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Slow burner - De Zerbi's struggles as mid-season appointment

Tottenham need Roberto de Zerbi to make an instant impact, with the club one place and one point above the Premier League relegation zone and just seven games of the season remaining.

Yet his record at previous clubs suggests De Zerbi has initially struggled to turn teams around.

The Italian has taken over mid-season at three different clubs and his record in the first seven games has not been great.

De Zerbi managed just one win at Palermo in 2016 before eventually getting the sack, and no wins at Benevento the following season as they were relegated from Serie A.

Then, in 2022, he struggled early in his tenure at Brighton as the Seagulls claimed just eight points from his first seven games, but went on to qualify for Europe.

De Zerbi's record in his first seven games at clubs where he has taken over mid-season:

Palermo, 2016

One win

Two draws

Four defeats

Five points

Benevento, 2017

No wins

One draw

Six defeats

One point

Brighton, 2022

Two wins

Two draws

Three defeats

Eight points

De Zerbi's unquestionable impact at Brighton

Roberto de Zerbi had 89 games as manager of Brighton in all competitions, recording a win rate of 42.7%.

His win rate in the Premier League was marginally lower - 37% from 70 games.

But his impact was unquestionable.

After being appointed as a replacement for Graham Potter in September 2022, the Italian's high-pressing style helped the Seagulls to a sixth-placed finish in his first season, taking them into Europe for the first time.

De Zerbi's Premier League record at Brighton:

Games - 70

Won - 26

Drawn - 19

Lost - 25

Points per game - 1.39

Win rate - 37%

De Zerbi's managerial history

Roberto de Zerbi already has a managerial CV spanning eight different teams, despite being just 46 years of age.

After retiring from playing in 2013, De Zerbi immediately went into management with lower league Italian side, Darfo Boario.

From there, he jumped around several Italian clubs before earning his first major move to Ukrainian giants, Shakhtar Donetsk.

He won the Ukrainian Super Cup in his first season and led them to the top of the league before departing the club in July 2022 prior to the conclusion of the campaign as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In September 2022, he succeed Graham Potter as manager of Brighton and led the club to the FA Cup semi-final in his first season, along with a sixth-place finish in the Premier League - securing European football for the first time in the club's history.

His most recent managerial spell came in France with Ligue 1 side Marseille. He led the club to a second-place finish in his first season behind champions Paris St-Germain.

De Zerbi left in February of 2026 following the team's exit from the Champions League league phase. The club were fourth in Ligue 1 at the time.

Spurs tried to bring in De Zerbi after Frank exit

Sami Mokbel

BBC Sport Senior football correspondent

De Zerbi was overwhelmingly the club’s number one choice for the position. The attraction to the Italian was based on his prior Premier League experience, his tactical acumen and the his reputation for playing attacking football.

The club tried to bring him to the club after Thomas Frank left, but it was deemed too soon given he left Marseille on the same day.

De Zerbi was viewed as the best option for the long term of the club and allows the club to plan for the summer transfer window, and he has time to experience working with the current options.

He was also viewed as the best option for short-term with no other highly-credible coach on the market now.

There was also a view taken that it’s best for players not to have another interim.

No relegation clause in De Zerbi contract

Sami Mokbel

BBC Sport Senior football correspondent

Roberto De Zerbi does not have a relegation clause in his Tottenham contract as the Premier League club close in on appointing the Italian as their new head coach.

De Zerbi is finalising a deal to become the club’s new boss on a five year contract with his first target being to lead the club to safety.

Spurs are currently in 17th, one point clear of the relegation zone with just seven matches to play.

But even if Spurs are relegated, sources have told BBC Sport that the deal to take De Zerbi to Spurs does not include a clause that allows the Italian to walk away from the club if they are in the Championship next season.

It is understood De Zerbi is fully committed to rebuilding Tottenham and views the position as long term project regardless of which division they are playing in.

De Zerbi 'overwhelming first-choice' for job

Sami Mokbel

BBC Sport Senior football correspondent

Roberto De Zerbi has been the overwhelming first-choice to become the club’s new permanent head coach and according to well-placed sources, all parties have now struck a deal for the former Brighton manager to become the club’s new manager on a permanent basis with an announcement expected in due course.

