The New York Times

If there was ever a game to snap you out of a summer haze of Tottenham Hotspur optimism, Saturday’s 3-0 opening-day defeat to Brentford was it.

Tottenham were outfought and outplayed by a Brentford side who, after an outstanding season last year, may have hit a new apex. They were everything Tottenham were not at the Gtech Community Stadium: coherent, powerful, quick and decisive in the final third. While Brentford look to be edging closer to the finished article under Keith Andrews, Roberto De Zerbi is still stuck on his introduction.

Out of context, it was a poor enough performance to revive memories of last season before De Zerbi joined, when Spurs looked rudderless and on their way to the Championship under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor. Even when you consider their busy summer, with incoming and returning stars lacking match fitness after a World Cup and injury-disrupted pre-season preparations, the result remains concerning.

Here, The Athletic analyses three key points and asks whether fans should be patient or panicked after Tottenham’s first game of the 2026-27 Premier League season.

The performance

Tottenham and Brentford are at very different points. Under Andrews, Brentford are a well-oiled machine. They were among the league’s biggest overperformers last term. Their team is settled and only three of their players were at the World Cup, giving the majority of their squad full pre-seasons. Mamadou Sangare, the only summer arrival to break into their starting line-up on the opening day, appeared to be worth every penny of the club-record fee it took to sign him from Lens.

Beating Eintracht Frankfurt 7-0 in a pre-season friendly last week underscored Brentford’s seamless transition after a successful 2025-26 season. Tottenham’s preparations have been much less straightforward. De Zerbi referenced Spurs’ pre-season tour of Sydney and Auckland in his post-match press conference, suggesting they “could not work in the right way” due to the travel demands and explaining how it limited Micky van de Ven’s involvement in pre-season and caused him to miss the opening day. According to De Zerbi, the centre-back “suffered a problem during the pre-season in Australia, I don’t know, the flight, I don’t know, something, not a big problem, but not right to work”.

They were also without Pedro Porro, who only returned to north London last week after winning the World Cup with Spain. Mateus Fernandes was limited to 45 minutes, replacing Lucas Bergvall at half-time, with Tottenham’s medical team taking extra care with him owing to a minor injury on tour, while De Zerbi started with a front line of Mathys Tel, Richarlison and Mikey Moore, none of whom are expected to be consistent starters.

Perhaps only four players (Antonin Kinsky, Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson and Sandro Tonali) who started against Brentford would make De Zerbi’s best XI, provided the expected deals for Savinho and Omar Marmoush are completed and several starters return to full fitness.

It was far from an ideal start to the season but Brentford are well ahead of Tottenham in conditioning and chemistry, and that showed.

Should we have seen more of ‘De Zerbi-ball’?

In his post-match press conference, De Zerbi said, “(Spurs) need time to become a team”.

“We are much better than we showed today. From Wednesday, we can show our qualities and who we are.

“We have to analyse the situation. The improvement we have to do, every one of us, because we lose and we win together.”

Tottenham lacked a winner’s edge in duels and fell well short in quality and incisiveness in possession. These are the footballing characteristics of ‘De Zerbi-ball’, and Spurs did not embody those principles.

There were moments in pre-season when Spurs appeared to make strides in those areas, most notably in their impressive first-half performance in the 2-1 win over Chelsea in Sydney. But even in beating Hoffenheim 3-0 last week, De Zerbi conceded that the team was “not at the right point”.

Again, the limited number of available starters and their disrupted pre-season preparations hurt his ability to build a team in his image, but they were worryingly far from where they needed to be. Van Hecke and Marcos Senesi were recruited to help De Zerbi implement his style, but Brentford took advantage of their lack of pace and aerial presence as a centre-back partnership.

Losing, again

In the same way that winning becomes a habit for table-toppers, losing becomes second nature for teams struggling towards the bottom of the Premier League.

Last season, Tottenham lost 17 league games on their way to finishing two points from the drop. Two seasons ago, 22 of their 38 league games ended in defeat. One of De Zerbi’s greatest challenges at Tottenham was transforming a culture that had become too accustomed to defeats, and he appeared to make strides during his seven-game stint. Their opening-day defeat, however, suggests he has a lot more work to do to shift a club accustomed to losing matches.

Archie Gray, who started with the armband after captaining the team throughout pre-season, recognised the team needed to show more fight in a post-match interview with Sky Sports.

“They just outfought us,” Gray said. “Some days a team will just outfight another team and for whatever reason we weren’t (as) up for the fight as they were, and that’s on us. For the fans — they were incredible — to let them down like that in the first game, there are not really words for it. We need to bounce back from that.”

Tottenham Hotspur have spent significantly this summer but Roberto De Zerbi’s side were comprehensively beaten by Brentford on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

Spurs have committed to spending nearly £250m on transfers already this summer, with a deal worth up to £85m for Savinho agreed with Manchester City and one for his team-mate Omar Marmoush progressing too.

De Zerbi gave four players their competitive debuts for Spurs in defenders Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi, with Sandro Tonali starting in midfield. But there is understandably work to do before they look a team and Brentford raced into a 2-0 lead in little over half an hour with Keane Lewis-Potter and Vitaly Janelt scoring.

De Zerbi made two changes at the break with Mateus Fernandes making it five Spurs debuts but Brentford struck again, with Michael Kayode finishing after the impressive Mamadou Sangare, making his Premier League debut, had his shot saved.

De Zerbi saved Spurs from relegation last season but looks to have a big job still to do to turn their fortunes around.

The Athletic’s Jay Harris and Liam Tharme break down the key talking points.

What went wrong for De Zerbi?

Firstly, he picked a team packed with technical quality against an opponent known for its physical dominance. And De Zerbi knew that. This was his fifth Premier League match against Brentford and he’s only beaten them once.

Kevin Danso would have offered more protection, particularly against Igor Thiago and Kevin Schade. Brentford won 12 of the 18 first-half aerial duels and 64 per cent of their long passes found a team-mate.

Similarly, the hold-up striker role handed to Richarlison suited Dominic Solanke much better. Richarlison does his best work running into space and isolating centre-backs out wide. He does not have the strength of a back-to-goal target man which was exposed for Brentford’s second goal, when Antonin Kinsky played through the press to him, and Kristoffer Ajer dispossessed the Brazil forward with ease.

