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Alasdair Gold

The seven Tottenham transfers expected to solve Antonio Conte's foreign player limit issues

Tottenham Hotspur have been proactive in the summer transfer window so far with four new faces brought in to Antonio Conte's squad but they need to get even more players out of the door.

Spurs have acted swiftly to add Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster to their ranks ahead of the start of pre-season - with more to come - to ensure Conte can prepare his new-look squad for the season ahead, which brings Champions League football as well as the Premier League campaign and domestic cups.

However, with Cameron Carter-Vickers the only first team player to have left the club so far along with Pierluigi Gollini's loan contract ending, Conte's has a bloated squad for now and one that causes issues with foreign player limits in both the Premier League and Champions League.

READ MORE: Antonio Conte building a different Tottenham Hotspur team to match his need for 'blood'

Conte wants a stronger squad with more quality but that does not mean Spurs can push their numbers too high. They must submit squads of no more than 25 senior players for each competition, consisting of a limit of 17 "non-locally trained" players and at least eight homegrown players.

Conte has not been helped by the fact that Dejan Kulusevski, Oliver Skipp and Ryan Sessegnon are now all too old for the U21 list in the Premier League this season, as well as England international Eric Dier not considered as homegrown for any competition because of his formative years spent in Portugal.

There is also the added quirk of Ben Davies, Matt Doherty and Joe Rodon being seen as homegrown by the Premier League but not by UEFA for the Champions League because they trained as youngsters for non-English clubs. Also, Bryan Gil and Pape Matar Sarr can be on the Premier League U21 list but not on the similar Champions League B list, because they have not been at the club for an uninterrupted period of two seasons.

So all of that means that in the Premier League, Spurs are right on the limit of 17 non-homegrown players and they have 11 senior homegrown players, which means players must leave if more new arrivals are to be registered. The situation is far worse in the Champions League squad, with 22 non-locally trained players - five over the limit - and eight homegrown ones.

In the past when Spurs have embarked on summer tours, they have left some players at home that they expect to exit the club and that is expected to be the case again for the trip to Korea this month for some of the players. Others could be part of the travelling tour squad but fly back swiftly if moves for them suddenly advance.

Here are seven Tottenham players, both foreign and homegrown, who could head out of the door in the weeks ahead to free up space in the 25-man squad and prevent the prospect of some being left unregistered and unable to play in certain competitions, with more potentially joining them.

Tanguy Ndombele

The club's record signing - when add-ons are included - needs a new home. His talent is undeniable but a string of Spurs head coaches have now been unable to find a consistent place for him in their plans. Even his loan spell back at Lyon in the second half of last season was not a success and his old club decided against taking up the permanent option to sign Ndombele, an option that they claim he had asked to be put into the deal.

The central midfield area is now packed with quality in Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp and the need to have to somehow incorporate the 25-year-old is no longer there.

The problem appears to be finding a permanent move for Ndombele, particularly if Tottenham want to get anywhere near some of their money back. The Frenchman still has three years left on the six-year deal he signed when he arrived in 2019 and there is time still to bump up his value with the right loan move next season but Spurs have to find it.

Giovani Lo Celso

Another expensive signing that hasn't fulfilled his potential, Lo Celso at least did have a successful loan at Villarreal from January onwards and helped the La Liga side to the Champions League semi-finals.

The 26-year-old Argentina international also has three years left on his contract and as a regular member of his country's starting XI, finding a buyer for him this summer, with plenty of interest, should be easier for Tottenham's managing director of football Fabio Paratici.

Harry Winks

The 26-year-old wants regular football and may well hold some hope of getting back into the England frame ahead of the World Cup if he can get the right move this summer. A number of Premier League clubs are believed to have registered an interest in him, most recently Everton.

Winks' exit would take one off Spurs' homegrown numbers but those numbers, with Skipp and Sessegnon's promotion to the senior lists, are not underserved, especially with the club looking at further incoming homegrown signings.

Steven Bergwijn

Ajax have been chasing the Dutchman for some time and the expectation is that they will eventually meet Spurs' valuation of a player they signed for £27m from PSV Eindhoven in 2020 and still has three years left on his deal.

The 24-year-old winger has publicly stated his desire to leave and play regular football and Bergwijn's name is more than likely to come off of that foreign player list.

Bryan Gil

That the 21-year-old Spaniard cannot be entered on the B list for the Champions League does not help his cause, although he is on the Premier League U21 list, a problem that will also affect 19-year-old Sarr, as he finally arrives this week after his move last summer.

Conte has already made his feelings very clear about the suitability of Gil to the Premier League, but unless a big offer comes in for last year's summer signing then, with four years left on his contract, a loan move looks more likely. As one of Spain's brightest young talents that loan move should be not be hard to find, with French side Marseille also among the clubs in his homeland eying up a move.

Joe Rodon

Another player desperate for regular football, particularly with that winter World Cup coming, and there will be Premier League interest in the 24-year-old Wales international as well as some from abroad.

Rodon being seen as non-locally trained by UEFA means that his exit would free up a space for any potential new signings from abroad. With the Welshman only expected to develop, a loan move and potentially a new contract might serve Spurs better than a permanent deal.

Jack Clarke

The 21-year-old's Tottenham career has not taken off since arriving three years ago, with more matches elsewhere on loan than for his own club.

A successful loan at Sunderland this year could be followed up with a permanent move if the Black Cats can strike a deal for Clarke, who helped them gain promotion back to the Championship.

Others

The large number of non-locally trained players in Tottenham's squad, particularly with that Champions League registration in mind, means other players will have to be looked at for potential departures.

Spurs will listen to offers for full-backs Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal, particularly with a new right wing-back expected to join and Djed Spence being eyed up, and also potentially Davinson Sanchez if a tempting bid were to arrive for the Colombian.

Tottenham will also have to decide whether teenager Sarr needs to adapt for at least six months in the UK before a potential January loan or whether the current likelihood that he might not be registered for European competition, particularly with more new signings to come, means a loan this summer would be more beneficial for his development.

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