It feels like next season will be a pivotal moment for Tottenham. After last season’s disappointment, finishing seventh in the Premier League table, Spurs will be keen to head into the new season full of optimism. At this stage, however, there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of talisman, Harry Kane, not to mention the vacant manager’s seat.

You get a feeling that some of those issues will be resolved before pre-season starts in earnest and a lot may depend on England’s progress in the current European Championships, however, for Spurs fans, it’s difficult to look forward to the upcoming season with so much uncertainty. 

That being said, Betway Sports still has Tottenham as fifth favourites to lift the Premier League trophy in 2021-22 at 34.00, despite having no new manager in place and doubts over which team Kane will lead the line for when they open their season against reigning champions, Manchester City on 15 August.

There already feels like there is a divide opening up between the previous ‘big six’ and the new order when it comes to the favourites to take out the Premier League title. Here are the odds for the seven favourites for the upcoming season, provided by Betway:

• Manchester City – 1.75
• Chelsea – 6.00
• Liverpool – 6.00
• Manchester United – 10.00
• Tottenham Hotspur – 34.00
• Arsenal – 51.00
• Leicester City – 67.00

Despite finishing fifth for the past two seasons and winning the Premier League title more recently than Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, Leicester still find themselves on the outside of the ‘big six’ but you can see a huge gulf between fourth favourites, Manchester United and fifth favourites Tottenham, in the betting odds at least.

So, how do Tottenham cement their place in the ‘big six’ and put themselves back in contention for Champions League football in 2021-22? Well, despite a seventh-placed finish last year, they only ended up missing out on a top-four place by five points and did finish ahead of Arsenal in the table so there is not as much work to do as one might think.

Here are some of the key factors that will impact their ability to challenge for honours in 2021-22.

Managerial merry-go-round

Perhaps the first thing Tottenham need to address as they head into the new season is filling the empty manager’s seat. Following the sacking of Jose Mourinho in April after 17 months in charge, Spurs have been on the lookout for a new manager and if reports are to be believed, they have chased, and been rebuffed by, every leading manager across Europe already this summer.

Names linked with Tottenham include:

• Julian Nagelsmann
• Brendan Rodgers
• Erik ten Hag
• Antonio Conte
• Paulo Fonseca
• Gennaro Gattuso
• Jurgen Klinsmann
• Roberto Martinez
• Roberto Mancini
• Mauricio Pochettino
• Nuno Espirito Santo
• Graham Potter
• Eddie Howe
• Julen Lopetegui

That’s a long list of potential candidates, however, according to the most recent report, the race is now down to two final prospects – Santo and Potter. How Spurs fans would feel about either appointment remains to be seen, however, whoever they get in is going to need to work quickly and not only attempt to secure the services of Kane for at least one more season but also recruit new blood on a limited budget following their failure to qualify for the Champions League.

The Kane dilemma

It feels inevitable that Kane will eventually move on even though that’s not what Spurs fans want to hear. Could the right manager keep him there for one more season? Could that season convince him to stay for longer? Only time will tell, however, it does seem clear that Kane has ambitions that currently extend beyond a seventh-place finish in the Premier League and Thursday nights playing in the Europa League.

If Spurs’ new manager can somehow convince Kane to stay for one more season and he manages to continue his stellar form, there is not only the possibility that he may stay if the season is a success, but even if he chooses to move on, his value could increase significantly over the next 12 months as clubs start to recover from the impact of COVID-19, fans return to stadiums and more funds become available for transfers. Manchester City are apparently willing to wait 12 months if they cannot secure Kane’s signature this summer so hope remains.

If, however, Tottenham does receive a bid they simply can’t turn down and let’s be honest, Daniel Levy is a shrewd businessman, then there could be a significant war chest available to improve the entire squad next season. Without that transfer windfall, it is unlikely there will be major changes to the squad next season.

New arrivals…and departures

Whenever Tottenham get their new manager in place, one of the first things on their to-do list will be drawing up a list of transfer targets as well as reviewing the future of current loan star Gareth Bale.

As well as being linked with a whole host of managers this summer, Spurs, despite having no manager in place, have also been linked with a number of Europe’s hottest talents. It seems more likely that the new manager will have the final say on these prospective signings, however, it would certainly bolster their chances of keeping hold of Kane if they were to sign up some of the rising stars they have been linked with including Italy’s Domenico Berard, Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips and Italian Manuel Locatelli who is currently starring at Euro 2020.

You sense this is a huge pre-season for Spurs and finding the right manager who can convince Kane to stay for at least one more season may well be the key to them breaking back into the top four and securing Champions League qualification in 2021-22.