The pick of Conor Gallagher at No 10 was a curious one because this was the one position where De Zerbi opted for physicality. He tried to correct the error at half-time, switching the yellow-carded Gallagher for Mateus Fernandes, but the damage was already done. Lucas Bergvall, who lost a duel in the build-up to the second goal, was hooked too.

At no stage did Spurs get a grip on Brentford’s set pieces — which falls on specialist coach Andreas Georgson — including the third goal by Kayode on 49 minutes, which sealed the win. There’s a root cause here too: Spurs have now failed to win for 35 Premier League matches when going 1-0 down, losing 27 of those, and last won from such a position in November 2024.

Liam Tharme

How good is Mamadou Sangare?

This was supposed to be the day when Sandro Tonali demonstrated why Spurs spent a club-record £100m to sign him from Newcastle United. He was completely overshadowed by Mamadou Sangare on his Premier League debut and cost half the price.

Brentford bought Sangare to replace Jordan Henderson. It seemed strange at the time that Brentford were not particularly bothered about losing the 36-year-old to Chelsea but now it all makes sense. Sangare is elegant in possession and unafraid to stick his foot in. In the first 10 minutes, Sangare sent Spurs a few warning signs with some clever line-breaking passes and his ability to effortlessly glide past tackles.

The Mali international created Lewis-Potter’s opener almost single-handedly. He picked up the ball, exchanged a slick one-two with Dango Ouattara and burst into the box before picking out Lewis-Potter with a perfectly weighted pass.

Sangare continued to be a nuisance with Tonali and Lucas Bergvall powerless to contain him. Just before half-time, Senesi was the favourite for a loose ball until Sangare produced a beautiful pirouette and nudged it with his backheel into the Ouattara’s path.

De Zerbi sacrificed Bergvall and Gallagher at half-time for £85m signing Fernandes and Rodrigo Bentancur yet the situation became even worse. Sangare’s half-volley from the edge of the box led to Kayode’s goal and then Bentancur gave away a penalty for fouling Schade. Igor Thiago hit the post to limit the damage.

It looks like Brentford have found themselves another hidden gem in the transfer market.

Jay Harris

Spurs have spent about £250m. What more do they need?

This humbling defeat reminded everybody why they Spurs have more work to do in the transfer market. Van Hecke and Senesi had difficult debuts but the defence will be improved significantly when Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven return to full fitness. Fernandes’ promising second-half cameo suggests he could forge a strong partnership with Tonali in central midfield.

It was painful to watch Spurs attempt to create chances. Richarlison was ineffective at holding the ball up and connecting with team-mates while Gallagher lacks the creativity to function as a No 10. Mikey Moore wasted three great chances to score in the second half before being replaced by James Maddison.

Maddison tried his best but is still finding his feet after recovering from two ACL injuries. The only player to emerge with any credit is Robertson for whipping multiple excellent crosses into the box.

Signing Savinho from Manchester City will give Spurs a versatile winger who can provide competition and cover for Mohammed Kudus and Mathys Tel. Yet Marmoush is potentially the more exciting acquisition.

Spurs have lacked a quality centre-forward since they sold Harry Kane to Bayern Munich three years ago. Solanke has struggled with injuries over the last 18 months and will need to rediscover his sharpness. Marmoush’s speed, two-footedness and flexibility could offer Spurs a wildcard option upfront and open up several interesting tactical approaches. Spurs just need to hope Marmoush and Savinho have not been put off by this underwhelming performance.

It should be pointed out that five years ago Brentford beat Arsenal on the opening day of the season. Arsenal were missing several of their key players, handed debuts to a couple of new signings and spent more money before the window closed that year. Arsenal went on to finish fifth under Mikel Arteta. Spurs will be hoping history repeats itself and that by the end of the season this will also be viewed as a freak result.

Jay Harris

What next for Brentford

Tuesday, August 25: Birmingham City (away), Carabao Cup, 8pm UK, 3pm ET

What next for Tottenham Hotspur?

In total, 22 former players came to the ‘Alumni Lunch’ at the Tottenham Hotspur training ground on August 13.

The oldest of those meeting the current players were the two 81-year-olds, Pat Jennings and Phil Beal, veterans of Bill Nicholson’s team of the 1960s. There were players from the Keith Burkinshaw era, too: Steve Perryman, Glenn Hoddle, Chris Hughton, Mark Falco and Graham Roberts. There were winners of the 1991 FA Cup, Erik Thorstvedt, Gary Mabbutt, David Howells. And more modern greats, from Les Ferdinand to Jermain Defoe to Michael Dawson.

Between them all there were a combined 6,509 Tottenham appearances and 41 major trophies. It is hard to remember a greater concentration of combined Tottenham wisdom, Tottenham understanding, in any given room at any time.

After they watched training — as far as was possible given it was the hottest day of the year — the veteran players had lunch with the current Tottenham squad, and head coach Roberto De Zerbi. Giving them a rare chance to share with what in some cases were players young enough to be their grandchildren what it meant to them to play for Spurs.

Behind this was a simple idea, one that has been a big part of Tottenham’s busy summer: to reconnect the club to its past, to remind everyone of its roots and the people who had come before them. Which is why there has been a new focus on ‘Legacy Numbers’, for both the men’s and women’s teams, to place every individual player in the long line of those who came before them.

Next month Tottenham will relaunch their ‘Hall of Fame’ by the players’ tunnel in the new stadium, with new inductees in addition to the current 45.

All of this might sound very obvious. Or, worse than obvious, like heart-warming shareable PR content to juice the mood on the eve of the new season. But the reality of Tottenham Hotspur in the last few years is that the club has become unmoored from any real sense of what it means to be Tottenham. And one of the big questions and challenges for the club going into this new season is to finally reconnect.

The face of the club now is Roberto De Zerbi, who will start his Tottenham tenure in earnest on Saturday with the opening weekend trip to Brentford. He was an enthusiastic participant in the ‘Alumni Lunch’ and his football — attacking and innovative — is integral to this Spurs resembling a true Spurs team this season.

