With the Premier League returning and Antonio Conte and the Tottenham Hotspur fans both having big expectations for the club, chairman Daniel Levy will have plenty on his new year's to-do list.
Spurs will restart the Premier League season at Brentford on Boxing Day sitting fourth in the table, three points off second-placed Manchester City, and Conte's men will also face AC Milan across two legs in the Champions League round of 16 after topping their group with that dramatic victory at Marseille.
With the January transfer window fast approaching and some important contracts also needing renewing it's set to be a busy time for chairman Daniel Levy and his managing director of football Fabio Paratici.
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Here are five things we reckon are on Levy's new year to-do list as 2023 approaches.
Ensure the money is there to build on the pitch
There's no doubting that Spurs have built off the pitch with their huge stadium and state-of-the-art training ground but now is the time to find the funds to do the same on it. Conte has said that his Tottenham project would require multiple transfer windows and this is his third one coming up. The Italian has stated already that the club must make more signings in January and that he would be telling them exactly that.
There is big revenue now coming in from a fully open Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with events galore booked there, the annual NFL deal and not to mention the next five home Premier League matches in 2023 being already sold out. Spurs' enormous home was always billed as a game changer for the club in terms of the millions it would bring every week in revenue and now that needs to start bearing fruit after the pandemic losses were eased through restructuring the club's debt.
On top of that Spurs still have to dip into the remaining £50m of the £150m capital increase ENIC offered up in May. When that offer was made it came with the proviso that "the investment represents permanent capital, with no ongoing interest cost to the club, and which may be drawn in tranches until the end of the year". That means Levy has just over a fortnight to decide whether to take the remaining £50m, which in itself would increase ENIC's ownership of the club from its current level of 85.6% to around 87.5%.
Levy is often given credit for his ability to structure financials deals to benefit the club and in January he needs to ensure they have the money to compete in a busier and more competitive winter market than normal because of the World Cup.
Let Paratici and Conte work in January
The key for Levy after ensuring the money is there to improve Conte's squad in January is to let Paratici and Conte get on with doing exactly that.
The two men have built title-winning squads before at Juventus and with his vast network of connections within the game, Paratici is well placed to bring in the players that Conte needs, with at least two new faces being sought. His foray back to his old club a year ago brought two perfect season-changing signings in Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski and Spurs need a repeat of that.
This month is not the one for "club signings" - players who are seen within as a good fit for the club and its long-term future - it's a window for signings that make Conte's squad stronger for this current campaign. Sometimes, as last January proved, you can find young but also experienced players that fit both profiles.
Levy must trust in the instincts and knowledge of the two Italians he hired and then push the button on the improvements they line up.
Tie down Conte to a new contract
Among the many things spoken about between the three main men in the last week has been the future of Conte and a new contract for the former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss.
Spurs hold an option to extend Conte's contract by another year beyond the original 18-month deal he signed when he joined the club in November 2021. However, there is a desire from the club to hand the 53-year-old a new longer deal to reward his efforts and also provide more stability to the team and club as a whole.
There is a belief within the walls of Hotspur Way that Conte is happy at Spurs and a hope he will put pen to paper on a new deal. The head coach spoke last month about needing to "deserve" a new deal and he did hint at waiting until later in the season but Levy needs to show the former Premier League and Serie A title winner that he can fulfil his ambitions in north London sooner rather than later.
If he can do that then Conte has already said he would have no hesitation in sticking around for the long haul.
Figure out the academy issue
One issue that has arisen during the Conte era is the lack of a clear pathway between the academy and first team. The Italian's desire for ready-made players to win matches has meant he hasn't dished out the minutes, even in domestic cup competitions, to the club's young starlets coming through the academy.
Conte's outlook on a young player's development differs from previous managers at the club. He expects the academy staff to develop their players to be in a position ready to slot in instantly to play first team football under him, rather than him play a role in that development.
For a chairman in Levy who has continually spoken about Spurs' DNA and promoting youth from their world class training complex, but has also overseen a club starved of trophies during his tenure, it marks something of a crossroads in the decision-making and what Tottenham want to come next. The fans are understandably desperate for silverware but the academy also risk losing some of their better players in the coming seasons without a pathway to the first team.
One option is that Spurs could go down the Chelsea path and loan out their best young talents to provide that final layer of top flight development they will not currently get in N17 and then bring them back to challenge for a spot in Conte's team after that.
It's up to Levy to decide what is more important to him right now - the short-term or the long-term.
Get Harry Kane signed up to a new deal
There's another key new contract that needs to be agreed sooner rather than later and that's Harry Kane's deal.
The prolific 29-year-old has 12 goals in 15 Premier League matches this season and with a remarkable 261 goals for the club is just five away from going level with Jimmy Greaves as Tottenham's all-time top goalscorer.
Kane has just 18 months left on his contract at Spurs though now and the club need to ensure they keep their best player within their walls for the following years. His style of play and lack of reliance on pace means he's going to continue to be in his prime as one of the world's best strikers well into his 30s.
Kane and Conte's deals could well go hand in hand as either putting pen to paper will show the ambition required to the other one. Kane is a fan of Conte and believes he can win Spurs silverware and Conte believes Kane is the man to fire his side to those trophies.
The World Cup and that heart-breaking penalty miss will weigh heavy on the England captain and no doubt bring plenty of soul searching about his career and what he needs from it in its final years and that's where Levy has to ensure he shows Kane that he can win what he craves in north London and under Conte.
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