London calling! ‘Naive’ to ignore reason for Sandro Tonali’s £100m Tottenham transfer as ex-Spurs star assesses why Italy international snubbed rival interest

Reinforcements were clearly required at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following back-to-back 17th-place finishes. The 2024-25 campaign did deliver long-awaited silverware, in the form of Europa League success, but nerves were shredded last season as relegation fears were dramatically fended off.

That basement battle went down to the final day, with Roberto De Zerbi eventually steering a course to safety. He had picked up a managerial baton that slipped through the grasp of Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.

The Italian is being backed by his board to deliver a reversal in fortune. Departures are expected over the coming weeks, as underperforming players are moved on, but the arrivals lounge has already seen plenty of footfall.

Huge sums of cash have been invested in Italy international Tonali, ex-West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes and former Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke. Rival interest has been fended off when completing those deals, with Spurs proving that they remain a big draw.

Is Tonali, however, in north London due to geographical and financial factors - rather than sporting ones? When that question was put to Murphy, the ex-Tottenham midfielder - speaking in association with BetWright football betting - told GOAL: “I think it would be naive to think that London isn't a pull for a lot of the foreign boys. I say that through experience and speaking to them.

“My gut feeling is that if one of the really big boys, i.e. Man U, Man City, Liverpool, came in for him as strongly as Tottenham in terms of finances as well, then he might have gone there. Because to pick a location over winning trophies isn't something many players would do. But London is a pull. I don't know who was in for him for sure.

“The one advantage you have going to Tottenham, other than London, is the financial side. They've really pushed the boat out to get him. Maybe some of the other clubs who were in for him didn't push the boat out to that level.

“The other factor, to give him credit and other footballers, because not every footballer is just greed-obsessed and location-obsessed, is that you have a conversation with the coach when you're talking about which club you're going to go to. Maybe if there was interest from elsewhere, there wasn't a guarantee you're always going to play. I don't know that, but I know of situations in the past where a player would choose a club where he's been reassured that he's going to be the main man, he's going to play every week.

“I would imagine the mix of being the main man in the middle of the park, phenomenal wages, and London probably was a mixture of all three. I'd like to think it was a mixture of that as well.

“I don't like to think of players purely moving based on money or location, but it does happen. I think that he's a terrific signing and they've done really well to get him irrelevant of the cost and the amount of wages. I think he'll really improve them.”

Murphy added on Spurs’ early business, with Premier League experience a box that they clearly want to tick: “It's a statement of intent, much needed. I think the only difficulty around what I'm seeing there is at the moment, until the dealings are all done, they've got a heavy squad anyway.

“When you're not in Europe, you've got to be very good at your job as a manager to be able to keep that many players happy when you've only got Premier League football. That could become a little problematic unless we start seeing a bit of an exodus of players from Tottenham.

“The problem with that, of course, is a lot of them who were poor last season, who were on good wages, how many takers have they got? So, there's still some work to do at Tottenham, but I do like what they've done.

“I like Van Hecke, I like Fernandes. I think [James] Maddison coming back is going to be a big plus for them as well because we know what he brings. I think realistically for them, top six has got to be a realistic ambition. Top four might be a push to jump that high so quickly, but top six is realistic for them with the players they're bringing in.”

De Zerbi will hope that Murphy’s prediction proves to be correct, with a return to continental competition required in order to justify another elaborate outlay on the transfer front. Fresh faces, who are already well versed in the demands of English top-flight competition, need to settle quickly.

Pre-season preparations will soon begin in earnest, with the countdown on to a campaign-opening trip to Brentford on August 22 - as Spurs supporters cling to the belief that they will soon be looking upwards once more after spending the last two years glancing nervously over collective shoulders.