But ultimately the solution to this has to be bigger than just one person. Because the problem is itself so deep, something that has grown and grown since Tottenham moved into their new stadium in 2019, if not before.

The story of modern Tottenham has been the story of near-constant resets, relaunches, rethinks, restructures, reboots, reviews and even returns, in the case of Fabio Paratici’s three months back as a co-sporting director last season.

And hanging over every single one of these attempts to draw a line under the recent past and start afresh has been a question: What is this football club trying to be?

In simple terms, it has always felt as if Tottenham Hotspur was being pulled apart by at least two competing impulses. Should it be a club that leans into its roots, its traditions, the local area, historical expectations about its style of play? Or should it instead look boldly out to the world, unencumbered by tradition, ruthlessly adopting the best practices that have worked elsewhere?

Too often in the past Tottenham have sacrificed the former in pursuit of the latter. You may date it from the move of stadium, or the decision to replace Mauricio Pochettino with Jose Mourinho seven months later, but it has been the dominant theme at Spurs for years.

Too often after that Tottenham’s starting point was to look at something that worked well somewhere else — in a different club, in a different environment — and try to copy it themselves. Like when they brought in Paratici and paired him with Antonio Conte, hoping to be as competitive as Juventus. Or when they brought in Scott Munn from City Football Group to be their first and only ever Chief Football Officer. Or even last summer when their response to the magic of Bilbao was to become Best Practice FC again, and hope that Thomas Frank could replicate the distinctive culture of Brentford in N17.

Up until recently, the internal messaging at the club was that they should aspire to be the most exciting football club in the world. Which is a nice idea but says nothing at all about Tottenham. That brand advice is now being replaced.

Even in the moments in recent years when Tottenham felt the opposing impulse to be true to themselves, it did not last. In May 2021, Levy, bruised by the sacking of Mourinho, wrote his famous message about Tottenham “DNA” and promised a return to “free-flowing, attacking and entertaining” football. But one month later, he appointed Nuno Espirito Santo. Two years later, Levy appointed Ange Postecoglou and proudly said at a fans’ event, “we’ve got our Tottenham back”. And yet Postecoglou was not fully backed in the market, and after his second season he was gone.

It took the whole club — after Levy’s departure last September — staring over the precipice of relegation to force yet another change of direction. And of course, over the last seven games of the season, De Zerbi kept them up.

It would be a generous stretch to read too much long-term strategy into the decisions of last season. The only thing that mattered was staying up, rather than any long-term football vision. And yet the end result of all this, the lucky place that Tottenham have stumbled into, is starting this season with perhaps the perfect manager to build a team that looks like Spurs.

The two best and most successful Spurs managers of recent years, Pochettino and Postecoglou, both arrived with distinctive original conceptions of the attacking football that they wanted to play. And with the strength of personality to deliver them, convincing the players and fans that their way is right.

De Zerbi seems to have both of those things. He also has more backing in the market behind him than any Tottenham manager before. The pieces are there for him to build a team that the fans will recognise as their own, with its own innovative style. Something that Spurs have not had since those opening months of Postecoglou, three years ago.

No one is expecting miracles this season, even with hundreds of millions of pounds worth of new players in the team. But Pochettino and Postecoglou each finished fifth in their first season at the club, and given all the investment, that ought to be a reasonable target. Especially if that sense of unity and alignment that marked the final weeks of last season is maintained through this one.

This particular relaunch, this reconnection with the values of the club, needs to stick.

Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed that Micky van de Ven will be Tottenham Hotspur’s new captain.

Previous skipper Cristian Romero left the club earlier this month, joining Atletico Madrid in a £34.1million ($46m) move.

De Zerbi confirmed during Friday’s press conference that Van de Ven will be joined in the club’s new-look leadership group by Pedro Porro, who will be vice-captain. Ben Davies, James Maddison and Archie Gray will serve as third, fourth and fifth captains, respectively.

The captaincy for the Netherlands international follows him committing his future to the north London club with a new long-term contract earlier in August.

He joined Tottenham in August 2023 from German side Wolfsburg in a deal worth £43m including add-ons and has featured 96 times since then, helping the side win the Europa League in 2025 under Ange Postecoglou and ending a run of 17 years without a trophy.

Romero was named captain by De Zerbi’s predecessor Thomas Frank last summer.

The Argentina international attracted criticism last season for two red cards on the pitch and more than one apparent swipe at Spurs’ ownership.

Van de Ven will miss Spurs’ opening game of the new Premier League season against Brentford on Saturday, with Porro and Pape Matar Sarr also set to be absent.

Van de Ven excelled with responsibility

Van de Ven wore the armband for the majority of De Zerbi’s season-saving seven-game stint last term, after Cristian Romero was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury sustained in the 1-0 defeat to Sunderland. In his absence, Van de Ven, whom De Zerbi has talked up as the best left-sided centre-back in Europe, stepped up and played the best and most consistent stretch of the season.

Playing under De Zerbi not only seemed to liberate him as a footballer, gaining more responsibility as a ball-player, but also allowed him to step into Romero’s shoes as the team’s main leader, and he excelled in both areas.

After signing a new long-term contract at the club, Van de Ven can be fully invested in without doubt over his future. Having only turned 25 this year, he is entering the early part of his prime years, and handing him further responsibility as club captain will hopefully help him grow in stature within the club as both a character and a player.

The rest of his leadership team picks itself. Maddison would have been an appropriate choice for club captain, but already assumes the role of a unifier within the squad and is willing to front up to the media when results are poor. As a fan favourite, handing him the armband would have gone down well in the terraces, but it probably has little effect on his character or responsibilities.

After winning the World Cup with Spain, Porro is the type of character and player Tottenham should be looking to build around in the prime of his career. Having him as part of the leadership group is another positive development, after not being selected for a similar position under Thomas Frank and Ange Postecoglou.

Davies is a club stalwart and has been among the team’s leaders since Postecoglou’s appointment, while Archie Gray has worn the armband throughout pre-season, and may do so again against Brentford, deputising for Porro who is not yet fit for the squad. Last season, De Zerbi identified Gray as a future club captain, and this is another move to signify his belief in the 20-year-old.

For the second summer transfer window in a row, Tottenham Hotspur have been in the market to sign a winger.

