Tottenham's Gareth Bale facelift

Crowd favourite Michael Dawson has earned the trust of Andre Villas-Boas having been frozen out initially and he certainly provides more solidity than William Gallas, who has left.

Some will dispute whether Danny Rose is a better left-back than Benoit Assou-Ekotto but he was Sunderland’s best player while on loan last season and perhaps adds more intensity at the back and in attack.

But the left-back debate will become redundant if Spurs get Fabio Coentrao from Madrid, a player much admired by Andre Villas-Boas. Romania centre-back Vlad Chiriches is another target.

2012

van der Vaart, Livermore, Sandro

2013

Paulinho, Dembele, Sigurdsson

The £17million Spurs paid Corinthians for Paulinho in July bought them a stronger presence in the middle of the pitch. Now they have much better protection in front of the back four and a player who can also help get the passing game in full flow.

Etienne Capoue, who can also play at the back, is another arrival who has added much needed steel whether he starts on Sunday or is on the bench.

Mousa Dembele was a late arrival last summer and also had his share of injuries but he has started this season in good form and can only get better.

That is already the case with Gylfi Sigurdsson, who struggled to make an impact when he arrived but looks more assured now. The midfield of Sandro, Jake Livermore and Rafael van Der Vaart who played against West Brom do not compare favourably. Sandro could get into the team if he gets back to his best after a long-term knee problem but the inconsistent Van der Vaart was sold to Hamburg shortly after the West Brom clash, and Livermore is now on loan at Hull.

2012

Lennon, Bale, Defoe

2013

Lennon, Chadli, Soldado

This could be the where more teams will come to fear Tottenham, even though they are about to lose their best player in Bale.

In Roberto Soldado, they now have a genuine striker who can score a lot of goals inside the box as has been shown by his three in two matches already. He is an improvement on the talented Jermain Defoe, who struggles to maintain his form through 38 League games.

Bale made a huge contribution but Spurs were in danger of becoming too reliant on the 24-year-old.

Another new arrival Nacer Chadli should help compensate because he is a dangerous player on the wing and showed against Crystal Palace last week that he is strong with either foot.

The club still hope to buy Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala to provide even greater attacking threat but even if that falls through, Roma’s talented Erik Lamela is due to arrive.

Aaron Lennon is the only survivor up front from West Brom although, given his inconsistency, any arrival would put his place under threat.