Tottenham Hotspur are bottom of the Premier League after taking only two points from their opening five matches, despite spending €367m on 10 new players during the summer transfer window.
The scale of the club’s recruitment has done little to improve their fortunes. Tottenham drew 0-0 with Nottingham Forest and Everton before finally scoring in their latest match against Aston Villa. By then, however, they were already 3-0 down, with Conor Gallagher’s 82nd-minute goal the first of the season for the team.
The poor start follows a difficult period for the club. Tottenham finished 17th in the Premier League last season, only two points ahead of West Ham, who were relegated from England’s top flight.
In 2025, Tottenham won the Europa League under Ange Postecoglou, but they still ended the 2024/2025 campaign in 17th place and subsequently parted company with the manager. Thomas Frank then spent six months in charge but was unable to lift the former Harry Kane club above 16th in the Premier League.
Igor Tudor was brought in to try to arrest the decline, but his time as manager lasted only 44 days. He won just one of his seven matches before leaving the club.
Tottenham then appointed Roberto De Zerbi, who had overseen a respectable season with French club Marseille. His previous honours as a manager, however, were limited to winning Serie C in Italy and the Ukrainian Super Cup.
De Zerbi’s approach is based on players becoming a unified team and understanding one another instinctively. That philosophy would normally require a settled squad to work together for at least a season, and preferably longer.
Instead, the Italian oversaw a major reconstruction over the summer, with 10 new players joining the squad. The largest fee was paid for defensive midfielder Sandro Tonali, who arrived from Newcastle United for €108m, despite his listed transfer value being €80m.
However, none of the expensive additions was a striker. Omar Marmoush was brought in on loan from Manchester City to strengthen the attack, but he has recorded no goals or assists in 341 minutes played this season.
De Zerbi must now deal with problems both on and off the pitch. Injuries to Mykhailo Mudryk, Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons have further reduced his options, while the report also says the manager has struggled psychologically and has been unable to build a relationship with several players, including last season’s leading figure Richarlison.
Tottenham, sometimes described as a cursed club, last won the English championship in the 1960/1961 season. Their immediate challenge is to avoid a further fall to the Championship.
By Konstantin Litsin