If, and it's looking more and more like it's a big if, Ange Postecoglou is still manager of Tottenham Hotspur at the end of this season, he'll need a monumental summer to set the club on the right path.
To ensure the North Londoners don't finish in the bottom half of the Premier League, the Australian will need to overhaul large parts of the squad, from the attack to the defence.
Fortunately, Daniel Levy and Co do seem set on signing some exciting players when the window opens, with one of the most significant links in recent weeks being to Bournemouth's incredible Dean Huijsen, who has a £50m release clause in his current deal.
However, if the Spaniard does make his way to N5 in the coming months, he'll have to hit the ground running to see his valuation even match one of his new teammates.
Why Spurs want Huijsen
There are really two reasons why Spurs want to sign Huijsen this summer, and the first is fairly obvious: he's an exceptionally talented defender.
Despite being just 19 years old, the former Juventus gem has made 30 first-team appearances for the Cherries this term, scoring two goals, providing one assist, and averaging 1.63 points per game, which is undeniably impressive.
Moreover, according to FBref, he sits in the top 1% of centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues for interceptions, the top 2% for non-penalty expected goals plus assists, the top 5% for key passes, the top 9% for progressive carries and more, all per 90.
However, on top of his impressive performances and statistics, one of the other key reasons why Tottenham may be so keen to sign the Amsterdam-born prospect is that with each passing week, it seems more and more likely that Cristian Romero will be leaving the team in the summer.
At first, there were links to Real Madrid, and now, in the last month or so, the links to Atlético Madrid have become stronger and stronger, with some reports suggesting talks have already taken place between the player and Diego Simeone.
So, if the World Cup winner does leave, the North Londoners will need another starting centre-back, although Huijsen would have to be imperious from the word go to match the valuation of his potential new partner.
The Spurs star worth millions more than Huijsen
Now, while there are a few other centre-backs in Spurs squad, like Kevin Danso and Radu Dragusin, it will likely come as no surprise that the defender in question is Micky van de Ven.
The Flying Dutchman joined the North Londoners from VfL Wolfsburg in the summer of 2023 for a fee of around £43m, but according to the CIES Football Observatory, is now worth €70.4m, which converts to about £60m, or £10m more than Huijsen's release clause.
This is a rather substantial rise in valuation, but it would be hard to deny that it's not justified, as when the 23-year-old international is fit and available, he's undoubtedly one of Spurs' best and most important players.
The Wormer-born titan has a brilliant sense of danger and where he needs to be on the pitch, but perhaps even more important than that, he is unbelievably rapid.
It was in a game against Brentford last season that he set a new Premier League record for the fastest sprint, clocking in at an incredible 37.38 km/h, and it's this outstanding speed which helps him snuff out so many counter-attacks before they have the chance of developing into something more substantial.
Finally, the "complete & dominant" centre-back, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is also able to contribute at the sharp end of the pitch and currently has a tally of three goals and two assists in 45 games for the Lilywhites.
Ultimately, Spurs should sign Huijsen if they can, but in Van de Ven, they already have a defender who could go on to be a true superstar.