Peter Crouch has hailed the 'miracles' performed by Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham, tipping Spurs to finish in third place this season.
Pochettino guided his side to a fourth-place finish last season and to the Champions League final against Liverpool, but saw them suffer a 2-0 defeat in Madrid.
More is expected from Spurs in 2019-20, with the club having dipped back into the transfer market after two windows of no movement, and Crouch believes there is enough talent at their disposal to challenge for major honours.
The former Tottenham striker told the Daily Mail: “[Spurs are] the closest challengers to Manchester City and Liverpool.
“Forget about some of the erratic results they had last season when they struggled with fatigue and injuries — Tottenham are a brilliant side and will comfortably finish third again.
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“They have spent a lot of money and the arrival of Tanguy Ndombele is exciting — he will add drive to the midfield.
“Everyone knows about Harry Kane, who will be desperate to win the Golden Boot again, but I want to stress the importance of Son Heung-min.
“He is a top player, one of the best forwards in Europe and I think he will be even better again this season.
“Dele Alli will also be fired up. I love watching Tottenham play and think they will go from strength to strength.”
While saluting the on-field quality at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Crouch is aware of the threat surrounding the future of a highly-rated coach.
Pochettino has conceded that he could have walked away from his current post had Champions League success been delivered in 2018-19.
Crouch added: “Mauricio Pochettino - could this be his last season at Spurs?
“He has performed miracles so far against richer rivals but the Argentine needs some silverware to show for all his fine work.”
Crouch went on to say of Spurs when pressed to pick a key man for the upcoming campaign: “Harry Kane - there's so much more to his game than goals but few better strikers around.
“If he stays fit, expect Spurs to secure a fifth consecutive top-four finish — and Kane to win the Golden Boot.”
Tottenham open their 2019-20 Premier League campaign at home to newly-promoted Aston Villa on Saturday.