The departure of Brennan Johnson in January and long-term injuries to Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert have limited Spurs’ wide options entering the 2026-27 season.

Mathys Tel can operate on the left, but the absences of Kudus and Odobert mean that Roberto De Zerbi’s side lacks a dribbler to complement the French forward’s profile.

So it was not surprising that Spurs continued their pursuit of Manchester City’s Savinho, a saga that started last summer and is set to conclude after an £85million deal was agreed on Friday.

Savinho is a creative dribbler and his ability to operate on either flank makes him a valuable option even after Kudus and Odobert return.

The 22-year-old Brazilian can play down the left when Kudus is on the right, while his left-footedness offers different crossing angles from Odobert on that side.

Savinho’s dribbling ability — in small and large areas — is his strongest asset, which is useful in quick build-ups, transitional situations and against low blocks.

He can bypass opponents in tight spaces and close to the byline due to his trickery and short bursts of acceleration, which is visible by the location of his take-ons during the 2024-25 Premier League season (the 821 minutes Savinho played with City in 2025-26 is a relatively small sample size to analyse).

The proactiveness of Savinho’s dribbling is evident in the volume of his take-ons. His rate of 6.3 take-ons per 90 minutes was the 11th-highest in Europe’s top five leagues in 2024-25 when compared with fellow wingers who played at least 900 minutes.

As illustrated in the carry map below, Savinho mainly dribbles on the outside of the opponent’s full-backs, which is an area for improvement as he needs to diversify his actions to create different shooting and crossing angles. However, there were encouraging signs from the 2024-25 season that this aspect can be developed.

Savinho’s trait of going on the outside is complemented by his ability to cross with either foot, which means he doesn’t need to adjust his body shape to cross with his dominant left.

In this example, from City’s 2-1 defeat against Spurs in October 2024, Savinho is facing Destiny Udogie down the right wing.

The Brazilian fakes a dribble with his left, and immediately pushes the ball into space with his right.

Savinho’s acceleration gives him an advantage, but it’s his ability to cross with his right foot that allows him to capitalise on the small crossing angle that opens up before Udogie closes him down.

The City winger puts the ball towards the back post, and Matheus Nunes finishes the move.

Savinho’s comfort on either foot allows him to dribble with one and cross with the other, limiting the time for the opposition to react.

Add in his acceleration, and you get an idea about how Savinho can create chances from the tightest of spaces down the flanks and in dangerous zones in the final third.

Since arriving in the Premier League in 2024, nearly half (46 per cent) of Savinho’s chances created from open play have come in the half-space zones in the penalty area.

Savinho’s creative output was on show in his first season at City, providing eight assists in the Premier League and three in the other competitions.

Meanwhile, his open-play expected assists (xA) per 90 (0.34) was the third-highest among players who played at least 900 minutes in the 2024-25 Premier League campaign — only Kevin De Bruyne (0.36) and Mohamed Salah (0.37) had a higher rate.

“He is a player with incredible potential,” City’s previous manager, Pep Guardiola, said during the 2025 Club World Cup. “We can’t forget he is so young. He needs to be more decisive in the final third in (certain) aspects.

“The moment he will make this step — in a natural way it will come because he has incredible individual quality — he will become an extraordinary player. He can play on both sides, right or left, is so fast, and he understands tactically the movements he has to do.”

One of the areas where Savinho is yet to reach his potential is his finishing. Across his two Premier League seasons with City, he underperformed in front of goal, only scoring twice from 7.4 non-penalty expected goals (xG).

The main area of improvement is Savinho’s tendency to shoot straight at the goalkeeper instead of finding the near or far corners of the goal, as seen in the examples below.

Coincidentally, his only Premier League goal last season came when he slotted the ball into the far corner in City’s 3-0 victory against Crystal Palace in May.

This type of finish and blasted shots into the top of the near post are the types of efforts Savinho needs to work on to improve his goalscoring rate.

There are other aspects of Savinho’s profile that may translate better to a more vertical De Zerbi side compared to Guardiola’s City.

In the last two seasons, the winger showed glimpses of his off-ball runs behind the opponent’s defence, an ability to control the ball comfortably with either foot and use his first touch to attack the space.

These characteristics can be more dangerous in a more direct role down the wings. In addition, Savinho’s pace with and without the ball makes him a threat in transitional situations.

It remains to be seen how Savinho’s move to Spurs will play out, but the 22-year-old should instantly upgrade the team’s attack, while also having room for significant improvement.

Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement to sign Manchester City winger Savinho in a deal that could be worth up to £85million.

Spurs are set to pay £75m up front, plus £10m in potential bonuses for the Brazilian – £5m of which are highly achievable.

The Athletic reported on Wednesday that Tottenham were working on deals to sign Savinho and fellow forward Omar Marmoush from City, with Spurs advancing in talks for both players.

Spurs pursuit of Marmoush in a separate deal remains ongoing.

Savinho was not included in the City squad for Enzo Maresca’s first game as City head coach, a 3-0 defeat in the Community Shield against Arsenal on August 16.

Tottenham have been interested in Savinho since last summer, when they discussed a package worth in the region of €50million (£43.3m, $58.2m) with City, who did not want to sell the winger and subsequently tied him down to a new contract in October until 2031.

Spurs reactivated their pursuit in this window as they seek to add to their front line, which was heavily affected by injuries to Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke and Wilson Odobert last season.

Savinho came through the academy of Atletico Mineiro in his native Brazil before joining French team Troyes, who are owned by the City Football Group (CFG) in 2022. He had loan spells at PSV Eindhoven and fellow CFG side Girona before joining City in 2024 in a deal worth €40m.

The 22-year-old has made 53 appearances for City, scoring twice and providing 12 assists, though he made just seven Premier League starts last season under Pep Guardiola.

A move to north London would be the latest deal in what has been a busy summer for Spurs, who have spent a combined £229.5million on Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke. Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka have also arrived as free agents.

The deal for Savinho falls short of the package for Tonali, which could be worth £100m to Newcastle United, but would represent a record sale for Man City – eclipsing the £82m package that Atletico Madrid paid for Julian Alvarez in 2024.

Marlon Santos has worked with some of the greatest coaches in world football.

