Tottenham are part of the Premier League’s Big 6 due to revenue, league positions, honors, and other factors. However, they seem to be drifting away from the Top 5 in recent years despite the UEFA Europa League triumph.
In February this year, Ange Postecoglou spoke about Tottenham’s ambitions, or lack of, on The Overlap’s Stick To Football podcast. He claimed that Spurs don’t act like a Big 6 club. He highlighted that their wages aren’t among the Top 5 in the league and added that they don’t make big signings either.
Former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara has now backed those claims by Ange and shared his frustrations with the club. He pointed to their revenue, but bemoaned the arguable lack of spending.
Jamie O’Hara claims Tottenham don’t act like a Big 6 club
Tottenham have been among the top teams in the Premier League in terms of transfer fees over the years. However, their record transfer is Dominic Solanke, whom they signed for £65 million from Bournemouth in 2024.
Highlighting this, O’Hara said on Sky Sports:
“Spurs do not act like a big six club. They might have the revenue, they might have the money there, but, you know, from when you look at the big six, they will sign players for £100 million. They will pay the wages, they will get a player in who they think is gonna take them to the next level, and spend 350 grand a week on him.”
“Spurs, we’ll spend £60 million. You know, we might go, that’s where we are, our ceiling, but we won’t go above that. And if you want to act like a big six club, and you want to go to that next level, you can’t chance it. You have got to pay the money.”
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O’Hara gave the example of Declan Rice, whom Arsenal signed for £105 million from West Ham in 2023, as a statement signing. He said that Tottenham haven’t made a statement signing like that, which “ruins their reputation”.
Tottenham need to spend, but more importantly, spend right
Tottenham indeed need to spend more money in terms of transfer fees and wages. However, a bigger priority should be spending that money on the right players. Over the years, Spurs have had so many different styles of coaches, which has reflected in their incohesive squads.
Tottenham have spent money on the likes of Xavi Simons and Mohamed Kudus, but have also brought in Conor Gallagher and Joao Palhinha (on loan). This is a perfect representation of their confused strategy. Spurs desperately need to stick to a direction of footballing style first, which would make recruitment unidirectional.
They are set to give Roberto De Zerbi a stronger influence in off-the-pitch decisions, which could be a good start. However, they also need to actively back it up by offering him the resources he demands in the transfer market.
