Transfer ‘shark’ De Zerbi hopes to drag Spurs up from depths
Roberto de Zerbi has said he wants to build Tottenham back into a top side after guiding them to Premier League survival at the end of a torrid 2025-26 season. The Italian took charge with Spurs facing relegation, describing a broken dressing room after his first game, a defeat at Sunderland, but he kept the club up on the final day and now believes he can lead a genuine revival rather than simply managing decline.
The turnaround has been backed by a club-record £237m spending spree during pre-season, with new signings including Sandro Tonali (£100m from Newcastle), Mateus Fernandes (£85m from West Ham), Jan Paul van Hecke, Andrew Robertson and Martin Dubravka. De Zerbi, who describes himself as becoming "like a shark" in negotiations, is working closely with chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and technical director Johan Lange under the club's new ownership structure, while some existing players, such as Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario, may still leave.
- De Zerbi aims to rebuild Spurs after narrowly avoiding relegation last season.
- Club has spent a record £237m on new signings including Tonali and Fernandes.
- Some players, including Romero and Vicario, could still depart this summer.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
De Zerbi has proven he can rescue a club in crisis, keeping Spurs up on the final day after inheriting a severely broken squad. The record £237m investment in proven elite talent is proportionate to the scale of recovery needed and signals serious commitment from the new ownership. A club that nearly suffered relegation requires transformative investment and clear vision to challenge for titles again.
The case against
De Zerbi's one season of crisis management, whilst impressive, is fundamentally different from sustaining a top-four challenge, and record spending carries real risk for a club barely out of danger. Integrating numerous expensive signings simultaneously is notoriously difficult and has derailed ambitious rebuilds before; a measured approach allowing squad cohesion would be safer. The new ownership and management have yet to prove they can deliver such an ambitious vision over multiple seasons.