He started his career at Fluminense, where he developed under Abel Braga, who coached seven of Brazil’s ‘Big 12’ clubs over a 40-year management career across Europe and South America. He left Rio de Janeiro for Barcelona, joining Luis Enrique, who is considered one of the best — if not the best — coaches in the world after winning back-to-back Champions Leagues with Paris Saint-Germain.

But for Marlon, who Roberto De Zerbi signed at Sassuolo before being taken with him to Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, the Tottenham Hotspur head coach is one of a kind.

“I have been with Luis Enrique, Arda Turan, Lucien Favre; they’re great, top coaches,” Marlon, a centre-back who returned to Shakhtar in 2025 after spells in Italy, Brazil and MLS in recent seasons, tells The Athletic. “But De Zerbi, he gives more time. He was always working on details with me. He changed my identity as a footballer.”

There’s not much to say about De Zerbi that hasn’t already been said — much of which by some of his most celebrated peers. Pep Guardiola famously described him as “one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years”, and he has received compliments from many others at the top of the coaching game, including Jurgen Klopp and newly-appointed Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso.

While De Zerbi says the plaudits “embarrass” him, he clearly brings something unique to the table.

Take it from Adam Lallana, who De Zerbi instantly wowed at Brighton and Hove Albion.

“He’s just made football (make) so much more sense to me since he’s been here,” the former England international midfielder, turned coach of Southampton’s Under-21s, told The Athletic in 2023. “I knew what I enjoyed about football and the feeling I got when I was doing it or was involved in a team doing it, but he’s given me reasons for that.

“He’s just made it all make sense, and that’s the tactical input that he’s taught me.

“He’s given substance to it: ‘This is why you are doing this, so that you can have this’.”

Before De Zerbi begins working with his players tactically, he aims to connect with them as people. The tactical instructions were brief and simple for Tottenham last season, as they narrowly avoided the drop, with De Zerbi focusing on building a positive mindset and unity within a group whose confidence was shot by ruinous spells under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.

After picking his players up off the floor (literally, in some cases) following the 1-0 defeat to Sunderland in his first game in charge, De Zerbi organised a meal at Bacchanalia, a Greek and Mediterranean restaurant in the high-end area of Mayfair in London. He encouraged the squad to mingle and forget their troubles for a night with the aid of alcohol, which he described as “good medicine,” providing a springboard for their improved performances and eventual Premier League salvation.

Finding common ground and projecting a positive vibe is at the heart of his coaching success, and many players view him as exceptional in that regard.

“On a personal level, Roberto is a very, very good guy,” says Marlon. “When you come to one of his teams, he makes you immediately feel like you are part of a family. He had different staff during my time working with him, but they worked together really well and developed the same connection, symphony, and frequency with each other and with the team. They made it easy for the players. Robbie has a feeling for team atmosphere.

“I always think about how much he cared. He was careful with my family, with everyone’s family. He loves people. He’s human, you know? He leaves such a good impression.”

Yet De Zerbi’s ability to build an “easy” association with his players does not make him any less demanding. Like Marlon, Jan Paul van Hecke is a centre-back whom De Zerbi has taken from one club to another. As he does with many of his favoured students, De Zerbi refers to Van Hecke as his “son”, but their relationship was not always plain sailing. According to the Netherlands international, they clashed in their early days working together because “he had such a way of playing, and I needed to get used to it”.

They came out on the other side with a tight bond, with Van Hecke rapidly improving on the south coast once he developed the tactical understanding to thrive within De Zerbi’s system, but it does not always end so positively.

De Zerbi made headlines around the world with his acrimonious ending at French side Marseille, where he spent around 18 months after leaving Brighton in 2024. In his first season, De Zerbi had a training-ground bust-up with Ismael Kone, telling the Canada midfielder to “take a shower” and call his agent, and Kone moved on loan to Rennes in the following transfer window. Early last year, he publicly criticised defender Amir Murillo’s “hunger” after Marseille conceded late twice in a 2-2 draw with Paris FC, and he was promptly sold to Besiktas.

While his critics use these instances as perceived evidence of a combustible and perhaps unreliable nature, his supporters can point to his many disciples who are willing to offer a glowing reference. Put simply, if you come to training with a smile on your face and you execute his demands, he will shower you with praise. In his short time as Spurs boss, he has described Micky van de Ven as the best left-sided centre-back in the Premier League and labelled Pedro Porro the best right-back in the world. Both have signed new contracts at the club this summer, something that appeared hugely unlikely during the lows of last season.

“Roberto makes you feel a million dollars,” Lallana said. “As long as you follow him, there’s no problem with you making a mistake. That’s the art of good management.”

Upon De Zerbi’s arrival at Tottenham on March 31, most would have expected Antonin Kinsky to need his man-management more than anyone. The Czech goalkeeper was infamously hooked after just 18 minutes in the 5-2 Champions League round of 16 first-leg defeat to Atletico Madrid by interim boss Tudor, after he made two errors leading to goals.

Owing to hernia surgery for previous No 1 Guglielmo Vicario, Kinsky was given another opportunity to prove himself in De Zerbi’s first game against Sunderland, and the Italian admitted after a 1-0 win over Everton on the final day of the season that he considered making Kinsky his captain at the Stadium of Light. On reflection, Kinsky is glad he didn’t: he was just happy to receive his vote of confidence.

“Honestly, I have to say, I’m quite happy he didn’t do it,” Kinsky said. “I think he wanted to encourage me after what happened. On the other hand, I think when he came, he knew me; he knew that I don’t need any encouragement. All I need is to hear that he is confident in me, that he trusts in me, and that he gives me some time on the pitch.”

De Zerbi recognised what Kinsky needed, and he duly excelled. He was outstanding during the Italian’s seven games in the dugout at the end of last season, making several world-class saves and impressing as a distributor. Kinsky plays a high-risk style as a playmaker between the sticks, a role that suits De Zerbi’s philosophy tactically and mentally. As Lallana mentions, the Italian liberates his players from the fear of making mistakes, which allows Kinsky to demonstrate his talent to the fullest and earn the trust and faith of his coaches, team-mates and fans again.

