While there may have been a late flurry on transfer deadline day, Tottenham Hotspur’s most-important summer signing was completed early as Tanguy Ndombele joined from Lyon.
After Mousa Dembele’s departure in January, landing a replacement able to dictate the play from the boiler room and add energy to the Spurs midfield was needed.
Ndombele is certainly that man, with Tottenham’s new club-record signing set to be unleashed on the Premier League in 2019-20.
The France international will join Harry Winks and crowd favourite Moussa Sissoko in contesting the central midfield berths, with Eric Dier also looking to get game time in the centre of the park.
However, Ndombele’s signing marks the beginning of the end at Tottenham for Victor Wanyama.
The Kenya international is a likeable person and a player that Pochettino rates, with the Spurs boss speaking highly of the African enforcer on plenty of occasions in the past.
However, with an additional top-quality option in Tottenham’s midfield, Wanyama looks set to play a fringe role this season and be starved of competitive action.
After joining from Southampton, the Kenyan was massively impressive in the 2016-17 season and a key player in the Spurs starting XI, making 35 appearances.
However, debilitating injuries over the last 24 months have left Wanyama as something of a forgotten man at Tottenham.
He has filled in at times in important games, likes against Manchester City in last term’s Champions League, but 12 Premier League starts in the last two seasons show how marginalised the 28-year-old has become.
Unfortunately, with Ndombele set to command a starting berth and a scramble for places in the Tottenham team, Wanyama looks likely to be watching on from the sidelines until the January transfer window.