Tottenham 2021/22 preview: Transfers, key player, fixtures, new kits, prediction & more

Tottenham start the 2021/22 campaign with a new chapter and are hoping to improve on last season’s disappointing seventh place finish, which saw them miss the cut for the Europa League and have to make do with the inaugural Europa Conference League instead.

Nuno Espirito Santo has been brought in as the permanent successor to Jose Mourinho after a lengthy and what often felt like a circular saga, while ex-Juventus executive Fabio Paratici is now calling the shots above as managing director of football.

Harry Kane headlines have dominated the summer as a result of his desire to leave, but Spurs are looking to the future as they try to rebuild a squad that has been largely the same for a while.

Transfers

In: Pierluigi Gollini (loan), Bryan Gil (£21.6m plus p/ex), Cristian Romero (loan)

Out: Paulo Gazzaniga (free), Danny Rose (free), Juan Foyth (£12.9m), Erika Lamela (p/ex), Toby Alderweireld (£13m), Troy Parrott (loan), Joe Hart (£1m)

First-team squad

1. Hugo Lloris (GK)
2. Matt Doherty (DF)
3. Sergio Reguilon (DF)
4. Cristian Romero (DF)
5. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (MF)
6. Davinson Sanchez (DF)
7. Son Heung-min (FW)
8. Harry Winks (MF)
10. Harry Kane (FW)
14. Joe Rodon (DF)
15. Eric Dier (DF)
17. Moussa Sissoko (MF)
18. Giovani Lo Celso (MF)
19. Ryan Sessegnon (MF)
20. Dele Alli (MF)
22. Pierluigi Gollini (GK)
23. Steven Bergwijn (FW)
24. Serge Aurier (DF)
25. Japhet Tanganga (DF)
27. Lucas Moura (FW)
28. Tanguy Ndombele (MF)
29. Oliver SKipp (MF)
33. Ben Davies (DF)
38. Cameron Carter-Vickers (DF)
41. Alfie Whiteman (GK)
47. Jack Clarke (FW)
TBC. Bryan Gil (MF)

Key player

Harry Kane has made it clear he wants to leave Spurs amid interest from Manchester City, but Son Heung-min has signed a new long-term contract with the club and will be the main man this season if Kane gets his wish and is granted a transfer.

A patchy debut year aside, Son has been a model of consistency for Spurs since 2016, always netting between 18 and 22 goals in all competitions each season. Last season was his most prolific in the Premier League and even if Kane ends up staying, having his head turned, to borrow phrase from Love Island, always carries the risk of affecting his form.

Young player to watch

Spurs fans will be keen to see more of home-grown midfielder Oliver Skipp this season. He turns 21 in September and is looking to make the step up to Premier League level after impressing for Norwich while on loan during their promotion charge.

Plenty of eyes will also be on 20-year-old summer signing Bryan Gil, who has joined from Sevilla for more than £20m plus Erik Lamela. He spent last season on loan at Eibar and has played at both the Under-21 European Championship and the Olympics during the summer.

Fixtures

Live TV broadcasts have been chosen for games up to the end of October, other dates and/or kick-off times after that point remain subject to change.

15 August 2021 - 16.30 - Tottenham vs Manchester City (Sky Sports)
22 August 2021 - 14.00 - Wolves vs Tottenham
29 August 2021 - 14.00 - Tottenham vs Watford
11 September 2021 - 12.30 - Crystal Palace vs Tottenham (BT Sport)
19 September 2021 - 16.30 - Tottenham vs Chelsea (Sky Sports)
26 September 2021 - 16.30 - Arsenal vs Tottenham (Sky Sports)
2 October 2021 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Aston Villa
17 October 2021 - 16.30 - Newcastle vs Tottenham (Sky Sports)
24 October 2021 - 14.30 - West Ham vs Tottenham (Sky Sports)
30 October 2021 - 17.30 - Tottenham vs Manchester United (Sky Sports)
6 November 2021 - 15.00 - Everton vs Tottenham
20 November 2021 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Leeds
27 November 2021 - 15.00 - Burnley vs Tottenham
1 December 2021 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Brentford
4 December 2021 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Norwich
11 December 2021 - 15.00 - Brighton vs Tottenham
14 December 2021 - 15.00 - Leicester vs Tottenham
18 December 2021 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Liverpool
26 December 2021 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Crystal Palace
28 December 2021 - 15.00 - Southampton vs Tottenham
1 January 2022 - 15.00 - Watford vs Tottenham
15 January 2022 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Arsenal
22 January 2022 - 15.00 - Chelsea vs Tottenham
9 February 2022 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Southampton
12 February 2022 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Wolves
19 February 2022 - 15.00 - Manchester City vs Tottenham
26 February 2022 - 15.00 - Leeds vs Tottenham
5 March 2022 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Everton
12 March 2022 - 15.00 - Manchester United vs Tottenham
19 March 2022 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs West Ham
2 April 2022 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Newcastle
9 April 2022 - 15.00 - Aston Villa vs Tottenham
16 April 2022 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Brighton
23 April 2022 - 15.00 - Brentford vs Tottenham
30 April 2022 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Leicester
7 May 2022 - 15.00 - Liverpool vs Tottenham
15 May 2022 - 15.00 - Tottenham vs Burnley
22 May 2022 - 16:00 - Norwich vs Tottenham

Kits

Home: Backs to basics with a plain white design as a nod to 100 years of the cockerel on the shirt.

Away: The vibrant colours and print on this season's change kit are 'out of this world'.

Third- TBC: Leaked images suggest a purple and yellow jersey with a design inspired by 'N17'.

Prediction

It hasn’t been an easy few months for Spurs. They briefly looked like genuine title contenders under Jose Mourinho last autumn, only for things to fall apart in the winter and eventually result in a final seventh place Premier League finish.

Despite positive summer arrivals, particularly that of centre-back Cristian Romero, things might not get much easier because of the fierce competition in the top half of the table. Top four will likely mean finishing ahead of at least one of Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, while Arsenal, Leicester, an ambitious Aston Villa and even Leeds could be putting pressure on just for a place in the top eight.

There will however, be opportunity to do well in Europe as Spurs are one of the very biggest names in the new Europa Conference League. It may not have the prestige, but a trophy is a trophy.

Ultimately, Spurs are now very much in a transition or rebuilding phase.

Premier League top eight, semi-finals or better in the Europa Conference League, knocked out of both domestic cups before the semi-finals.

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