“What he says to me definitely gives me the confidence,” he said. “If you don’t feel the confidence, you might play a bit more safe. If you feel the confidence, you can play to the best of your ability. If I know that he supports me and he believes in me, then of course I feel well on the pitch. In certain situations where there is risk, it makes it easier to take a bit more. Go more to the edge. I think this is sometimes where the difference in the games is made. This is definitely, definitely important.”

“He forces you to believe in yourself and be the best version on the pitch. Not to try to play safe; try to play. (Let’s say) I or anyone makes two bad passes or something. The next time, maybe I make an easy pass. But (under De Zerbi) no. It’s like you made two good passes. If the intention was good, then it’s just about the ability. Sometimes the ball can bounce or whatever; something can happen.

“But (we are encouraged to) play as best as we can and enjoy the game. If you combine these two things, focusing on playing as best you can and enjoying the game, that enables you to perform at your best level. I think this is always his message, above all the tactics.”

As much as his players emphasise the human element, De Zerbi has made his name as an elite tactician. But while many of the game’s great tacticians have a reputation for requiring unquestioning consent, almost robotising their players, De Zerbi revels in transmitting his footballing philosophy to his squad, allowing them to see the game through his lens. In the early days, he does this through an intense schedule on the grass and in the film room on the training ground.

“Details, for him, change everything,” says Marlon. “When you have one game a week, he sometimes makes two periods of training in the morning, and also two times in the afternoon. It’s all about intensity.

“He is so smart. He has a philosophy, and for sure he adapts to different teams, but he does not change it. He works on individual tactics, but inside a collective tactical (framework). I was really struck by the fact that he didn’t change, yet managed to stick to his ideas even in matches against opponents using different tactical setups.”

Tottenham have looked more like a De Zerbi team in pre-season, as he has had more time to convey his ideas to his players in a less pressurised, less time-constrained environment. Before that, he flipped Spurs’ fortunes and kept them in the Premier League against the odds, convinced Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes to eschew the advances of Manchester City and Manchester United, respectively, and played his part in securing Van de Ven and Porro to long-term deals despite interest from elsewhere.

Whether his special sauce is his tactical genius or ability to connect with players, or something in between, wherever De Zerbi goes, he leaves a huge impression.

“With him, I learned so much about football,” says Marlon. “He changed my mood and my view of the game. He has given me so much. I am so grateful. With Roberto, only good things.”

Tottenham Hotspur are working on a deal to sign Savinho and Omar Marmoush from Manchester City.

Nothing is finalised but Tottenham’s talks with City are advancing.

The Athletic reported on Tuesday that Spurs were progressing in a deal for Savinho, while Marmoush has also been among those considered likely to leave City this summer.

Savinho, the 22-year-old winger, was not part of Enzo Maresca’s 21-player squad for City’s 3-0 Community Shield final defeat by Arsenal on Sunday. Marmoush, 27, came on as a second-half substitute for Erling Haaland.

The potential deals for Savinho and Marmoush would add to an already busy summer for Tottenham, who have spent a combined £229.5million on Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke.

Tottenham pursued a move for Savinho last summer, with The Athletic reporting in August 2025 that they had discussed a package worth in the region of €50million (£43.3m, $58.2m) with City.

City, though, did not want to sell the Brazilian, who signed a new deal until 2031 in early October after the close of the transfer window.

Savinho, however, continued to play a bit-part role for City, starting just seven Premier League games last season as Pep Guardiola’s side finished second and won a domestic cup double.

The Brazil international joined City in a €40m deal from French side Troyes, after spending the 2023-24 season on loan at La Liga team Girona, where he recorded 11 goals and 10 assists, helping the club to a top-four finish and the club’s first-ever Champions League berth. Both Troyes and Girona are owned by the City Football Group (CFG).

Marmoush started eight times in the Premier League last term, finishing the campaign with eight goals in 36 appearances. The forward then played five times for Egypt at the World Cup as they reached the last 16. He joined City from Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2025 after scoring 37 times in 67 appearances.

Alongside the signings of Tonali, Fernandes and Van Hecke, Spurs have recruited defenders Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka on free transfers.

Spurs delivering De Zerbi’s ‘bomba’ promise

Analysis by Tottenham correspondent Jay Harris

A couple of weeks ago, Roberto De Zerbi revealed that Spurs were lining up a surprise “bomba” signing. Supporters have become restless since then but this audacious double swoop has been well worth the wait.

Spurs’ interest in Savinho can be traced back to last summer following Thomas Frank’s appointment. Savinho has failed to live up to expectations during his time in Manchester but is still viewed as a quality, versatile option for the squad even though De Zerbi is now in charge. Savinho would also be reunited with Xavi Simons, who he played with during the 2022-23 season at PSV Eindhoven. This move has dragged on for the entire summer but Spurs appear to be finally closing in on one of their top targets.

Savinho’s arrival would not be enough to plug the gaps upfront, which is why their pursuit of Omar Marmoush is so exciting. Spurs desperately need another centre-forward because Richarlison only has a year left on his contract and Dominic Solanke has struggled with injuries over the last 18 months. Marmoush has the flexibility to play through the middle on his own and alongside Solanke or Richarlison.

Marmoush’s star has waned slightly over the last 12 months because he is in the awkward position of playing second fiddle to Haaland at City and Mohamed Salah with Egypt. Before Marmoush joined City midway through the 2024-25 season, he scored 15 goals in 17 games for Eintracht. With the promise of more regular game time, Spurs will be hoping Marmoush can replicate that form if he makes the move to north London.

Spurs have already remodelled their midfield and defence this summer. Signing Savinho and Marmoush would secure their status as legitimate top-four contenders and cap off a remarkable transfer window which, on paper, will go down as one of the best in Premier League history.

How can Spurs afford this spending?

Analysis by football finance writer Chris Weatherspoon

Even by the standards of modern English football, Tottenham’s outlay is eyebrow-raising. Inside the first three weeks of the summer window, they committed a £230m on three signings. Add unreported agent fees and the Premier League’s transfer levy of four per cent on every incoming transfer, and their splurge tops a quarter of a billion pounds. The club’s single-season record is £272.2m (in 2023-24).

Or it was.

