Tottenham’s massive summer outlay has led former goalkeeper Brad Friedel to offer an unexpected take on Daniel Levy’s time at the club, saying he actually feels for the ex-chairman given how differently Spurs are now operating in the market.
The club have gone on one of the boldest recruitment runs in their history, dropping a record £237 million on six new players and breaking their own transfer record more than once along the way. They’ve also ditched their usual wage caution, reportedly making Sandro Tonali their highest earner by some distance.
After years of being accused of playing it safe in the market, Tottenham’s bosses promised fans a big summer once last season wrapped up — and they’ve followed through, spending in a way many supporters never expected to see from this club.
Friedel, though, doesn’t think Levy deserves the blame for Tottenham’s traditionally tight spending. The former USA international argues people often ignore the financial constraints Levy was actually working under.
On the club’s current approach, Friedel reckons Roberto De Zerbi must have been given serious guarantees before taking the job, likely promised strong backing in the market as part of a bigger long-term plan.
He said he feels sympathy for Levy, believing the former chairman was usually operating within tight limits set by ownership rather than having free rein. Friedel pointed out that Levy spent years juggling the enormous costs of building both the training ground and the new stadium while still trying to field competitive teams.
Friedel’s view is that a lot of fans wrongly assumed Levy controlled the purse strings himself, when really he was working with whatever budget ownership gave him — and he was often criticized unfairly despite overseeing some of the priciest infrastructure projects in the Premier League.
Even while acknowledging the scale of the spending, Friedel thinks Tottenham have recruited smartly overall. He conceded some deals look pricey on paper — Tonali’s reported terms being one example — but insisted the midfielder is still a top-quality signing.
He noted just how far the club’s spending has shifted from previous years, with both fees and wages now hitting levels Spurs rarely touched before.
Still, Friedel believes De Zerbi now has a squad genuinely capable of pushing for Europe. After a couple of seasons well below par, Tottenham look intent on getting back among the league’s top sides.
There are still questions over whether the spending pays off straight away, but Friedel thinks it’s given Spurs a much stronger chance of a top-six finish and a return to continental football.
For the first time in a long while, Tottenham are spending like a club with real ambition — and Friedel’s comments suggest the gap between this era and the Levy years isn’t as clear-cut as many fans think.