BBC Sport reported on Sunday that De Zerbi was the man Spurs wanted to replace Igor Tudor, who officially left the club by mutual consent over the weekend. Talks have been ongoing since Sunday and those discussions have been successful.

While De Zerbi was always open to taking the Spurs position, it is understood he initially showed a reluctance to accept the job before the end of the season.

But the coach, who left Marseille earlier this year, had been persuaded to take the job immediately.

Tottenham are closing in on the appointment of Roberto de Zerbi as head coach.

Should the former Brighton boss agree a deal - as is expected - he would have seven games to save the club from relegation to the Championship.

That means in two months' time, Spurs' third boss of the season would have either secured his place as a hero at the club, or forever connected his name to one of the worst seasons in their history.

Tottenham are 17th in the Premier League, just one point outside of the relegation zone and without a win in the competition in 2026. Should they fail to beat the drop, it would go down as one of the league's most remarkable relegations.

De Zerbi, 46, is set to succeed Igor Tudor, who lasted just 44 days in the post before his spell was mutually ended.

After guiding Brighton to European qualification during his two seasons in the Premier League between 2022 and 2024, De Zerbi took Marseille to second in Ligue 1 before leaving in February.

Should the Italian's appointment be confirmed as expected, his first match as Tottenham boss would be a trip to Sunderland on 12 April, followed six days later by a home game against his former club Brighton. Their remaining fixtures are home matches against Leeds and Everton, and trips to Wolves, Aston Villa and Chelsea.

"He will be having his own way - he's quite a character," former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"He's a very outspoken manger. He's a manager in a similar way to Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte that Tottenham have had in the past."

It is well documented that De Zerbi's footballing DNA traces back to the Pep Guardiola tradition, but to leave it there would be restrictive. He has taken the principles - positional play, pressing triggers, control through the ball - and built his own beliefs around them

There are a number of reasons why this appointment could work.

First, De Zerbi doesn't care what people think. He has a clear, unshakeable idea of how he wants to play football and at a club as chaotic as Tottenham right now, that kind of certainty is invaluable.

He has also never managed a club with no expectations and has always delivered under pressure. He knows what it means to have concrete targets and he knows how to meet them.

He brings the added benefit of knowing the Premier League and the timing of the likely appointment gives him scope for preparation. Spurs don't play again until 12 April and that gives him precious time to assess his squad.

Arriving during the international break would give De Zerbi precious days to begin assessing his squad.

The big concern here, though, is less about De Zerbi himself and more about whether those around him will have the discipline to align with his vision.

When that alignment has broken down in De Zerbi's career - when ownership or a director of football has pulled in a different direction - the project has quickly unravelled.

That is precisely what happened at Marseille. The football was often compelling, the city was behind him, but at decision-making level the relationship could not be sustained.

Tottenham have had their own well-documented structural difficulties. If De Zerbi is to thrive, the football operations around him must be stable, communicative and genuinely aligned to his way of working.

That is not a small ask for a club in the midst of a relegation battle.

Marseille fans felt both relief and regret when De Zerbi left midway through his second season.

Relief because the final weeks were desperately poor, but regret too because De Zerbi - a former ultra with immense passion - looked at times a perfect fit for the Mediterranean club.

His first year was promising: Marseille finished as runners-up and returned to the Champions League. A raft of new signings raised hopes, especially after a first home win over Paris St-Germain in 14 years and a six-goal rout of Le Havre sent them top.

Yet there was always a sense Marseille were just a couple of defeats from crisis. The squad almost imploded when Jonathan Rowe and Adrien Rabiot clashed in the dressing room, and De Zerbi's uncompromising style alienated certain players.

He infuriated observers by constantly changing systems and selections, leaving players bamboozled.

For the most part, De Zerbi lined up in a 4-2-3-1 and fans occasionally saw glimpses of the front-footed, attacking style he wanted to implement.

Yet Marseille's midfield pairing - usually Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Geoffrey Kondogbia - lacked the technical skills and mobility to perform in that system against stronger opposition. The defence would be left exposed, while the attack relied too heavily on individual exploits from Mason Greenwood and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

When a flagging Marseille crashed out of the Champions League, losing 3-0 in Bruges, reports emerged De Zerbi had lost the dressing room. A pitiful 5-0 defeat at PSG - the heaviest in Classique history - made his exit inevitable.

De Zerbi left with the highest win percentage of any Marseille coach this century (57%). That Igor Tudor (56%) ranks second suggests Spurs fans should treat that statistic with caution.

