Premier League preview No17: Tottenham Hotspur

Guardian writers' predicted position: 5th (NB: this is not necessarily David Hytner's prediction but the average of our writers' tips)

Last season's position: 4th

Odds to win the league: 25-1

Tottenham Hotspur are a little like a groom on the night before his wedding. The excitement is palpable, as they stand on the brink of the best of times. They have so much going for them. There are nerves, lots of them, but they reassure themselves that everything will be all right. At the back of their minds, though, there is the fear that it could go horribly wrong.

Two days before their season starts with a testing assignment at Newcastle United the fans look at the squad list and see only one established striker in Jermain Defoe. They know that Scott Parker, a talisman for much of last season, will not play until October at the earliest because of achilles surgery and another important midfielder, Sandro, has not yet trained under the new manager, André Villas-Boas, due to international commitments with Brazil. And then there is Luka Modric, whose transfer saga has bubbled in the background for the second successive summer.

When Villas-Boas was introduced as Harry Redknapp's successor on 11 July he spoke of the requirement to "complete" the squad. Jan Vertonghen and Gylfi Sigurdsson had been announced as encouraging early signings but there remained imbalances, particularly up front. The club's inability to address them quickly has not helped Villas-Boas's preparations and it has been easy to remember the beginning of last season, when late incoming business, injuries and Modric's state of mind made for a stuttering start.

Villas-Boas has reason to be more nervous than most, although he has not shown it. He has presented a supremely bullish front, saying that Tottenham ought to be genuine title contenders from the outset and even aiming a pop at Roman Abramovich, his employer at Chelsea last season, for failing to "put up to the things that he promised". Not many people take on Abramovich. Villas-Boas must restore the damage to his reputation that was caused when Abramovich sacked him eight months into this Chelsea contract.

The pressure on Villas-Boas will be intense, largely because Redknapp was dismissed by the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, after overseeing fourth-, fifth- and fourth-place Premier League finishes, which represented the club's most consistently impressive achievements since the halcyon days of the early 60s. The bold decision to sack Redknapp was tied up in the latter's desire to manage England and it was underpinned by a personality clash between manager and chairman.

The bottom line, though, was that Levy felt Redknapp had taken the team as far as he could and that Villas-Boas is the better bet for the future. For Villas-Boas the margin for error would appear nonexistent. (As an aside, one of the great unanswered questions is whether Levy would have dismissed Redknapp if Chelsea had not won the European Cup and fourth place would have been enough to take Tottenham back into Europe's elite competition.)

Levy's transfer dealings in the next two weeks or so will be vital but there is a confidence at the club that everything will be resolved to their satisfaction. The chairman always leaves things late, for better or for worse, although the delay in the permanent acquisition of Emmanuel Adebayor has not been his fault. He agreed a fee of £5.5m with Manchester City weeks ago for the striker, who spent last season on loan at White Hart Lane, and Adebayor's personal terms have also been fixed. The problem has been between Adebayor and City over a huge termination-of-contract payment that the player maintains he is entitled to.

Villas-Boas would like another striker and the club are in talks with Internacional over Leandro Damião, the Brazil No9, while they also have an interest in Fernando Llorente of Athletic Bilbao. In goal Villas-Boas would ideally like an upgrade on Brad Friedel but, as yet, Lyon's Hugo Lloris has proved too expensive. Julio Cesar of Internazionale would be a much cheaper alternative.

It is unlikely that Modric, who has trained away from the first-team group, will again be denied his move, even if Levy has resolutely held out for £40m from Real Madrid and the Spanish club have refused to go much higher than £30m. Levy turned down a package worth £40m last time out from Chelsea. The key difference this summer has been that Tottenham are prepared to sell.

The club have raised about £14m through the sales of Niko Kranjcar, Vedran Corluka and Steven Pienaar but they need the Modric money to make their final signings. Villas-Boas has tracked the Porto midfielder João Moutinho as Modric's possible replacement, while the club have seen a bid rejected by Rennes for Yann M'Vila. Porto's president, Pinto da Costa, would demand at least €30m (£23.5m) for Moutinho and, like Levy, he is not a man to back down easily.

Tottenham, as ever, are juggling many balls during the transfer window – they unsuccessfully bid €16m for Bologna's attacking midfielder Gastón Ramírez, according to the player's agent – and the north London club are also open to moving on a section of their squad: Heurelho Gomes, William Gallas, Sébastien Bassong, David Bentley, Jermaine Jenas, Giovani dos Santos and even Rafael van der Vaart face uncertain futures. Tom Huddlestone has been left frustrated at his lack of pre-season minutes, after recovering from a long-term ankle injury.

Villas-Boas wants to play his high-intensity pressing game, with an emphasis on slick passing and movement, and his back four would appear to have the requisite pace. Younes Kaboul is expected to partner Vertonghen in the centre, with Kyle Walker and Benoit Assou-Ekotto sure to relish their attacking responsibilities in the full-back positions. With Ledley King retired, the 20-year-old Steven Caulker has the opportunity to press his credentials.

The captaincy is an interesting issue, with Villas-Boas yet to confirm who will take over from King. Michael Dawson is an obvious contender; he has done the honours in pre-season and he has the respect of the dressing-room. But is he a certain starter in the team?

Parker is another option, even if he is some weeks from fitness. He limped out of England's Euro 2012 quarter-final defeat against Italy on 24 June, because of a long-standing achilles problem, and so it was a curiosity that he did not undergo the operation until 8 August. Expect Villas-Boas to smile at the English fixation with the armband.

The Portuguese must have been pleased so far at how his players have embraced the structure of his training sessions and his ideas. The perception has built, not without foundation, that this Tottenham squad is a more malleable bunch than the one he had at Chelsea. Pre-season has been gruelling, particularly in the 38C heat of Baltimore, but morale is good at present. The players enjoyed the tour of the United States, where highlights included their Fifa 13 console tournament at New York's Grand Central station and Vertonghen's initiation ceremony, when he sang The Beatles' Yellow Submarine.

The serious business now looms, both in the market and on the field. Predictions are difficult for Tottenham while the transfer window remains open but one thing is clear: it will be emotional.