Top 10 Tottenham Signings – When Levy got it absolutely right

Since 2001 when Daniel Levy became Chairman of Tottenham, Spurs have always spent big and have paid almost as much as any other club in the FA Premier League on transfers. In the last 16 months alone Spurs have spent almost £150m on player transfers, putting them behind only Manchester City in the Premiership. But how many of the players brought in have made their mark at White Hart Lane and gone on to become Premiership stars. Here is a look at the Top Ten Tottenham transfers while Daniel Levy has been in charge of the club:

10: Jermain Defoe – David Pleat first brought Defoe to Tottenham in 2004 for an initial fee of £6 million. The England striker had to fight for his place in the Spurs team during his time at the club, but managed to consistently score goals at a reasonable strike rate in the Premier League. He scored 43 Premiership goals in 4 years in his first spell at Tottenham, before moving onto Portsmouth for the same fee. Manager Harry Redknapp brought him back to Tottenham a year later with Spurs fans glad to see him return, and he is now nearing his 200th appearance for the club.

9: Benoit Assou-Ekotto – The left-back was bought back in 2006 by manager Martin Jol for a fee of around £3.5 million and was thought to be one of the hottest prospects in French football. However, the Cameroon international failed to impress at Tottenham in his first few seasons and struggled to establish himself in the Spurs first team. In recent years though, Assou-Ekotto seems to have grown in confidence and is now more highly regarded after a string of good performances. He scored his first career goal against Liverpool in the Premiership this season and is coming into his own.

8: Tom Huddlestone – When the midfielder was signed from Derby in 2005 for a fee of £3 million, Huddlestone was one of the most promising young players in the country. Arguably the Englishmen has yet to fully fulfil his potential, but he is still only 22 years old and still has time to improve his game. His playmaking abilities and shot power are to be admired, the latter of which he showed against Sunderland in Spurs’ last Premiership match. If Huddlestone can take his game to another level he could well work his way towards the top of this list in the future.

7: Wilson Palacios – Despite only playing in the Premiership for a short period of time, the Honduran midfielder impressed during his time at Wigan and Spurs manager Harry Redknapp decided to bring Palacios to Tottenham. The combative midfielder signed in January for a fee of £12 million and has already settled at White Hart Lane and looks to have brought another dimension to the Spurs side. He looks like being a bargain, having made 20 Premier League appearances for Tottenham to date, and is sure to make many more and be an important figure in their push for European places.

6: Luka Modric – The highly rated Croatian youngster is tipped to have a big future in football and many Spurs fans will be pleased that he is spending at least some of it at Tottenham. Even though the transfer fee of £16.5 million that they paid for Modric was quite steep, he was in high demand and it was a coup for Spurs to sign him ahead of a number of European clubs. After taking some time to settle, he was really coming into his own in recent times and brought a lot of creativity to the team. Although he has been hit by injury, he will be a key player for Spurs in the near future.

5: Robbie Keane – The first time Spurs signed Keane from Leeds back in 2002, manager Glenn Hoddle said the Irishman could make White Hart Lane his spiritual home. The striker had a very successful spell at the North London club, staying there for 6 seasons and scoring 80 goals in 197 Premiership appearances. Having won the Tottenham player of the year award 3 times, he moved on to Liverpool in 2008 in a £20.3 million transfer, with Spurs making a large profit on him. He returned to Spurs the following season, but will his second spell at the club be as successful as his first?

4: Paul Robinson – One of a number of players that Tottenham poached from Leeds during the demise of the Yorkshire club, goalkeeper Robinson quickly formed a great relationship with Spurs fans and became a real fan favourite. He was bought for just £1.5 million in 2004 by temporary manager David Pleat and was Tottenham’s number one for many years to come. The ‘keeper spent 4 seasons with Spurs, and he was one of the best goalkeepers in the Premiership when on top form. However, he did suffer some dips in form and was dropped on occasion, before moving to Blackburn in 2008.

3: Michael Carrick – The English midfielder was bought by Tottenham for a fee of £2.75 million in 2004 and under the guidance of manager Martin Jol he had a rapid rise to fame. His time with Spurs was a major success for him as he increased his pedigree within English football, and his excellent distribution helped Tottenham’s upturn in fortunes. In his 2 seasons at Tottenham he played 64 Premiership games, before moving on to Manchester United for a basic fee of £14 million rising to £18.6 million, giving Spurs a massive profit of between £10 and £15 million on the player.

2: Dimitar Berbatov – The Bulgarian striker was brought to White Hart Lane in 2006 for a fee of £10.9 million and after taking a while to settle in England, he soon found form and hit the back of the net on a regular occasion with some sublime efforts. His impressive displays led to him being selected in the FA Premier League’s PFA Team of the Year in his first season in the Premiership. Having spent two seasons at Spurs and scoring 27 league goals, Berbatov was snapped up by Manchester United for £30.75 million, with Tottenham making almost a £20 million profit on the player.

1: Aaron Lennon – In 2005 Tottenham took advantage of Leeds’ financial difficulties and bought Lennon for a cut-price £1 million from the cash-strapped club. The small winger is one of the fastest players in England and his pace and skills are a nightmare for many Premiership defenders. The winger has turned out to be a real bargain, having made over 100 appearances for Spurs and has now firmly established himself in the first team. At the age of 22 he is only likely to improve and is likely to become a Spurs legend and maybe even an England star in the future.

So Aaron Lennon has topped the list of Spurs’ best buys during the time in which Daniel Levy has been Chairman, but is there anyone not on this list who you feel deserves to be on it? And remember, under Levy there have been a fair few flops to play for Tottenham so don’t forget to check out the top ten Spurs flops either.