Following the signing of Van Hecke from Brighton before the end of the 2025-26 accounting year, The Athletic projects Spurs’ spending on new players landed just shy of £300m last season. On a net basis, we reckon around £240m was spent, comfortably higher than the club’s previous record of £180.1m (again set in 2023-24).

Champions League money will have helped pay the bills last season, but the greater factor has been a shift in strategy at the top of the club. After two decades of parsimony, ENIC, the firm that holds a majority ownership stake in Spurs, is now pumping funds in.

Fans of other clubs might also wonder how Spurs can afford this activity while remaining within football’s financial rules. Yet a relative lack of liquidity (at least prior to ENIC’s funding) bears little relevance to compliance, with football’s regulations previously focused on keeping losses low and, now, trained on how much clubs spend on their squads.

The losses at Tottenham have rocketed in recent seasons, though much of that owes to a huge depreciation charge on the stadium — an expense which is deducted from loss-based calculations. They have dipped into underlying deficits too, but those are not so large that they’ll have trouble with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), which, in any case, will cease to operate once clubs are assessed on the 2025-26 season.

Moreover, much to their supporters’ chagrin, Spurs have routinely operated one of the lowest wages-to-revenue figures in both English and European football.

In 2024-25, a season where they were without Champions League football, just 45 per cent of revenue went on total wages. The amount spent on players, relevant for SCR purposes, is even lower. Clubs don’t release player wage details but, per a UEFA report in 2022-23, Tottenham’s player wages were just 32 per cent of turnover.

Even with growing amortisation costs on transfer fees, total wages and amortisation as a proportion of revenue in 2024-25 was just 70 per cent. That also doesn’t include the averaged player profits that are added into the SCR calculation. In other words, they have had plenty of headroom.

Player sales are also taking on added importance. Spurs’ shoddy transfer business of recent years has made that infertile ground.

But recouping £35m on Brennan Johnson when he went to Crystal Palace in January was seen internally as decent business, while the deal agreed to sell Luka Vuskovic to Brighton is better still. Vuskovic, who joined in summer 2025 for £12m but was without a Spurs first-team appearance to his name, having spent last season out on loan, headed to the south coast for a guaranteed £46m, or only £6m less than went the opposite way for Van Hecke.

Cristian Romero has joined Atletico Madrid for £34.1m, while Guglielmo Vicario has left for Juventus on loan with an €8m option to buy and Radu Dragusin has signed for Fiorentina on loan with a conditional obligation.

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The mood inside Tottenham Hotspur has undergone a transformation over the last six months.

When Roberto De Zerbi was appointed as head coach on a five-year contract in March, it looked like they were going to be relegated. Spurs had not won a game in 2026 and fans were grappling with the prospect of spending at least 12 months stuck in the Championship. However, De Zerbi turned their fortunes around and they survived after beating Everton 1-0 on the final day to finish 17th for the second consecutive season.

Spurs have been one of the biggest spenders in the transfer market this summer, as well as tying down some key players to long-term contracts. Excitement is building that De Zerbi can achieve something truly special.

Here, The Athletic looks at how Tottenham’s season might play out.

What are the expectations inside the club?

Nearly £250million (more than $330m) has been spent on six new signings and Spurs would like to add a couple more before the window closes, including Manchester City winger Savinho.

There is a lack of attacking options within the squad, especially because Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons and Dejan Kulusevski are recovering from long-term knee injuries, but Spurs should be aiming for the top six.

Who have they signed?

The defence and midfield have been remodelled. Spurs broke their transfer record twice in a week to sign Mateus Fernandes for £85m and Sandro Tonali for £100m from West Ham United and Newcastle United.

Last season’s captain Cristian Romero has joined Atletico Madrid and has been replaced by Jan Paul van Hecke — signed from Brighton & Hove Albion — in central defence. Andy Robertson arrived from Liverpool as a free agent to provide competition for left-back Destiny Udogie but fan favourite Djed Spence left for Inter.

Micky van de Ven agreed a new long-term contract and will battle with new signing Marcos Senesi to start as the team’s left-sided centre-back. Antonin Kinsky’s promotion to first-choice goalkeeper allowed Guglielmo Vicario to pursue a loan move to Juventus, with an option to buy. That means Martin Dubravka will be Kinsky’s understudy after leaving Burnley when his contract expired in June.

If Spurs can complete a deal for Savinho and add another quality forward, they will have arguably had the most exciting summer window of any Premier League side this year.

What is their transfer priority before the window closes?

Spurs’ pursuit of Savinho has been well-documented but they probably need another centre-forward. Richarlison, last season’s top scorer (12 goals in all competitions), has played under five different head coaches since he joined Spurs in July 2022 and has never been a perfect fit. De Zerbi admitted earlier this month that the Brazil international “sometimes wants to leave”.

Dominic Solanke is talented but only made 15 appearances last season for a total of 1,000 minutes. The England international has started in under 50 per cent of the available league games (36 out of 76) since he arrived from Bournemouth in August 2024. Spurs need a striker who is consistently available and can carry out De Zerbi’s demands.

What else is new?

It is easy to forget that De Zerbi barely tinkered with the team’s tactics when he took over, as he focused on lifting their spirits following a miserable period under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.

There have been glimpses throughout pre-season of the intricate, risky build-up play that earned De Zerbi so many admirers during his two-year spell with Brighton. Kinsky is more suited to De Zerbi’s style than Vicario, so expect to see lots of nerve-inducing passes under pressure from him and Tottenham’s centre-backs inside their own penalty area.

What is the biggest lesson they learned last season?

Spurs were stung in the summer of 2025 by their failed pursuits of Bryan Mbeumo, Eberechi Eze, Antoine Semenyo and Morgan Gibbs-White. Former executive chairman Daniel Levy had a reputation for haggling over deals, sometimes allowing rival clubs to steal transfer targets from them. Spurs then gambled in January by signing only Conor Gallagher and Souza, now 20, when the team was in dire need of more help.

There has been a complete change of attitude this summer from chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham, sporting director Johan Lange and recently appointed director of football operations Carlos Raphael Moersen. Spurs beat off competition from Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain to sign Fernandes, while Manchester City were interested in Tonali. But Spurs acted quickly to tie up those deals and secure Porro, Kinsky and Van de Ven to new contracts.

