Daniel Levy has told Tottenham fans that the club’s transfer policy will remain unaffected by their plans for a new stadium.
Spurs aim to move into a new 61,000-seat, £400million arena for the start of the 2017-18 campaign, which they hope will take them into English football’s elite.
Arsenal’s spending power in the market was affected for many years by the cost of Emirates Stadium but speaking at a meeting with members of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust, chairman Levy sought to calm fears that his club would suffer in the same way.
Indeed, Levy offered the view that the plans for the new ground would give Spurs a better chance of signing elite players and retaining their best ones. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and forward Harry Kane stayed in north London in the summer despite interest in both from Manchester United.
According to the minutes of the meeting, published on the Trust’s website, Levy indicated that transfer funds would remain ring-fenced and that Spurs’ performances on the pitch remained the priority.
He added, however, that pragmatism and realism were also needed against the backdrop of such an important construction project.
Tottenham have operated carefully in the transfer market since the summer of 2013, when more than £100million was spent on seven players to replace Gareth Bale, who moved to Real Madrid for a world-record £86m. Four of those players — Paulinho, Roberto Soldado, Etienne Capoue and Vlad Chiriches — have left the club at a significant loss, while of those who have stayed, only Christian Eriksen has established himself as a key player.
Ranking Tottenham's summer signings so far
Levy also revealed that the priority of head coach Mauricio Pochettino was to sign players who could do a number of different jobs. Heung-Min Son (left), a £22m buy from Bayer Leverkusen in August, has played in four different attacking roles after just three games with the club, while Spurs also believe Clinton N’Jie, a £10m summer addition from Lyon, can play on either flank as well as through the middle.
