Dominic, Sanki, Archie Gray, Lucas Bal, the new Tanum Squad looks exciting under Ann Pak Kago. The team played unbelievable football and were making history as Ann became the first manager since Patino to get a draw against Arsenal at the Emirates and to beat Liverpool. But, while the first half of the season was positive, the crash in the second half caused Spurs to finish fifth.
With new signings joining established players like superstar Humman Son, KUSI, and Romero, along with a superbly talented manager, Tanm have all the ingredients needed to make it back to the Champions League. Levy is a traditionally frugal spender, but he has invested a lot into Ann's project. In 2023, Spurs spent big, bringing in Brennan Johnson, James Madison, Pedro Poro, Mickey Vanan, and Drsen.
They also permanently signed Kuluski. While Levy is continuing to invest in the squad by breaking the Tonm transfer record for Dominic Sanki, Tanum have signed Salanki for a deal worth 65 million from Bournemouth. Sank is fast, strong, and great on the ball - a truly well-rounded number nine that fits Ann's system like a glove.
According to The Athletic, at Celtic when Ann was using Furuhashi up top, the Japanese striker only touched the ball 14 times a match but still scored 31 goals. This means that Sank just needs to be in the box and has to be clinical because the other players around him will create the chances. He just has to be in the right positions in the box.
Sanki scored 21 goals in all competitions for Bournemouth last year, with 19 of them coming in the Premier League, and only two of the goals being penalties. The system works like a charm when he had a proper striker up front. That's what was happening when Richardon was playing.
Week in and week out, the Brazilian scored the equalizer, then assisted the winner against Sheffield. While coming off the bench, he scored nine goals in eight league matches from December 2023 to February 2024. But, he struggled with injury all season.
With Richardon out, Spurs had to use Son up front. Now, Son is so good that he can pretty much play anywhere, even as a striker, which is not his natural position. He got 17 goals and 10 assists, but if you want to get prime Humman Son, he's got to play on the left wing.
He can cut inside and play off the striker like he did when Spurs had Harry Kane. Well, Sanki will help with that. He's a natural striker, which means with him up top, Son can go back to his best position on the left.
Not only has the quality of the TM team gone up, but so has their depth with this signing. Now, they can rotate between Sank and Richardon because at the end of the day, although they didn't get Champions League football, Spurs still have European football to play along with the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup. They need depth because we saw what happens when the injuries start piling up.
To have Richardon and Son at your disposal is a sign of a deep team. Sank can get him behind, hold the ball up, and head it. I'm telling you guys, this is the full package as a number nine.
He was better last season than Havitz and Jesus combined. In fact, you can make an argument that Spurs have a better front three in Son, Solen, and Kuluski than Arsenal. Saka is clearly much better than Kuluski, but Son is also much better than Marnelli, and Sank as a striker is much better than Havitz and Jesus.
I mean, Sanki scored almost the same amount of goals as those guys combined last season, plus he was playing on a worse team. Sanki now should be able to replicate the same form if not better. I think the reason people overlook Sank is frankly because he started his career really hyped up as a Chelsea prospect but didn't come anywhere near his potential for the Blues or for Liverpool.
But, at Bournemouth, he scored 72 goals in 199 matches with better players around him under an attacking mind of coach - there's no reason why he can't score more goals. You want to see how good this guy is? Just look at what he did to United.
Tanm Errn just getting a top Premier League proven striker, but someone with a crazy celebration. The price is high - I mean, record-breaking - but you have to break the bank to get players like this. Sank is in his prime at 27, he's Premier League proven, and he has all the skill sets required to fit into the system that Ann wants to play.
It's only going to seem expensive if he doesn't perform well. If he's banging in goals and TM are able to finally win some trophies, no one's going to care about this price. While Sank is in his prime, Spurs have also signed some young players who can immediately help the team but have the potential to get even better.
Archie Gray is one of those players. The 18-year-old is one of the best prospects in the country, and now he's ontoono. Be Elsa and Jesse Marsh had noticed the talent of the teenager, but he really got his opportunity to shine when Leeds were relegated.
He played 52 times in all competitions and won the EFL Championship Young Player of the Season. He can play either as a right back or a central midfielder. For Leeds, he played 30 games as a fullback where he got two assists and then played 19 games in different parts of central midfield.
Leeds legend Eddie Gray believes that Archie is eventually going to become a midfielder. He's a midfield player. Uh, he'll end up playing in the middle of the park.
I imagine An has a similar plan for him. Gray's versatility is definitely an added bonus of signing him. He can play in midfield, but he can also play in that inverted fullback role as a backup to Pedro.
With injuries always happening in so many competitions, it's good to have depth in different positions, and Archie Gray provides that. At a young age, Gray is already press-resistant. He's great on the ball, intelligent, and has all the skills required to perform well in An's system.
But Tanum was not done. They had signed another young player with tremendous potential in Ballard. At just 18 years old, Spurs had to fight off Barcelona to sign the Swede.
A great sign to see for Spurs fans because they've traditionally seen top prospects often choose other clubs. But not Ballard. He believes in the project and wants to be at Tanum.
It's a testament to An's project that a young, up-and-coming talented player chose Tanum over a massive club like Barcelona. According to The Athletic, part of the reason why Ballard chose Tanum was for first-team opportunities, and he will get them. Based on the injuries of the previous seasons and how many competitions he's going to get his opportunities.
