By Kieran Maguire

7th Jan, 2021 | 6:30pm

Exclusive: Football finance guru 'Surprised' by Tottenham '£179m' reveal

Tottenham are exceeding expectations in the league and on the balance sheets but Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min can only sustain them for so long.

That is according to new Football Insider columnist and football finance expert Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to correspondent Adam Williams amid the Spurs duo’s high-voltage start to the season.

Tottenham’s annual wage bill, as Maguire explains, is small compared to their so-called ‘Big Six’ rivals, with Arsenal (£232m), Chelsea (£286m), Liverpool (£310m), Manchester City (£316m) and Manchester United (£332m) all shelling out considerably more.

Maguire says that Spurs are particularly lucky to have Kane and Son tied down to relatively economical contracts compared to the industry average, but the club cannot overachieve based on the pair’s performances forever.

“Spurs have got their achievements by not spending the same levels of money [as the Big Six],” he told Football Insider. “But you can’t fight gravity forever.

“They are quite fortunate to have Kane and Son who, if they were suddenly to go up on the market they could get huge pay rises because they’re both in their primes and just knocking them in for fun at present.

“I was surprised in 2020 that their wage bill was still so low. It’s only slightly higher than Everton’s. Spurs’ is £179m, Everton’s £165m. But then when you compare it to City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United, they’re paying over £100m more in wages than Spurs.”

Kane and Son are Tottenham’s second and fourth-highest earners, with on-loan Gareth Bale in first place and the resurgent Tanguy N’Dombele third.

The pair have over 300 Spurs goals between them and have taken things dizzy new heights this season, equalling the season record for assists between two players after just 16 games.

In other news, Daniel Levy has been told Tottenham must “break the bank” to secure the signature of world-class player.