Guardian writers’ predicted position: 7th (NB: this is not necessarily David Hytner’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) Last season’s position: 7th Odds to win the league (via Oddschecker): 50-1 The plan Apologies, but there is only one place to start. When Harry Kane let it be known on 17 May that he wanted a move from Tottenham, it ignited a storyline with the potential to dominate the agenda and become messy. That potential has been realised and then some. With Spurs kicking off on Sunday at home to Manchester City – the club Kane has been desperate to join – he is only now preparing to enter pre-season training with his teammates. The waythings have gone since Monday of last week, when it emerged Kane had a very personal view of his schedule, it could well be wise to expect twists. Kane has become the latest Spurs favourite to play up as he attempts to force a transfer, following Dimitar Berbatov, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale. The common denominator? Daniel Levy, the chairman. Once again, it is a story of irresistible force meets immovable object, thwarted ambition, brinkmanship, half-truths and cold, hard numbers. The upshot has been a cloud over the preparations of the new manager, Nuno Espírito Santo. With Kane under contract until 2024, Levy is entitled to set his price (£150m, minimum) and tell City to put up or shut up but the longer it goes on, the greater the sense of flux at Spurs. Can the team be stronger without Kane? Surely not. He is their heartbeat and cutting edge. Levy has turned not only to Nuno but to Fabio Paratici in a new management structure, the latter becoming the managing director of football, charging them with reshaping the squad, in terms of mood and personnel, after the acrimonious end to José Mourinho’s tenure in April. The transfer window was always going to be everything and Paratici has pulled off a coup not only in signing the Argentina centre-half Cristian Romero from Atalanta but deferring the €55m fee until next summer, the initial agreement being a season’s loan. The goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini has also joined on loan with an option to buy – a sound addition, given Hugo Lloris has entered the final year on his contract; Gollini is a big presence with agility – and the winger Bryan Gil can quicken the pulse. Romero (23) and Gil (20) feel like classic Levy signings (young, gifted and with possible resale value) and Gollini (26) is a decent age for a goalkeeper. On the subject of young players, it will be interesting to see whether Nuno trusts Oliver Skipp in midfield, as he has done in pre-season, and gives an opportunity to Ryan Sessegnon. The left-sided player has had a hamstring injury but he returned to full training at the beginning of this week. Can the striker Dane Scarlett continue to develop? The feeling within the squad is that Nuno’s training has been good and they are forming bonds with him. There remain many areas of concern, including the physical condition of Tanguy Ndombele, who has not featured in pre-season. Spurs have lost Bale, Érik Lamela and Carlos Vinícius from their attacking line, adding only Gil and if Nuno’s preferred formation is to be 4-3-3 it would not appear to contain a ready home for Dele Alli. That said, it could morph to 4-2-3-1, with Alli as the No 10. The club are open to offers for a number of established players, including Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko, but shifting them and getting in upgrades will be challenging with finances delicate. As things stand, it remains, broadly, the lineup that limped home in seventh place last season. Reeling in the top four looks difficult. The manager Nuno was a hero at Wolves, having achieved promotion from the Championship in his first season and back-to-back seventh-placed finishes in the Premier League – with a Europa League quarter-final thrown in – before things went flat last time out. His previous in England will count for nothing at Spurs, where a section of the fanbase have been underwhelmed by his appointment. To them, it is one thing to instil shape and defensive discipline, to hone a fast-breaking style, and quite another to play the kind of front-foot attacking football they crave, with an emphasis on possession. Was this Nuno’s style at Wolves? Or is this Nuno’s style? It will be interesting to see how he handles the media glare. Sapping the life from press conferences and relegating Spurs from the news agenda will not wash with his new employer. Key player To regular Spurs watchers, the timing was no coincidence. On the morning of 23 July, when a newspaper had written that the chairman, Levy, had green-lit a £160m move for Kane to Manchester City (the report was denied by the clubs), Spurs released the long-awaited confirmation that Son Heung-min had committed to a new four-year contract. Son enjoyed his best Premier League season last time out (17 goals, 10 assists), although he brings more than consistently high numbers – pace, energy, remorselessness, genuine star quality. Great responsibility sits on his shoulders. Owners Levy, who runs the club on behalf of the owner, Joe Lewis (net worth: $4.9bn, according to Forbes) has never had a tougher time in terms of his relationship with fans. Little has gone right for the chairman since last December, taking in the slump under Mourinho, the PR disaster that was the rush to join the European Super League and the optics during the 72-day search for Mourinho’s permanent replacement. Levy’s critics see him as always putting costs before glory. Euros factor After Christian Eriksen’s shocking collapse, Denmark needed leaders; Højbjerg stepped up – and how. The midfielder played every minute of the run to the semi-finals and his outstanding performances led to him being named in the Uefa team of the tournament. With Thomas Delaney to his side, Højbjerg was able to play higher upthan he has tended to do at Spurs, winning the ball in dangerous areas and contributing three assists. Typically, he covered a prodigious amount of ground and read the game consistently well. We’ll be singing It is no good having the best stadium in the country – and among the best acoustics, with the sound trapped inside the bowl – if there are no fans to fill it. How will they respond to the Kane saga? It will be interesting to see whether they come up with anything for Nuno. They hardly ever sang Mourinho’s name. Back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium The good: This magnificent 62,850-capacity arena continues to boast the wow factor, even for supporters that have attended plenty of matches there during its two-and-a-bit season lifespan. The bad The only downside could be what happens when it is packed and angsty. The crest The cockerel has been the central image since 1951 and for the 30 years prior to that it was a fighting cock. The link to the club was that fighting cocks would be fitted with spurs on their feet. Tottenham’s ‘Spurs’ nickname had already been established – they were named after the knight, Sir Henry Percy, who was known as Harry Hotspur. Trending topics ‘Levy Out’ (Or some such variation) ‘Oh, for the fast and exciting football of José’ ‘Just how many games are there in this Conference League?’ ‘Fabio Paratici had to know it wouldn’t be straightforward’ The mascot Chirpy Cockerel was remodelled after a more sinister previous look. Remember the dead eyes?