Two 17th-place finishes, then De Zerbi
Seventeenth. Twice in a row. That is the ledger Roberto De Zerbi inherited when he walked into Tottenham late last season, and a seven-match run was just about enough to keep the club in the Premier League. He had no time to install anything.
This summer changed the script. A full pre-season, a huge transfer spend, and a club finally moving in step with its manager. A hefty 185 million pounds went on one midfield pair alone, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.
Spurs have cashed in on their youngsters too. Luka Vuskovic to Brighton, Will Lankshear to Middlesbrough. Lucas Bergvall is pushing for the door. Short-term fix, clearly chosen.
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An attack gutted before kick-off
The problem is up front. Tottenham have sold their top scorer in three straight seasons: Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, then Brennan Johnson. Richarlison, last season’s leading scorer, is still there.
He is also more or less the only forward standing. Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are all out injured before Saturday’s trip to Brentford. Behind Richarlison sit 19-year-old Mikey Moore and 21-year-old Mathys Tel.
Last season, 39.6% of Tottenham’s goals came from set pieces, the highest rate in the division. The snag: Joao Palhinha, who scored five, and Cristian Romero, who hit four, have both left.
A rebuilt back line, and a much emptier calendar
Plenty has changed at the back. Romero and Djed Spence have gone, Guglielmo Vicario is on his way out. Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Andy Robertson have come in, with Antonin Kinsky set to be first choice in goal.
The new signings fit one brief: availability. Van Hecke, Senesi, Tonali and Fernandes played 36, 37, 35 and 36 of last season’s 38 Premier League matches respectively. After two campaigns wrecked by injuries, the message is not subtle.
Van Hecke and Senesi bring something else as well. They finished first and second in the league for line-breaking passes, with 459 and 420 completed.
None of which solves the attacking maths. Tottenham scored 48 and conceded 57 last season, their worst goal difference since 2002-03. There is no European football this year either, a situation the club has faced once in the past 17 seasons. That was 2023-24, when they finished fifth, two points off the top four.
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