Ballard is a graduate of the same Swedish academy that Kuluski played for. He rose through the academy, eventually joining J. Gordon in December of 2022.
After a solid performance in his debut, he was described as the man of the match, and the newspapers already speculated that he would become the club's biggest transfer the next year. The Guardian listed Lucas as one of the best players in the world. Born in 2006, the deal was announced in February, with the Swedish teenager officially joining the club on the 1st of July 2024.
He hit the ground running, looking great in the preseason, getting an assist off the bench against Hars. Ballard hasn't played a ton of games, so he's still very raw. It's going to be a project for An to develop him into the type of player he wants.
In Sweden, he mainly played in the center of the park, whether as an attacking midfielder or a central midfielder. It was always through the middle. It's going to be interesting to see if An wants to just throw him in the fire and see how he does centrally right from the get-go or if he wants to develop him, maybe bringing him off the bench as a winger to start his development in the Premier League.
Because it is a big jump going from the Swedish League to the Prem. Ballard made 12 appearances in the 2024 Al vinin season before leaving for Spurs, in which time he ranked fifth among the 68 midfielders with at least 500 minutes to their name for successful dribbles per 90, maintaining a 58. 8% dribble success rate.
That's a lot of data I just threw at you, but in simple terms, Ballard is a player that can beat his man and create opportunities. Considering the fact that Tanum realistically in the middle of the park only had James Madison who fits that profile, I think it's a great signing. Now, if Madison gets injured, like he did in the 2024 season, or his form drops, you have a talented player like Ballard who can step in.
On the other hand, Ballard can also develop well because he's got a player in front of him who's a very similar profile and who has succeeded in the league. He's going to be able to learn from James Madison. Ballard has the potential to be even much better than James Madison.
He's 6'1", so once he adds some muscle and gets adjusted to the league, as long as he doesn't lose his speed and technical ability while putting on size, this guy's going to be a monster. With Bentancur's recent multiple injuries and Basuma's slight drop-off in form at the tail end of the 2024 season, Pago has been left with a question as to who will take that third midfield spot alongside Madison and SAR. This is why Pago's signing of both Ballard and Gray might be a genius one.
There wasn't a need for too many signings because, frankly, Spurs looked amazing for the first half of the season in 2024. The inverted fullback system with Udi and Poro coming in was working brilliantly. These guys were creating chances for fun, so many opportunities, and now they have a proper number nine that they can cross to in the form of Dominic Sanki.
James Madison looked fantastic before his injury. Two assists against Brenford, two goals against Bournemouth, two assists against Burnley, two assists in the North London Derby. Unfortunately, he got injured, and when he returned, he never replicated that form again.
In the beginning of the season, I thought Madison wouldn't just be in the Premier League Team of the Season, but he would be a nominee for Player of the Year. I don't think it was a fluke in any way. He was good at Leicester, and there's no reason he can't replicate that form.
Someone with his technical ability, footballing IQ, and vision in An's system should be able to rack up goals and assists for fun in that number 10 role. Daroon came in mid-season. Now, he will have a proper preseason under An.
He also had six months to see what the Premier League is like. To me, he is one of the most underrated players in the world. This guy should easily be in the conversation of being world-class.
He's been so consistent for Tanum ever since he came into the Premier League. When you think about the stars, the faces of the Premier League in the last five. .
. Seven years. It's Kevin De Bruyne, it's Muhammad Salah, it was Harry Kane, and I think Son deserves to be in that conversation before Kane's success kind of overshadowed how good Sun was.
But this team is Son's team. He's fast, he can use both feet, he's one of the most clinical finishers in the world. I know people are going to laugh at that because of the chances he missed against City in the 2024 season, but let's be honest, given that same opportunity, he puts the ball away 99 times out of 100.
The guy got 17 goals and 10 assists, pretty much playing out of position. He wasn't bad as a number nine, he was actually pretty good, but that's not where his best role is. Now, with Sonki there, going back on the left wing, we're going to see prime Son again.
Romero, when he's disciplined, is genuinely one of the best center backs in the world. You don't get praised from Messi for no reason. He is his own biggest enemy, he just has to pick and choose moments of aggression.
You look at how he plays for Argentina, he's amazing. Now, it obviously benefits him in Copa America that you can get away a little bit more with the aggression, but the Premier League is pretty physical. He just has to be smart about when he goes through a player, when he goes into those 50/50 challenges because when he's disciplined, when he has a cool head, one of the best center backs in the league easily.
Mickey is a monster, fast, strong, tall, he's going to be great again. Besuma and SAR looked rejuvenated under Edge, night and day difference from the way they looked under Antonio Conte. The midfield was so dynamic with those two, both good on the ball, both athletic, both able to win the ball back in the heart of midfield.
There's no reason they can't replicate that form again. And on top of these great players, you have An, who's an incredibly talented manager. Immediately, you saw the style of football he wanted to play when he joined Tottenham.
Now that he's getting his guys, they're investing in the players that he wants, what fits his system, he should be able to do great. The only thing with An is he might have to develop some sort of pragmatic tactics in certain games because Tottenham did blow a lot of leads in the 2024 season. Right now is a great time to be a Spurs fan.
Entertaining football, exciting players, massive stadium. The trophies should follow once An is given more time. In fact, despite the lack of trophies in the past decade, Tottenham is still a massive club.
To see why, you have to check out this video right here.