Spurs are finally throwing money around in a way they rarely have before.

Who’s been the best player in pre-season?

Lucas Bergvall has been exceptional despite the uncertainty over his future. The Athletic reported in June that the midfielder expressed a preference to move on but bids from Nottingham Forest and Newcastle were rejected. Bergvall has worked hard and has shown signs of building an exciting partnership with Tonali. Even so, it is unlikely he will start in Saturday’s league opener against Brentford because Fernandes has recovered from the minor injury that restricted his game time on the pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Luca Williams-Barnett, the 17-year-old attacking midfielder, has thrived and a tough decision needs to be made about whether he should stay with the first-team squad or head out on loan.

What are they worried about?

Mention injuries to anybody connected with Spurs and you will send a shiver down their spine. Fitness issues have played a huge part in Spurs recording back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the top flight. Three players tore their anterior cruciate ligaments last season, Kulusevski did not play a single minute and several other squad members suffered muscle problems.

Dan Lewindon joined as performance director in February and has instigated changes that will hopefully help them avoid another injury crisis but there are concerns about the limited involvement of Van de Ven, Udogie, Solanke and Mohammed Kudus in pre-season.

How’s the manager feeling?

De Zerbi should be thrilled by Tottenham’s business this summer. Landing Fernandes and Tonali was extremely impressive, while Van Hecke and Van de Ven can reignite an excellent centre-back partnership that can be traced back to the Netherlands’ youth teams. As a bonus, Andrew Crofts has been appointed as De Zerbi’s assistant coach after they previously worked together on the south coast.

Romero, Spence and Vicario could have become distractions but Spurs have waved goodbye to them before the start of the new campaign. If Spurs sign a couple of attacking players, then they will have put everything in place for De Zerbi to succeed.

What’s the percentage chance of De Zerbi seeing out the season?

This should be a straightforward answer after the Italian’s rescue act last season. The 47-year-old has a huge amount of credit with supporters and a strong relationship with senior figures.

However, De Zerbi never sticks around for too long. He fell out with his bosses at Brighton over their recruitment strategy and left Marseille after they were knocked out of the Champions League. Hopefully, all of the ingredients are there for a fruitful, long-lasting relationship, but you never know.

I wouldn’t be surprised if…

Spurs gatecrashed the top four. They have struggled over the last few years to juggle domestic competitions with Europe but they do not have that dilemma this season. In theory, players will feel refreshed and coaching staff will have more time to prepare for opponents.

Over the last 12 months, Spurs have cycled through three different head coaches, sacked their long-serving executive chairman, rehired Fabio Paratici only for him to leave after four months and had multiple parties express an interest in taking over from the majority shareholders, the Lewis family.

There is never a dull day in north London. Quite frankly, anything could happen.

What is their strongest XI?

Tottenham Hotspur have accepted an offer from Juventus for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Juve’s offer for the 29-year-old is for a loan with the option to make the move to Serie A permanent and while a deal is not yet done, all parties expect it to go through.

The Athletic reported on Sunday that the Italian club were not proceeding with a move for Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa following talks between the clubs, and turned their attention to other targets.

A move to Juventus would see Vicario return to Italy, where he spent his entire club career before joining Spurs in 2023 from Empoli for a fee of around €20million (£17.2m, $21.9m).

The 29-year-old has served as Tottenham’s first-choice goalkeeper since his arrival, replacing former club captain Hugo Lloris, and has made 117 appearances for the club in all competitions, keeping 29 clean sheets. He started the 1-0 victory in the Europa League final in May last year, making a crucial save from a Luke Shaw header in stoppage time to ensure his side won their first trophy in 17 years.

Last season, Vicario played 43 games for Spurs but struggled with errors at times and did not appear after March 22 following surgery for a hernia. Antonin Kinsky started in Vicario’s absence and held on to the No 1 spot even when Vicario returned to the squad for the final two games of the campaign.

Vicario began his career with his Udinese and made his first senior appearance while on loan at fourth-tier side Fontanafredda in 2014. He was loaned to fellow Serie D club Venezia in 2015, helping the club achieve promotion and signing on a permanent basis the following year.

A move to Cagliari followed in 2019, along with loan spells at Perugia and Empoli, before joined the latter pemanently in 2022.

Vicario has been capped five times at senior level by Italy and was part of the squad for nation’s run to the last 16 at the 2024 European Championships, though he was an unused substitute in all four games.

How will Vicario be remembered at Spurs?

Analysis by Tottenham correspondent Elias Burke

When Guglielmo Vicario was not brought back into Roberto De Zerbi’s starting line-up after recovering from hernia surgery, with the Tottenham head coach preferring Antonin Kinsky for the run-in, the writing seemed on the wall that Vicario would depart this summer. And when De Zerbi officially named Kinsky as his No 1 goalkeeper on Tottenham’s pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand, a move became inevitable.

If this is to be the end of Vicario’s association with Tottenham, he will be partly remembered for his impressive start to life in north London. He was a standout in Ange Postecoglou’s first season in charge, starting all 38 league games as Spurs finished fifth. His sophomore term at Spurs was hampered by an ankle injury, limiting him to just 24 starts, but he is set to leave for Turin as a Europa League champion, keeping a clean sheet in the final and making numerous important saves on their journey to Bilbao.

Last season, however, Vicario’s form dropped off a cliff. There were some standout moments, including inspired displays in the 2-1 away win over Leeds United in October and a performance in the 0-0 away draw at Monaco that will surely go down as one of the best of his career, but they were rare bright sparks in a poor year.

While De Zerbi has expressed affection for his countryman since joining Spurs, Kinsky is a much better fit for his style and excelled in the Italian’s crucial seven-game stint, which kept Spurs in the Premier League. Kinsky is one of the league’s standout goalkeepers with his feet, while Vicario has struggled in that area in north London.

Kinsky, his previous understudy, also appears to have made a significant improvement as a shot-stopper, considered Vicario’s biggest strength. All this means Kinsky is well-positioned to be Tottenham’s long-term answer in goal, provided he continues to improve and build on his positive showings under De Zerbi last season, while Vicario’s future lies elsewhere as a No 1.