On the one hand you have Chelsea, who have spent north of £1 billion over the previous three transfer windows and don't look any closer to challenging for a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Then you have Tottenham, whose wage bill is significantly lower than their London rivals, and yet seem to be in decent shape.
Spurs finished fifth in the Premier League last season – above Chelsea – despite losing their premier player, Harry Kane, to Bayern Munich last summer.
Ange Postecoglou enjoyed a largely satisfactory season as manager. So much so that there were talks of him being considered as a replacement for Gareth Southgate as England boss.
Spurs should be optimistic about their chances this season after signing Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth, adding much needed bite to their attack.
The 26-year-old striker, capped once for England, enjoyed a good 2023/24 season, scoring 19 goals in the English top flight to help Bournemouth achieve their highest points total in the Premier League era.
"We have got [Dominic] at a really good time in his career," Postecoglou said. "He has had to work his way back up, which I always think is a good thing."
Spurs struggled in attack after Kane's move to the Bundesliga. They resisted the temptation to sign a striker 12 months ago but now hope Solanke can fire the team back into the Uefa Champions League.
Also, Spurs have extended Timo Werner's loan spell from RB Leipzig until the end of next season. The German made 14 appearances in all competitions and scored twice for Spurs after joining them on a temporary basis in January.
Tottenham had the option to sign the 28-year-old forward permanently for £15m. However, the new deal contains an £8.5m option to buy.
There were more moves made in the transfer market. Spurs signed South Korean winger Yang Min-hyeok from K League 1 side Gangwon FC on a six-year deal, but the 18 year old is set to join only in January.
Yang was Tottenham's second signing of the summer following highly rated 18-year-old Archie Gray from Leeds United.
The South Korean will be eager to work with compatriot Son Heung-min, who remains a top performer and the highest-earning player of the Spurs squad. Below is the list of the best-paid players at Tottenham. Data collected from capology.com and spotrac.com.
Highest earning players at Tottenham for 2024/25
1. Son Heung-min - £190,000 per week
2. James Maddison - £170,000 per week
=3. Cristian Romero - £165,000 per week
=3. Timo Werner - £165,000 per week
5. Dejan Kulusevski - £110,000 per week
6. Richarlison - £90,000 per week
=7. Radu Dragusin - £85,000 per week
=7. Pedro Porro - £85,000 per week
9. Ben Davies - £80,000 per week
=10. Rodrigo Bentancur - £75,000 per week
=10. Archie Gray - £75,000 per week
=10. Destiny Udogie - £75,000 per week
=10. Fraser Forster - £75,000 per week
=10. Guglielmo Vicario - £75,000 per week
=15. Giovani Lo Celso - £70,000 per week
=15. Pape Sarr - £70,000 per week
=15. Brennan Johnson - £70,000 per week
18. Manor Solomon - £60,000 per week
19. Yves Bissouma - £55,000 per week
20. Sergio Reguilon - £53,000 per week
21. Micky van de Ven - £50,000 per week
22. Oliver Skipp - £40,000 per week
23. Djed Spence - £25,000 per week
=24. Brandon Austin - £15,000 per week
=24. Ashely Phillips - £15,000 per week
26. Alfie Whiteman - £7,500 per week
Note: Salary of Dominik Solanke, Yang Min-hyeok not revealed.
