Daniel Levy must spend for Tottenham to become a big club

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy must be ready to pay his stars the money they deserve if Spurs are to become a massive club.

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy is, as it pertains to financial matters, arguably the most brilliant mind in all of world football. Levy possesses a reputation for being a shrewd negotiator capable of getting top dollar for any star player he sells.

He has done well to surround manager Mauricio Pochettino with a squad capable of challenging for titles and earning Champions League berths. He is also on the cusp of leading Spurs into a new era, one that will include Tottenham playing home matches at a brand new world-class stadium that will house seats for 61,559 attendees per ESPN’s Dan Kilpatrick.

Levy’s brilliance, unfortunately for all directly involved, may become his downfall if he does not relinquish hold of stubborn ways and former practices. Under Levy, Spurs have maintained a strict pay cap, one that has allowed the club to continue to grow at a steady, although slow, pace. While this cap had a role in both Luka Modric and Gareth Bale making moves from White Hart Lane to Real Madrid this decade, Tottenham are, right now today, better off than they ever were when both played for Spurs on Premier League weekends.

For years, Levy has, both directly and indirectly, promised supporters Tottenham will become one of the biggest clubs in England and in all of Europe. Somebody may need to inform the chairman Spurs are already there. Tottenham have become mainstays of European football, they’ve thrice qualified for the Champions League since the spring of 2010 and they’ve competed for the league title in back-to-back campaigns.

Tottenham’s recent successes are hardly flukes. They are products of a top-tier manager getting the best out of a young squad potentially on the verge of something special. The players in that squad are capable of featuring for any of the giants of English and European football, but that means they’re also worthy of earning wages such massive clubs would offer.

Hugo Lloris is, at absolute worst, one of the top three goalkeepers in England who could start for any Premier League club. Kyle Walker is an England international who may double his wages if he joins either Manchester United or Manchester City this coming summer. Striker Harry Kane deserves to be on £200,000 a week, double of what he is reportedly earning. Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli are talents who could play for either Real Madrid or Barcelona in the near future.

Levy has run out of excuses and explanations for not paying his stars and keeping the bulk, if not the entirety, of the current Tottenham squad together for at least one more season until the new stadium (hopefully) opens before the start of the 2018-19 campaign. Failing to do so would leave many supporters wondering why White Hart Lane was demolished in favor of a new project in the first place.

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Since the fall of 2010, Tottenham’s worldwide popularity has grown exponentially. Spurs have a working agreement with the National Football League, one that could, years down the road, be worth more than those of us outside of the club can imagine. Tottenham are again in a spot where they will be tasked with competing with the league’s top clubs and also some of the best competition in Europe on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

No reasonable person should expect Tottenham to attempt to acquire the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi in summer transfer windows. Spurs aren’t at that level of power, wealth and success, and they will likely never get there. Tottenham don’t need an influx of talent in the starting XI to make further progress next season. They can add depth and also keep the majority of their stars happy.

Now is not the time for Tottenham to be a selling club. Granted, every player is worth a price, and there may come certain instances when selling and then reinvesting makes good business sense; such as if a club offers £50 million for the previously mentioned Walker. Spurs could afford to lose Walker for the right amount of money, but a one-off sale is about all fans would tolerate before September arrives.

Pay Kane. Pay Lloris. Pay Eriksen, Alli, Eric Dier and all the rest who have earned raises via their performances during matches. Making the transition from the Lane to Wembley Stadium for even a single season before opening up a new ground, the latter of which will only increase expectations among supporters, will be hard enough.

The future is bright for Tottenham, but only if Levy is willing to abandon the past.

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