This was meant to be the summer Tottenham Hotspur finally broke free of the shackles of decades of Daniel Levy-led frugality. Sandro Tonali arrived for £100m. Mateus Fernandes followed for £85m, completing an entirely new double pivot before most clubs had even settled on their priorities. Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi — a rebuilt defence, assembled with a clarity Tottenham haven’t shown in years. For a few weeks this summer, it genuinely looked like something had changed.

Then Junior Kroupi got injured, and Tottenham reverted to the version of themselves everyone actually remembers: linked with Savinho, then Victor Osimhen, then Dusan Vlahovic, then half a dozen more, committed to none of them, with Richarlison and Dominic Solanke left as the apparent answer up front. Two weeks before the season starts, and most Spurs fans have that familiar feeling from an era they thought was behind them.

Former Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy with current CEO Vinai Venkatesham

There has clearly been a change in direction this summer — unsurprising, given the boardroom reshuffle and front-office changes the Lewis family heralded as a major step change in strategy. Spurs have been proactive and decisive in a way not seen for many years, building the spine of Roberto De Zerbi’s side before the World Cup had even finished. New contracts for Pedro Porro, Antonín Kinský, and Micky van de Ven have also shown a willingness to aggressively shift the wage bill to secure key first-team pieces for the long term. Up until a month ago, it was difficult for Spurs fans to be anything but optimistic about the season ahead under new stewardship.

The plan began to unravel when news of Junior Kroupi’s long-term injury broke during Bournemouth’s pre-season tour of Austria. Despite Bournemouth’s unwillingness to sell, Kroupi had been widely viewed as the primary target for finishing the attacking piece of the rebuild. The forward line remains a clear priority for Spurs, with Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert both long-term absentees, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, and James Maddison not fully fit, and Dominic Solanke a constant fitness doubt during his time at the club. What remains is the often divisive and equally inconsistent Richarlison, who has long been the subject of transfer speculation himself. It isn’t that Spurs need to upgrade their attack — they need players who can naturally fill those positions at all. The thought of Conor Gallagher being part of a reworked opening-day frontline is enough to sap enthusiasm from even the most ardent supporter.

Tottenham’s old ways have been a source of ridicule among opposition fans for years — a club linked with the entire market, committed to none of it, and all this just after many felt they’d finally kicked the habit. Football is often about momentum, and it’s the perceived indecision and worrying lack of credible back-up options that risks damaging Spurs again this summer. Even if the years-long saga around Savinho reaches a positive conclusion, De Zerbi will be left with a matter of days to prepare him — and others — for action in what’s widely considered a unique and demanding tactical system.

Mauricio Pochettino once famously said of Spurs:

“When you talk about Tottenham, everyone says you have an amazing house, but you need to put in the furniture.”

That was in reference to the new stadium and the relative lack of investment behind his rebuild, something that would eventually cost him his job in north London. Spurs have now built the house and put in the furniture. They just haven’t wired up the electrics or checked that the plumbing works.

None of this undoes what’s actually been achieved. Tonali, Fernandes, van Hecke — that business was real, and it was good. But a rebuild is only as strong as its most urgent gap, and right now Tottenham’s is the one position every opponent will target first. Whether this becomes a footnote to a genuinely transformed summer, or the moment the old habits reasserted themselves at the worst possible time, comes down to what happens in the next few weeks and not the months that preceded them.