Tottenham Hotspur Premier League preview: Will Jose Mourinho and Spurs rediscover their mojo?

Last season both Spurs and Jose Mourinho hinted that there could be a way back from their previous disappointments, but there is much to do yet.

Spurs finished the end of the last campaign in sixth. That might not have thrilled fans at the start of the season, but it was clear that Mauricio Pochettino had lost his way and the players were in need of something new. You could argue credibly that the new thing that both the squad and the manager needed was players, but dealing with Daniel Levy is part of the job. He is there to serve the bottom line first, and the manager second. The times they overlap are serendipitous.

Nevertheless, the players responded to a change, even if there have been inevitable casualties. Dele Alli is being given the chance to transform from Joe Cole as an enigmatic thrillmaker to Joe Cole as a shuttling winger. Tanguy Ndombele plainly needs encouragement but has been put on the naughty step instead, and Danny Rose does not appear enthused with the manager.

Spurs were one of the few clubs able to go to the government for financial assistance when the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold in Britain. They secured more than a hundred million pounds in financing to negotiate the crisis, and that might have given them some breathing room that other clubs could not access.

The arrival of Giovani Lo Celso from Real Betis was a certainty, an obligation at the end of his loan spell for last year, and he has done enough to suggest they would have exercised their £28 million option even if they could have walked away. Matt Doherty is a bargain replacement for Serge Aurier, who started to lose his way under Mourinho in the second portion of the season.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is a perfectly competent midfielder, but is unlikely to thrill any fans or worry any opponents. He is a neat and adept player available at a bargain price, and allows Levy to sell unwanted players should offers come in.

Selling the younger full-back Kyle Walker-Peters was not well received by some fans who thought he was a better option than Aurier, but the arrival of Doherty has dulled that objection. Similarly, Hart is a perfectly good replacement for Michel Vorm, and Jan Vertonghen needed to make way for younger defenders.

With Callum Wilson off to Newcastle United, the obvious option to provide back-up to Harry Kane has been taken.

Metz forward Habib Diallo could be a younger alternative to provide support in attack but another target, Ollie Watkins, has joined Aston Villa.

Perhaps Wilson's former team-mate Josh King could be another option.

The transfer window is set to run for the best part of another month, so Spurs will aim to shift some players who aren't needed, such as Rose, and perhaps Ndombele. Davinson Sanchez has also been linked with a move away.

If they raise a lot of cash then there's a chance that Mourinho's links to Jorge Mendes could facilitate some late deals.

Mourinho has only really just started at Spurs, and the first season for teams under Mourinho are generally relatively pleasant. It appears that Levy is content to support him too, so little will be changed for now.

Ledley King has been brought in as another assistant coach, and with his experience at the back he could make Spurs much tighter defensively.

New players will be the main focus, with Hojbjerg taking up a role that probably offers far less than Ndombele is capable of when at his best, but with much more consistency than the Frenchman managed last year.

Doherty will offer plenty of attacking threat down the right but played his best football as a wing-back for Wolves, so one change could be a shift to a back three for Spurs.

The biggest change that Spurs will be hoping for is that Kane lasts a full season. There are reasonable concerns that with a serious injury after playing so many games, he could already be past his peak. That is far from certain and could look a foolish prediction in a couple of months, given his professionalism and dedication to his physical fitness, and if he is close to his best again then they will be a side transformed.

Spurs could certainly challenge for fourth place if they hit the ground running. They have had months off compared to the other top sides, and both these Spurs players and Mourinho squads in the past have delivered some brutally fit and energetic sides.

Beyond that, the most important thing to keep an eye on is the January transfer window. If Spurs are struggling and Mourinho doesn't get any help, expect him to kick off. Levy will know that Mourinho is a chequebook manager who rarely backs down, so there could be fireworks.

The other extension of that is that into a second season some players might tire of him acting as captain aggro. Despite his £15 million wages, at some point it will be cheaper to sack him than replace the insurrectionists. This though is Mourinho's last chance at a high profile club, and it is in the city he loves. Perhaps this time he will finally change his ways. Probably not though.