To put it simply, Tottenham have been left behind by their rivals this summer.
While the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea have spent plenty, Spurs have been forced to operate in a completely different market to the clubs they want to get closer to.
This is completely the opposite of what Jose Mourinho signed up for.
In the past, he's had near unlimited budgets. His time at Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United was greeted with absurd sums of money to spend.
However, now at Spurs, he's getting a different taste of management. If he can take the north Londoners to some sort of trophy, it would surely be one of his greatest achievements.
After all, it would prove that he doesn't need a bucket load of cash in order to achieve his aims.
But why do Tottenham not have the spending power this summer? Well, the ongoing pandemic is mainly to blame, but so is their failure to qualify for the Champions League.
A total of £27m has so far been shelled out on Matt Doherty and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg but it remains to be seen just how much they have left in the kitty.
If they secure their latest target, though, it surely won't come cheap.
According to reports in Italy from CalcioMercato, Tottenham have made an enquiry to sign Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic.
They claim that Spurs are one of a number of teams interested in his services but they aren't the only side to ask about signing him - West Ham have too.
Also eyeing a move for the Croatian is Chelsea and Bayern Munich. Clearly, there will be a fierce battle for his services this summer.
No fee is mentioned but Transfermarkt currently rate the 27-year-old at a price of £45m. Hefty stuff.
GIVEMESPORT'S Matt Dawson says...
This could be a signing that transforms the outlook of Tottenham's midfield.
Mourinho makes it very clear in their All or Nothing documentary that this squad is full of 'nice guys' - not players who, in simpler terms than the Portuguese put it, are nasty to their opponents.
Brozovic, however, is a bullish player, capable of influencing his team in the final third and the defensive third.
He is the very definition of a box to box midfielder, an individual who boasts "incredible stamina."
Last term, he scored three goals and created eight on his way to winning 2.1 tackles per game.
Evidently, the Croatia international has come a long way since he was dominated by Christian Eriksen in 2018.
Inter and Spurs met in the Champions League group stages and despite the hosts winning at the San Siro, he was given a torrid time by the Dane.
Eriksen ran rings around Brozovic, taking three shots, playing four key passes and scoring a goal.
If he comes to London, Mourinho will have to hope that he adjusts to the English game far better than that.