the post-Gareth Bale spending spree.
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Conte's use of the free market has come in for some plaudits already this summer, and despite the glamorous names being those of Richarlison and Bissouma, it's his versatile Croatian winger that might have the biggest impact according to Paul Merson.
"I keep going on and on about this, but I'm a massive fan of Ivan Perisic," he wrote in his column for SportsKeeda. "This guy works as hard as anyone and has the talent to hold his ground against some of the best players in the world - that is some recipe for a player."
Perisic, 32, was signed by Conte at Inter Milan in 2020 and made 67 appearances in his two seasons in Italy. His ability to play as a wingback and orthodox wide midfielder on both flanks is a big bonus for Conte as he builds a squad with players to compete domestically and in Europe.
As well as already being a Champions League winner with Bayern Munich, Perisic has three more league titles to add to his trophy cabinet and six other competitions under his belt. He was also part of the Croatia team that got to the World Cup final in 2018, and Merson is backing him for big things in England next season.
"He's an international footballer who works as hard as someone who has come from non-league football into the big leagues, indicating that he's got the work-ethic to complement his wonderful natural ability. Perisic has played for multiple big teams across Europe's top five leagues and remains a key player for Croatia, so I expect him to be a huge hit for Tottenham.
"He's different class and gives Conte the option of playing as a left-wing back and a winger, making him an invaluable asset to the squad."
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