Ivan Perisic, Fraser Foster and now Yves Bissouma have all been welcomed to Tottenham since the Premier League broke up for the summer. While it hasn't always seemed certain that Antonio Conte's Spurs tenure was secure going into the 2022/23 season, it seems like Daniel Levy and co are at least going to attempt to provide the Italian with exactly what he wants.
Perisic will help facilitate Conte's preferred system and bring vital winning experience to the team, Forster is a necessary addition to fill goalkeeping depth and in Bissouma, Tottenham have landed an impressive midfielder who has been looked at by a number of teams. It remains to be seen if the trio can live up to Fabio Paratici's signings in north London, as Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur hit the ground running when they joined in the January window and were a large part of why Conte's side now find themselves in the Champions League for the coming season.
Even before the Lilywhites' business, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was confident that Tottenham would be among the top challengers in the Premier League for the coming season. The German coach's current task is to ensure the Blues can remain in a similar position.
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Following Chelsea's win over Watford on the final day of last term, Tuchel said: "It will be a super tough race. Manchester United will be in the race and Tottenham will be in the race with Antonio Conte for sure. We want to stay in the race and Liverpool and Man City do everything to make their squads bigger and they set the standard so high. This is the challenge in which we compete.
"We have at the moment a huge disadvantage - that's not decisive yet. There is no need to make excuses now, it is just the situation we are in and we have to be as quick as possible."
The transfer window has been open a week, but for many followers the speed of Chelsea's transfer business has already been too slow. There have been conversations around Jules Kounde, Ousmane Dembele, Raheem Sterling and more but the only forthcoming addition has been young goalkeeper Eddie Beach from Southampton for whom Chelsea have agreed a fee.
Tottenham have moved quickly, but already proved that as long as the right additions are made, even if they come on deadline day, they are invaluable. Kulusevski and Bentancur proved as much, even when they may not have been first choice options as Liverpool landed Lucas Diaz. Nevertheless, it appears this summer Daniel Levy is buying into Conte and intends for Chelsea's London rivals to be competitive from the off.
With the departures of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, Chelsea are left in a position where they need to rebuild and this June, find themselves behind the position they were in 12 months ago. It is not the death knell of the Blues' ambitions - Todd Boehly and co have only been officially in the building for just over two weeks - but the transfer activity around them ensures that they will not be left unaware of how important the next six weeks will be.
In Conte's final press conference of the 2021/22 season he hinted that his future would be predicated on Tottenham's ambition matching his own. He said: "I knew the situation I could find, to give me the opportunity to work in the way that I want, on the one hand. On the other hand, I have ambition, I like to fight for something important, to lift trophies. For me this is a trophy [finishing top four after the start of the season] and I'm very happy. Then we'll see. I always said at the end of the season we'll speak to the club and find the best solution for me and the club."
The combination appear to have at least found the start of the solution. Tuchel and the new owners will need to do the same. The 48-year-old already appears to have more say over transfers but Chelsea's ability to land them will set the tone for the season. The Blues don't need to secure the same profiles as Spurs, or complete transfers as quickly, but they must add quality if they are to compete for major silverware again next season.
