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After an extremely encouraging start to the summer transfer window at Tottenham, the club's incoming and outgoing endeavours appeared to have slowed to a crawl. Spurs raced out of the traps in the market, splashing £237million on three new signings, including breaking their transfer record twice, while bringing in another three free arrivals. At the same time the club fetched good sums for outgoing players with £50million for Luka Vuskovic, a potential £21.4million package for Radu Dragusin as well as what could be £20million for striker Will Lankshear along with another £16million or so for youngsters Alejo Veliz and Alfie Devine. Then things seemed to slow down. Spurs have not brought in a new face since agreeing a club record £100million package for Sandro Tonali with Newcastle almost six weeks ago. That is despite Roberto De Zerbi calling for new attacking players and telling football.london that one 'bomba' was close around a fortnight ago during the club's pre-season tour in Sydney. The exits had also slowed down until winger Manor Solomon left for West Ham on Monday for £5million, plus £2million in add-ons and a 10% future sell-on clause. The problem with Tottenham's outgoings now appear to be that after making a concerted effort to sell players at the right time for the right price, that right price does not appear to be available for those who actually want out. Take Cristian Romero for example. The Spurs captain wants to leave this summer with perennial lurkers Atletico Madrid coveting the Argentine but the fee being reported is lower than the £50million Tottenham sold Vuskovic for, despite the 19-year-old having never played a Premier League game, and the £52million the Lilywhites spent on Jan Paul van Hecke in the final year of his contract. FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page Romero has three years left on the deal he signed last summer and has just starred at another World Cup. It is perhaps a damning indictment of his availability in recent seasons that he cannot fetch the same amount as a teenager with one season in a major league under his belt or simply points towards the lack of financial muscle of the clubs that want him. Then there is Djed Spence. The full-back, who turned 26 on Sunday, is at the peak of his career right now. He became a household name this summer thanks to his performances for England at the World Cup and if Spurs were to sell him, with four years left on the contract he signed last year thanks to an option to extend, then surely the north London club could get a hefty fee? Well no, if the figures being bandied about are the case. Inter Milan have held talks to try to sign the England international for a reported fee of just £25million. That's only £5million more than the original package given to Middlesbrough when Tottenham signed Spence back in 2022. Whatever happened to England internationals costing more? It's also the case that Spurs' squad is not exactly overflowing with homegrown players. Liverpool and Everton have also been linked with Spence. The money in the Italian game cannot compete with the Premier League but even then, it's a mind-bogglingly low sum for a defender at the peak of his powers. Inter are looking to replace Denzel Dumfries, who left for Real Madrid after the Spanish club activated his £17.1million release clause, so it's understandable that the Serie A outfit will not want to spend much more but that does not mean Spurs should just walk their player to the door for them. Spence is believed to be keen on the move to Inter with their status in the game and Champions League football on the menu while his concerns about playing time are likely justified. Pedro Porro has just been named in the World Cup team of the year, Roberto De Zerbi loves him and he contributes far more going forward than Spence. He has also just signed a bumper new contract and has thus far rarely missed a game for Tottenham. So in a season without European football, and the arrival of Andy Robertson meaning Spence's chances of playing at left-back have also dwindled, there are not going to be many minutes to be had. So selling Spence does make sense in that regard but only for a high fee. Otherwise Tottenham should just look to have a squad that has two big players in every position rather than just let those disgruntled few leave on the cheap. De Zerbi made it clear to football.london that he wants to keep Spence and Lucas Bergvall but also won't stand in their way if they desperately want to head out the door. "What I say to you, is the same I said to Djed and to Lucas - 'I would like you to stay'," he explained. "Not 'I want you to stay'. 'I would like you stay if you want to stay'," he explained. "'If you don't want to stay, if you want to leave, you have to leave'. If you want to leave, speak with Vinai [Venkatesham] and Johan, because I don't manage the price, the sale. I can speak with Vinai and Johan about the best strategy, but I don't decide £30m, £40m, that's not my position and I don't want to change my position. It's tough enough to be a coach and I want to stay as a coach. "But I respected the player's ideas and opinions or projects. But if they stay, they have to stay following my rules, decisions on the pitch. After two games, three games, if one player is not playing and he starts to be sad or not correct with the other players, the coaches, staff, the club, we would make a big, big mistake because we didn't learn from the past season." There is a knock-on effect for another player if Spence were to leave and that's how it affects Archie Gray. Tottenham would be unlikely to need to sign another right-back because the 20-year-old can play there, as he did for Leeds in much of his breakthrough senior season at Elland Road and occasionally for Spurs. De Zerbi really likes Gray and has made him captain throughout pre-season because he believes in his abilities as a player and as a leader. Gray's versatility gives him a leg up on Bergvall in the battle for minutes but it is also the biggest hurdle he faces. That's because he wants to develop as a midfielder yet is in danger of becoming a jack of all trades rather than a master of the only one he wants. That was Bergvall's biggest frustration last season, that he rarely trained as a number eight let alone played as one, and Gray is in a similar boat. De Zerbi recognises the problem of not specialising but also admits Gray can help the team in other areas even if he's not delighted about it. "Last season I said he is the future of the club but also the present. He is important for us because he can cover two or three positions on the pitch," said the Italian. "He doesn't love too much to play right-back, but I think to be a captain you have to think first for the group, team, club and then yourself. It was something more to give him because he deserves to be important for this club, even if he plays in different positions even if not in the first XI. It's important. Like Bergvall because for Lucas I have the same opinion, the same idea." He added: "It's lucky for me when you have these type of players who are able to play in different positions. Okay, it's important for him to fix one position, one favourite position but at the end, he has to be open to cover different positions on the pitch. He can play as a right back, as a left back, as a midfielder. Nothing changes for smart players. "A smart player, I think, is improving in the knowledge on the pitch, because changing position, you change body shape, you change direction when you receive the ball and when you give the ball. But he's an important player for me, even if he can play in different positions." The weeks ahead will show what the immediate future holds for both Spence and Gray and just how much arrives in the Tottenham transfer coffers to help bring more faces through the door.