Recent years have been tough on Spurs. Sure, they won a continental trophy, but consecutive relegation battles has left everyone associated with the Lilywhites feeling tired and weary.

That was until Roberto De Zerbi arrived. Fuelled by his raw Italian passion for the game, has been improved the standards of this great football club not just on the pitch but off it. Daniel Levy could only dream of achieving what Spurs have achived in the ongoing transfer market.

£100m. Yes, you read that right, £100m has been spent on the deal to bring Sandro Tonali to north London. It has well and truly smashed their transfer record. Spurs mean business.

Yet, they will not rise up the table just on Tonali alone, more is required.

Big-money winger wants to join Tottenham

In signing Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke, Spurs have ticked off an area that left them rather wounded last term; the centre of the defence. Only the relegated sides conceded more goals in the Premier League.

In Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, they have also boxed off the midfield, welcoming two of the division's finest central players into the fold.

De Zerbi is now on the hunt to bolster the forward line. The leading target would appear to be Bournemouth's Eli Junior Kroupi but that move feels like something of a fantasy right now.

He could cost around £90m, they face competition from Arsenal and Marco Rose's side do not want to sell. Still, a few weeks ago, the Tonali move also felt like a dream. It's now a reality.

Another primary target is AC Milan's Rafael Leao. The winger has already made it clear he will be leaving the San Siro this summer and Tottenham are positioning themselves to win the race for his signature.

That's according to Italian transfer reporter Daniele Longo who took to his YouTube account to reveal that "Leao's desire is to reach the Premier League".

Longo makes it clear that the Portugal international is "ready to say yes to Tottenham". That said, it could take a fee of €60m (£51m) to get him.

Why Leao could be another Kudus and Simons for Spurs

Tottenham's struggles in the transfer market a year ago are well documented.

They pushed hard to sign Morgan Gibbs-White, only for Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis to kick up a song and a dance. Gibbs-White ended up staying at the City Ground. There was also heartbreak as far as their pursuit of Eberechi Eze was concerned.

Spurs had a deal agreed only for him to pivot to Arsenal at the 11th hour. He then went and scored five goals against Spurs over the course of the season.

As a result of those failed pursuits, Thomas Frank ended up with Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus. He was happy with those two and understandably so.

Simons was being billed as one of the most exciting young creative players in Europe while Kudus came with proven Premier League experience.

At times, they thrived. Simons was finally getting into his groove before that horrendous ACL injury at the back end of the season. Kudus was spritely in the opening exchanges of the campaign, registering eight goal involvements in his first 13 league outings.

Well, in Leao, they could sign a player who boasts similar qualities and attributes to the pair of them. At home on the left wing, Milan coach Stefano Pioli said back in 2022 that "Leao reminds me a lot of the early Thierry Henry".

Why? This is a player with explosive speed. In that regard he's a bit different to Simons and Kudus. He's a tall player with long legs. In full stride he looks like Usain Bolt, galloping beyond the defence.

Yet, like both Kudus and Simons, he's a very progressive player. Those two are not necessarily about speed; they are about intricate moments and that's something Leao can bring too.

Analysing the data, the trio are some of the finest ball progressors in world football, all ranking within the top 3% of positionally similar players in Europe's top five leagues for progressive carries.

They simply love to help their team get up the pitch as quickly as possible and that suits De Zerbi's style of football particularly well.

They also all rank within the top 15% of positionally similar players for progressive passes and the best 17% for shot-ending carries.

Essentially, they are all mavericks, unpredictable players who can produce a moment of magic out of nowhere. Leao also combines that with end product. He's scored double figures for goals in each of his last five seasons at Milan.

It really does feel like that after Tonali and Fernandes, this would mark an exceptional additional to the Spurs ranks.