Tottenham transfer news: Roberto De Zerbi's transfer plans to rebuild Spurs this summer as Sandro Tonali deal targeted
Never again. That was the promise made by Tottenham chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and non-executive chairman Peter Charrington after narrowly avoiding relegation from the Premier League.
There was a lot of criticism aimed at the Spurs board and sporting director Johan Lange after a disappointing January transfer window which left the team looking slim. It looked even more slim when the injuries started to pile up.
The promise from the Spurs hierarchy is that they are going to be stronger and they are going to back Roberto De Zerbi, who they have wanted to bring to the club for a long time. Even Daniel Levy, who left as former executive chairman a year ago, wanted to hire De Zerbi.
Transfer Centre LIVE! | Tottenham news & transfers⚪
Spurs fixtures & scores
Got Sky? Watch Tottenham games LIVE on your phone📱
Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺
Choose the Sky Sports push notifications you want! 🔔
Now they've finally got him, and after he pulled off the miracle of keeping Spurs up, they want to back him by signing the players he wants. Jan Paul van Hecke, who De Zerbi worked with at Brighton, has already been brought in for £52m.
Under the previous regime, it would not have been a surprise to see Spurs walk away from such a deal with Brighton - who are tough negotiators - or perhaps wait until late in the window to get the price down and sign him at a discount of £5m.
Van Hecke may have just a year left on his contract, but now Spurs know he will be reporting for training after a short break following the World Cup and have time to bed in and get to know his new team-mates in pre-season, which makes a whole world of difference.
Moving quickly to sign players like Van Hecke - and giving them a chance to settle in - could be the difference between finishing 8th and 5th next season. Spurs and De Zerbi want to be ambitious. Here, Sky Sports News' Michael Bridge tells you exactly how:
Is De Zerbi in charge of transfers?
There is no such thing anymore at top clubs as having one person making all the decisions when it comes to recruitment, but De Zerbi is the most hands-on head coach for a while.
The Italian's pull has been a factor in Spurs' window so far. Van Hecke sees De Zerbi as a father figure and he chose to join Spurs. Sky Sports News was told that Van Hecke only wanted Spurs - that is the result of De Zerbi's presence.
Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi agreed to join Spurs months ago, dependent on them staying up - and that was before it was clear that things would pick up under De Zerbi. Both of those players come with great qualities, and they wanted Spurs.
Some Liverpool fans would have liked Robertson to stay at Anfield another year, while Senesi just won Players' Player of the Year at Bournemouth, who are about to embark on their first season in Europe. He is swapping that for no Europe at Spurs.
De Zerbi will have the final say and Spurs are prepared to back him with the players he wants. Van Hecke was one and they are hoping to sign some more high-profile players that suit De Zerbi, such as Sandro Tonali.
Sky Sports News reported Newcastle rejected an £80m bid for the player but the signing of Tonali remains a priority for De Zerbi.
Something else to note amid Spurs' strong interest in the player: Tonali is from the same region in Italy as the Spurs boss, Brescia, and the locals in that area consider each other family; everyone knows each other.
Which positions do Spurs want to add in?
It could be up to seven or eight signings for Spurs this summer. Midfield is a key area and that is why they are keen on Tonali.
De Zerbi wants to redo the whole midfield and add some forwards and potentially a goalkeeper.
The defensive signings should cover Spurs now. They have done their business there early and you can see with Van Hecke and Senesi that they are trying to improve the technical quality of the squad. That is a big priority for the summer.
Could Spurs sign Tonali and another big player?
Do not rule anything out right now. The move for Tonali is very ambitious. But that is exactly what Spurs' summer window plans are described as. They are ambitious and they are going to go for it.
Players like Tonali and Mateus Fernandes will be attracting interest from the top clubs. That will bring up memories for Spurs fans of the failures of last summer with Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White. They were high-profile transfers for all the wrong reasons.
So, for the board and the hierarchy at the club, one of those high-profile transfers going their way this summer would be a huge boost. Man City are considering rivalling Spurs for Tonali, so if the north London club can get that deal over the line, it would be a signal of intent.
There are people outside the club who are scratching their heads right now, thinking, 'how on earth is a team that's finished 17th in back-to-back seasons still attracting top players?' Spurs have always been a draw and that does not seem to have changed.
Tottenham want to be dining at the top table. They were there or thereabouts under Mauricio Pochettino but the previous regime, while they might have paid the transfer fees, could not compete with their rivals in terms of wages because of the strict structure in place.
That, in large part, is why Spurs could not take that next step previously and have now dropped down a few levels compared to their rivals. You can see the squad is a lot weaker than it was four or five years ago.
The Lewis family have made a commitment to start offering wages in the top bracket. This held them back when trying to sign Bryan Mbeumo last summer. They did go higher with the package offered to Antoine Semenyo in January but he had already agreed to join Man City.
Where is the money coming from for Spurs' summer window?
Spurs may have been struggling of late but they are still ninth in Europe for revenue, according to the 2026 Deloitte Money League.
Other clubs that are questioning Spurs' spending now are clearly forgetting that in one summer window under Pochettino, not a single signing was made.
Sacrifices have been made in the past. Pochettino will probably be scratching his head seeing Tottenham's level of spending or intent to spend at the moment.
Another big revenue driver for Spurs, of course, is the stadium and the concerts, NFL games and other events that take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Will sales be required this summer?
If Spurs are to pull off their dream summer window, it is expected that players will go. With no European football, the squad does not need to be so big because there are fewer games. The injury problem is being investigated, and the hope from the club is that it will be addressed.
Of the players that have uncertain futures, a decision will have to be made on Pape Matar Sarr, who has interest from Brentford. There is no doubt that other clubs will be keen on him too. Yves Bissouma has already gone and he was on big wages, which frees up money.
For the homegrown quota, expect someone like Archie Gray to stay. His versatility makes him a coach's dream and if the injury issues persist, his ability to play in so many positions will be crucial to De Zerbi.
Guglielmo Vicario has a lot of interest from Italy. Juventus and Napoli are the latest to take a look at him, according to Sky in Italy. If Spurs can get the right offer, he could go, which would see another goalkeeper come in.
In that scenario, Antonin Kinsky would fight it out with a new goalkeeper for the No 1 spot and Sky Sports News has been told that it is likely to be a player who is based in the UK currently.
In defence, Spurs have a dilemma with Luka Vuskovic, who would potentially bring in a lot of money, but they want to keep him. The problem is that he does not want another loan after being with Hamburg last season and wants to play regular first-team football.
Spurs see him as being a potential superstar in the near future but right now he is not viewed as being ahead of their current defensive options. Brighton have made a fresh offer of up to £45m and the player is keen on a move to the Amex Stadium.
Cristian Romero's future is often uncertain heading into a summer window. This could finally be the time that Spurs let their captain go but it is unclear if any clubs will stump up enough money.
Lucas Bergvall is an interesting one because with all the talk about Spurs' summer plans to sign midfielders, he might not get as much game time next season. Richarlison is coming into the final year of his deal, which means there might need to be a decision taken on him.
It is a very important pre-season for Mathys Tel. He has had a very up-and-down time of it at Spurs, perfectly encapsulated by his incredible goal against Leeds being quickly followed up by that mindless foul to give away the penalty.