Former England captain Steph Houghton and ex-Wales skipper Ashley Williams discuss how quickly Roberto de Zerbi's impact could be seen at Tottenham on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"Results show Spurs are in a mess," said Houghton.

"They should have brought De Zerbi in back in February and given him the time. He's going to be asking the players to do things they are not used to. They probably don't know if they're coming and going after going from [Ange] Postecoglou, to [Thomas] Frank, to [Igor] Tudor and now to something completely new again.

"They have seven games to stay up and they are the team not in form."

Williams added: "He's the type of manager who is very meticulous, very detailed.

"He builds for the future but he's got so little time. I'm not sure how these next seven games will go."

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When it comes to overall win rate in all competitions, Igor Tudor is bottom of the pile for all managers since 2014 at just 14.3%.

Seven games is not a long period of time for a manager to make his mark, but Ryan Mason was in charge for one spell of seven and another for six games, and achieved win percentages of 57.1% and 33.3% respectively.

Mauricio Pochettino had the best win rate of recent long-term managers, with 54.3%.

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Interim Tottenham Hotspur manager Igor Tudor has left the club by mutual consent after just seven games in charge.

Tudor was drafted in to replace Thomas Frank, who was relieved of his duties after 38 games following poor results, especially in the Premier League.

But hopes of improved results under Tudor were short-lived, as Spurs recorded five losses, one draw and one win during his tenure.

So how does his record compare to other Tottenham managers of recent years?

When it comes to overall win rate in all competitions, Tudor is bottom of the pile for all managers since 2014 at just 14.3%.

Seven games is not a long period of time for a manager to make his mark, but Ryan Mason was in charge for one spell of seven and another for six games, and achieved win percentages of 57.1% and 33.3% respectively.

Mauricio Pochettino had the best win rate of recent long-term managers, with 54.3%.

Igor Tudor's departure after only 44 days concludes a bizarre and potentially hugely expensive episode that leaves fingers pointing firmly in the direction of chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange.

If Venkatesham and Lange get the next big decision wrong it could conceivably end with Spurs in the Championship, leaving a scar on their record that would be impossible to recover from.

Venkatesham and Lange will know the stakes, with Tottenham one point and one place above the relegation spots.

There must be a measure of sympathy for Tudor, who also had to deal with the death of his father after being parachuted into a role he was clearly unsuited for, while taking over a squad ravaged by injuries and a complete loss of confidence.

Sympathy will be in shorter supply for Venkatesham and Lange as Spurs search for a third coach this season.

Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Brad Friedel, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast about Igor Tudor's departure: "After the Nottingham Forest game [which Spurs lost 3-0 on 22 March] - although I hate seeing this merry-go-round of managers - I thought it was inevitable."

On what should happen next with the manager's position: "The most important thing is staying in the league. The long-term solution and building can't take place until you know whether you're building from the Championship or the Premier League.

"There aren't a lot of top-quality, long-term, visionary head coaches who would jump into this job right now, unless they had a break clause if they're relegated in the summer. And then is that good for the club, to bring in another manager and then have to release them after seven games?

"You're almost stuck in a position where you have to bring in a short-term replacement."

Roberto de Zerbi, who is available following his exit from Marseille earlier this season, is a primary target and Tottenham, prior to Sunday's official announcement of Igor Tudor's departure, tried to ascertain whether the Italian is open to the job.

Elsewhere, there is believed to be an interest in appointing Sean Dyche on a short-term basis.

Dyche, who is available after his sacking by Nottingham Forest in February, has a record of keeping clubs in the Premier League - a relevant trait given Spurs' relegation fears.

However, it is understood Dyche would seek a minimum 18-month contract, which could prove a stumbling block towards any agreement.

Mauricio Pochettino would be the choice of many supporters given his relatively successful previous reign at the club, but his commitments to the USA national team before this summer's World Cup would make an immediate move extremely difficult.

Candidates with Tottenham connections such as Ryan Mason, Harry Redknapp and Tim Sherwood would be open to taking the job on an interim basis until the end of the season, while current player Ben Davies has also been considered as a possible short-term fix.

Former Monaco head coach Adi Hutter is another potential candidate, while former players Glenn Hoddle and Chris Hughton have also been touted as interim appointments.