Tottenham are in trouble if they fail to sign at least one of five key targets

Ange Postecoglou ended a mixed pre-season tour reaffirming one thing at least – he desperately needs a new centre-back. Possibly two, if he is to have any sort of cover on the left in particular.

If he is to hit the floor running when the serious business begins against Brentford on August 13, he cannot afford for chairman Daniel Levy to play his usual game of Deadline Day brinkmanship. The new Tottenham manager highlighted a goalkeeper and centre-back as his primary areas of concern when he was first appointed.

He has addressed the first area by signing Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli in a deal worth an initial £17.2m, a more fleet-footed ‘footballing’ option than the leaden-hoofed Hugo Lloris who was caught in possession increasingly as his Spurs career developed. After Antonio Conte-ball, Postecoglou wants to play a more possession-based game of dominant football.

Aside from the frustration of their friendly against Leicester being rained off, their defeat to West Ham and final 5-1 victory against Lion City Sailors in Singapore showed that the former Celtic boss will stick to his usual 4-3-3 formation with the full-backs very much to the fore.

That puts a huge amount of pressure on the two centre-backs in what can often look like a 2-3-5 formation from the very birth of football tactics around a century ago. Cristian Romero’s commitment to the cause is important – a World Cup winner who has become increasingly acclimatised to Premier League football is a handy asset.

Similarly, he is supported by Eric Dier – in the final year of his contract but a useful “older head” in what Postecoglou recognises is a transitional year. But Tottenham’s centre-back pairing is worryingly like Dudley Moore’s one-legged Tarzan – as Peter Cook put it: “I’ve got nothing against your right – the trouble is, neither have you. You fall down on the left.”

All summer Spurs have been courting Wolfsburg for Micky van der Ven, valued by the German club at £30m. Levy may have to dig deep to get a bit closer to that amount. The beauty of the Dutch under-21 international is that he is naturally left-footed – something Spurs have not had since Jan Vertonghen left.

At a higher premium, Edmond Tapsoba, Bayer Leverkusen’s £50m-rated right-footer, prefers to play on the left and his ball-playing ability makes him a strong option. Closer to home, Marc Guehi is the same sort of player but will not come cheap from Crystal Palace at a time when Tottenham’s finances are in focus following the indictment of Joe Lewis, the man whose family own the club’s major shareholders.

Max Kilman of Wolves also carries that Premier League premium while Roma’s Roger Ibanez sits on the other side of that coin, needing time to get used to the English game. Ben Davies has been filling in during the summer, but with Sergio Reguilon not part of Postecoglou’s plans and Ryan Sessegnon injured, the Welshman may be needed to help Destiny Udogie have the freedom to grow into the role.

Postecoglou is not alone in his struggle to fill that left-sided centre-back slot. Just ask Jurgen Klopp. But having leaked 63 Premier League goals last campaign, arguably Tottenham’s need is greater.