Football: Arnesen accelerates Tottenham investment in youth

Spurs were Europe's busiest club in the transfer window. Jason Burt sees a change of focus in their spending

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR could not have been busier in the transfer market if they had appointed Harry Redknapp as manager after all. Instead, Frank Arnesen has made the old wheeler-dealer look like a novice when it has come to signing players.

Seven arrivals in January, with another signing a pre-contract agreement, mean that Spurs' sporting director made the club the busiest in Europe, never mind the Premiership, during the transfer window. Added to that, four players have departed, although Calum Davenport will return from Southampton following his loan spell. He will find extra competition. Michael Dawson, from Nottingham Forest, was one of six to arrive in the last week alone. The central defender - Spurs seem to be collecting them - signed as part of an pounds 8m double deal with Andy Reid.

The deadline-day price was greater than Spurs had wanted to pay, which was irksome for the chairman, Daniel Levy, who is a notoriously tricky negotiator and someone who tries - to the chagrin of some clubs - to agree deals with complicated payment systems. A transfer of that kind was proposed for Reid. In the end, it took six attempts to sign the Republic of Ireland international with Spurs paying pounds 4.7m - near enough the price originally asked this time last year.

Nevertheless the spending is astonishing, especially when a statement by Levy, last autumn, is taken into account. Spurs remain a public limited company and reported an operating loss of pounds 1.9m for the year up to the end of June. Then Levy said that pounds 37.5m had been spent on transfer fees since July 2003 (it is now nearer pounds 48m) and that 17 players had left (it is now 20) and 21 arrived (now 28).

"This has been possible through the support of the club's key investors and the ongoing financial stability of the club's operations," Levy wrote. "This level of investment underlines the ambitions we have but is clearly not sustainable."

Despite the obvious meaning of that last clause, Levy has carried on spending - which raises questions over what his strategy is and where the money he is spending is coming from. Matters are complicated by that fact that although a plc, Spurs are controlled by Levy and the billions of the Bahamas-based businessman Joe Lewis, with the former chairman Sir Alan Sugar also holding a 13 per cent stake. Levy's position was strengthened by last year's discounted share sale which raised pounds 15m for transfers - part of which went on buying Jermain Defoe.

That bolstered the funds available to Arnesen. Also, in terms of revenue, only Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle generate more cash than Spurs, and the wage bill, in particular, has come under more control.

In fairness to his predecessor, Arnesen has only accelerated a policy which started under David Pleat. Investment in youth has replaced lavish spending - in wages as well as fees - on older, established players such as Teddy Sheringham, Christian Ziege and Sergei Rebrov. Indeed, the pounds 11m spent on the latter by George Graham still haunts Levy. Graham's successor, Glenn Hoddle, did not want the player and Levy will not allow that to happen again.

That is why Levy struck upon the idea of implementing a European-style management structure with a head coach and director of football. He attempted it with Hoddle and Pleat, and, after the short-lived attempt with Jacques Santini and Arnesen, appears to have the right chemistry with Martin Jol.

Arnesen has certainly enhanced the club's credibility, its continuity and its attraction. His reputation, after doing the job for 10 years, unearthing Ronaldo et al, is peerless - as is his contacts book. And there is a clear, if slightly scattergun, strategy in place.

Last summer the club was linked with Edgar Davids and Luis Figo, but instead signed little-known players such as Thimothee Atouba and Reto Ziegler: clearly they were no longer buying reputations. Among last summer's arrivals was Edson Silva Sousa, who has already been moved on, while little is heard of Rodrigo Defendi or Spase Dilevski. Still, Levy knows he will never again have to write off millions in lost transfer fees as he did with Rebrov, Ben Thatcher and Chris Perry.

Yesterday Arnesen professed himself pleased with last month's business. "We are very satisfied," he said. "We haven't lost any key players and that's important. You have to be aware of that because clubs can come in for them, but our big players are happy at Tottenham."

Despite Chelsea toying with a bid for Defoe, the only concrete offer was Everton's for Simon Davies and that - at pounds 2m - was rejected. Arnesen may well be right, although supporters also need to be aware that the stars he created at PSV Eindhoven, from Ruud van Nistelrooy to Arjen Robben, have something else in common. They all left.

WHITE HART FRENZY SPURS' SIGNINGS IN THE LAST YEAR

JAN 2004 - JAN 2005

Michael Brown Sheff Utd pounds 0.5m 01-01-2004 Jermain Defoe West Ham pounds 7m 02-02-2004

Paul Robinson Leeds pounds 1.5m 17-05-2004

Sean Davis Fulham pounds 3.5m 01-07-2004

Marton Fulop MTK Hungaria pounds 0.5m 01-07-2004

Pedro Mendes Porto pounds 2m 08-07-2004

Leigh Mills Swindon pounds 0.08m 11-07-2004

Erik Edman Heerenveen pounds 1.33m 31-07-2004

Nourredine Naybet Deportivo pounds 0.7m 13-08-2004

Edson Silva Sousa PSV Eindhoven Free 13-08-2004

Thimothee Atouba FC Basle Free 13-08-2004

Rodrigo Defendi Cruzeiro pounds 0.6m 13-08-2004

Michael Carrick West Ham pounds 2.75m 24-08-2004

Noe Pamarot Nice pounds 1.75m 24-08-2004

Calum Davenport Coventry pounds 1.1m 30-08-2004

Reto Ziegler Grasshoppers Z Undisc. 31-08-2004

Spase Delevski PSV Eindhoven Undisc. 31-08-2004

Emil Hallfredsson FH Hafnarfjordur Undisc. 04-01-2005

Michael Dawson Nottm Forest pounds 4m 31-01-2005

Andy Reid Nottm Forest pounds 4m 31-01-2005

PLAYERS IN: 20 TOTAL: pounds 31.305m

LOANS IN

David Limbersky Viktoria Plzen 04-01-2005

Ahmed Hossam Mido Roma 28-01-2005

Radek Cerny Slavia Prague 28-01-2005

TOTAL: 3