Bit of a long one, so bear with me.
The aims for the summer are largely dependent on two factors and one constant. The first factor is what formation Poch adopts to deal with the demands of playing at Wembley - it is larger than White Hart Lane, and will bring different demands in terms of adapting our pressing game even further to account for the conservation of energy that will be needed, as well as the way we utilise the extra space. Do we go with three at the back as a permanent solution? Or do we return to a four-man back line and a 4-2-3-1 setup?
The second factor is player retention - who we bring in will, as always, be dependent on whether we can retain the players we have. This summer is no different in that regard - CL notwithstanding, I expect to see a few testing bids for Eriksen and Toby, as well as a possible intensification of the well-publicized interest in Walker, Dier and Rose. If we can fend off all that interest and keep our core, our transfer strategy will be largely one of backup replacement - else, we're going to see a more active approach.
The final thing to consider is the constant - which is that our playing style under Poch is comprised primarily of speed, strength and aggression in equal measure, whatever formation we adopt and whatever personnel we plug into the system. Speed, to ensure quick transitions and increase the effectiveness of the press - strength, to dominate the opposition and negate their ability to break quickly. And aggression, to ensure that exploratory passes up top are followed up by hungry players looking to capitalize on turnovers high up the field, and to ensure that the opposition is always unnerved by the relentless desire of our players to nick the ball off them at a moment's notice should they display *any* weakness whatsoever. Our transfers will need to have all three in sufficient measure to ensure a coherent tactical approach can be maintained throughout periods of rotation. It doesn't necessarily mean that they will *all* have to be quick, strong and bullish, but there will need to be a healthy dose of such attributes *across* our signings, even if one or two don't exactly fit the description.
With regard to the first, I suspect that Dier will be an ever-present in whatever formation we adopt, because he is the key tactical element in our ability to switch seamlessly from three at the back to two centre-backs and one in midfield (and vice-versa). That correspondingly means that ,whatever formation we adopt, we'll need another centre-back to cover for the ever-presents in Dier, Toby and Verts, because Wimmer doesn't look like he enjoys Poch's confidence (for whatever reason) and CCV is still young and untested. Beyond that, it depends. If we go with two at the back and three AMs behind Kane, we will need another AM to cover for them and offer us something different to Son, Eriksen, Alli, (possibly) Sissoko, (possibly) N'Koudou, and Lamela, although what he'll look like when he returns from his year-long layoff is an open question. More than one would block off a first-team slot for one of Onomah or Edwards - thus, best to keep it at one in that regard. If we go to three at the back (with Dier as the RCB), by contrast, we won't need an AM because we will have four to rotate in the two positions behind Kane (Eriksen, Alli, Son and Lamela), plus Sissoko/N'Koudou and/or Onomah/Edwards if necessary. In that scenario, another CM would be handy, to provide a rotation option for Wanyama (albeit a more forward-thinking one) and competition for Winks as cover for Dembele.
With regard to the second, it's really an unknown. If Walker leaves, we're looking at 50-60m as the incoming fee (I suspect), which will likely allow us to both look for a replacement (if necessary) and strengthen other areas. If Eriksen goes (for example), it will be for a larger fee, but in that eventuality we may need to splash out on a marquee signing to convince our remaining players that we still have ambitions. If any of our other players leave, one of the two scenarios described above will similarly apply. But there's no telling how our strategy will specifically go before we know who's leaving, so it's largely unknown at this point.
With regard to the third, as I said, these three attributes will need to be present overall in the signings we make. It's an imprecise science (well, more like gut reasoning, really), but it's easy to say that if we sign, say, one small right back, one small attacking midfielder and a small central midfielder, that wouldn't help much, because we would be trading our size advantage relative to other teams (which has been proven to work) for the uncertain advantages offered by the other attributes these players will possess. Thomas Lemar is an example in point - he is 1.7m tall, which is almost three quarters of a foot shorter than Son, Alli, Eriksen and Lamela (all of whom are more than 1.8m tall - an unusually tall, mobile frontline (even without Kane) which packs power, pace and skill in equal measure). He has pace to burn, but is it worth sacrificing forward physicality? Maybe, if our other signings were large men to make up for it. Alternately, we could sign a slow-but-tall attacking midfielder like Gylfi, but only if we bought pacy players to offset that. And, whoever we buy, aggression is paramount - the player cannot be one who doesn't try to leave his heart on the field in every game. Initial struggles and failures are acceptable - but not trying is not.
Those are likely to be our considerations this summer. Our aims should be to strengthen our squad and look to offset the Wembley disadvantage - but they will be guided by the considerations listed above, I suspect.
