Tottenham Must Strengthen Squad Depth in Summer Transfer Window

Tottenham are enjoying their finest season in decades. 

Under the guidance of ambitious manager Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs' exciting young team are all but certain of playing Champions League football next season and they remain an outside chance of winning the league title in this campaign.

In that context, it would seem significant transfer moves are not needed in the summer.

Their first team is the equal of any in the league and few teams can call on the quality of Kevin Wimmer and Heung-Min Son from their substitutes' bench. 

There is likely to be something of a transfers arms race this summer though. The arrival of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City along with disappointing seasons at Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United will see immense sums thrown at players across Europe. 

Fortunately, Spurs are not in the position of requiring significant first-team additions. 

The core of the squad is enviably strong but the base is narrow. Reinforcements, rather than additional front-line troops, are the solution.

Pochettino's obsessive attention to the fitness of his players means a relatively modest squad is sufficient, but additions are still required. 

The club's academy has proven an effective source in recent seasons with Harry Kane, Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb, Tom Carroll and Danny Rose all emerging to take up first-team roles. 

There remains further quality to be drafted up from the development squads. Josh Onomah, Harry Winks and Kyle Walker-Peters all stand poised to break through before long.

Alex Pritchard and Bentaleb can also be expected to push for time when they return from loan and injury, respectively. These internal resources will fill some gaps but will be insufficient to deal with the demands of the new season. 

Spurs will be facing European opposition of a greater calibre than that which they met in the Europa League. 

Where Pochettino had the luxury of rotating heavily for meetings with Fiorentina, Monaco and Anderlecht, he will be forced to field full-strength lineups in the Champions League. 

Money must be spent on adequate new blood. 

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Spurs have quality squad depth in many positions, but there are three irreplaceable players. Eric Dier, Mousa Dembele and Harry Kane cannot be substituted without accepting a significant drop in quality. 

The first priorities in the summer must be quality options in these three positions. Recent acquisitions like Dele Alli, Kevin Wimmer and Kieran Trippier should form the template. They were all cheap, relatively young players of a proven level but with high potential. 

Alli and Wimmer have exceeded expectations in their first seasons, while Trippier has been solid. 

Another right-sided centre back as backup for Toby Alderweireld and a replacement for Michel Vorm would complete a fine summer of transfer activity. 

The club will certainly be offered high-priced mercenaries like Axel Witsel but they should instead focus on players that can be developed by master coach Pochettino.

The next few years could see Spurs make a long-term step into the elite of English and European football. 

The quality already in their squad, the financial clout afforded by booming television deals and Champions League football along with a new ultra-modern London stadium combine to make a compelling case for Tottenham's future. 

When Spurs played in the European Cup in 2010-11, they performed admirably. Of English sides, only beaten finalists Manchester United went further than Tottenham in that season's tournament. A failure to reinforce that team saw Spurs slip back out of the top four and squander a great opportunity. 

Little more than two years after Real Madrid knocked Tottenham out at the quarter-final stage, the stars of that team were gone and the club's future looked bleak. 

Luka Modric, frustrated by a lack of progress, sought an exit and was joined by Gareth Bale in Madrid a year later. Rafael van der Vaart was sold and Ledley King retired. 

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The collapse of Spurs' last great team shows just how transitory such an opportunity can be. 

The right transfer moves this summer, along with the off-field progress, could fortify Tottenham's place back among the very top European clubs. 

Squandering the opportunity that has presented itself this season doesn't bear thinking about.