'Huge Boost' - Exclusive: Finance Guru reveals £574m Tottenham news
One of the reasons Tottenham overachieve so much is because of the "huge" financial boost their academy gives them — their current squad cost £574million less than Manchester City's.
That is according to football finance expert and new Football Insider columnist Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to correspondent Adam Williams in a week when academies have been at the forefront of football conversation.
Derby County and Aston Villa were forced to field youth sides in the FA Cup after COVID-19 swept through their respective camps.
Tottenham have been one of the more successful clubs in recent years in using their youth academy to populate their first-team, which in turn has kept their transfer spend well below other members of the so-called 'Big Six,' according to Maguire.
He told Football Insider: "In terms of cost of squads, Manchester City have spent £906m on theirs, Chelsea £870m, Manchester United £851m, and then you drop down to Spurs who have spent £332m.
"So how are Spurs competing? Their squad is just over a third of the value of some of their competitors. It's because they've been successful in bringing players through. Harry Kane is the preeminent example but they've had others as well.
"And being cynical, those players are more likely to sign retention contracts with the club and they're more likely to settle for a salary slightly lower than they might find elsewhere.
"So if Harry Kane is on £200,000 a week and if Manchester United offer £300,000, he might say 'Well, I've been a Spurs fan all my life and I've got a relationship with the club'.
"It's clear from the way he talks very eloquently and passionately about his affection for the club. So he might say 'I'm willing to forgo a little bit of money because I've been here since I was a kid.'
"That's an advantage financially because it helps to increase the loyalty between player and club if they've been there a long time.
"That can give you a huge boost."
Harry Winks is another notable Tottenham academy graduate who has become an established presence in the Spurs first-team.
Japhet Tanganga, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Troy Parott have all made the step up to senior football in recent years too.