Tough times ahead for Tottenham Hotspur as they look to balance club finances and squad

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Bengaluru, May 19: Tottenham Hotspur finished their season this time like every other - with a flurry of goals. It was not the 1-5 collapse against Newcastle United of the 2016 season nor the 7-1 demolition of Hull City of 2017, but a mixture of the two - a 5-4 victory over Leicester City.

The Londoners are known for acts of self-demolition or being 'Spursy', but under Mauricio Pochettino, things have taken a different turn of late.

Most would think that Spurs have had a good season - they finished third in the Premier League and reached the knockouts of Champions League as the club prepares to shift to the renovated White Hart Lane.

But in his post-match press conference after the Leicester City game, Pochettino said something unusual. “We are going to talk next week to create a new project. It is a little bit up to Daniel (Levy) and the club to agree with us. We need to review a little bit to be contenders for big trophies. Maybe we are a bit frustrated that now we are close," he said. The manager was clearly asking his chairman to enhance his squad, which was very unlike him.

This was followed by Arsene Wenger stating that Spurs may have to sell Harry Kane to maintain a competitive squad. The veteran Frenchman was referring to the financial handicap his long-time rivals will have to face while repaying the bank loans that enabled them to build the new stadium while maintain competitive standards in the Premier League.

Wenger describes his 'best job’ as a football manager was in the initial years after Arsenal moved to The Emirates, where he faced a similar situation.

So it appears that Spurs, more so Pochettino, are set for some tough times after the hierarchy decided to refurbish the White Hart Lane.

Spurs have never been lavish spenders. In fact, their overall expenditure of £40m is way behind their regular competition. The salary their staff and players get is also quite less to what the competition offers. Pochettino thinks that the transition in the squad has taken its time and now the squad is ready for the next level for which he requires players of more caliber to supplement those in his possesion.

Pep Guardiola recently told Sky Sports that Spurs was his favorite English team to watch and the reasons were quite obvious. They can be thrilling in attack both while breaking down teams and also while countering. They were second in the number of goals conceded, the players press high and show a tremendous work rate, which are all qualities the Catalan admires. The credit for this goes to Pochettino, who consistently drilled his team during training sessions and made them London’s best club within 3 years.

Dele Alli, Mousa Dembele, Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen are reportedly on their way out of Spurs and even Harry Kane could walk into any team in Europe. There is also a popular opinion that if Real Madrid were to sack Zinedine Zidane after the Champions League final, Pochettino will be their first choice as he is billed the next big thing in football management.

In this great run, Spurs have just lacked a trophy to mark their very evident progress. However, Kane believes that playing Champions League football in a brand new stadium will attract more top players to come to the North London club.

But Daniel Levy is known for his shrewd transfer dealings. Currently, his players and managers have suitors everywhere and one fears that if he is unable to loosen the chain of his purse a bit, we may see the dissolution of the best Spurs team of the modern era.