Roberto De Zerbi’s Spurs Era Begins Amid Injury Concerns
Tottenham arrive at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday with a £237million summer spend behind them and a familiar problem in front of them: too many key players on the treatment table, not enough certainty for the opening day.
This is De Zerbi’s first full Premier League season in charge of Spurs, and after back‑to‑back 17th‑place finishes the club have thrown money, time and trust at the Italian to drag them into a new cycle. The rhetoric has changed. The squad has changed. The league position must follow.
But the build‑up has been anything but smooth.
Big spend, big questions
Tottenham have been one of the headline movers of the window, reshaping De Zerbi’s squad with heavyweight arrivals and a clear shift in profile. The real judgement, though, starts at 5.30pm on Saturday in west London, where Brentford rarely make life easy for visitors.
Spurs go into that game still juggling fitness doubts across almost every line of the pitch.
Micky van de Ven is the most eye‑catching concern. Fresh from signing a lucrative new contract and returning late from World Cup duty, the Dutch defender did not feature at all in pre‑season. His exact issue has not been disclosed, and his absence from training pictures on Tuesday did nothing to ease anxiety around a player expected to anchor De Zerbi’s defence.
At least there was some relief on the pitches at Hotspur Way. Destiny Udogie, James Maddison and Mateus Fernandes all trained ahead of the short trip across the capital, offering a glimpse of the starting XI De Zerbi wants to build around.
Relief, though, comes with caveats.
Udogie and Maddison handled with care
Udogie has not played a minute in pre‑season, his workload tightly controlled after a run of muscular problems. He remains a doubt for Brentford, and Spurs know too well the cost of rushing him back. His energy and thrust down the left are central to De Zerbi’s attacking structure, but so is having him available beyond August.
Maddison’s situation is just as delicate, and arguably even more symbolic.
The England midfielder is in the frame to become club captain following Cristian Romero’s departure, a potential new figurehead for a side trying to shake off the scars of last season’s relegation battle. He is still building towards full sharpness after returning from the anterior cruciate ligament injury that ended his previous campaign.
Maddison has been visible in training, involved, smiling, present. That does not guarantee he will be ready to start – or even feature – at Brentford. His minutes are being carefully managed, and Spurs will not want to gamble with a player so central to their creative plan.
Solanke, Kudus and a front‑line puzzle
Up front, the picture is no clearer.
Dominic Solanke, who missed most of last season with a recurring ankle issue before a hamstring problem ruled him out of the run‑in, has been used sparingly in pre‑season. He is another doubt for the opener, leaving De Zerbi to weigh risk against reward in a game that already carries a sense of early‑season jeopardy.
Mohammed Kudus is even further back. The winger has not played a competitive minute since January due to a serious quad injury. He is back in training but, given De Zerbi’s stance on avoiding a repeat of last year’s injury crisis, he is highly unlikely to be thrown straight into Premier League intensity.
Without Kudus, the door may open for Mikey Moore on the right. The highly rated youngster is expected to leave on loan, but only once Spurs secure their own attacking reinforcements. Until then, he sits in limbo: close enough to start a Premier League opener, yet one signing away from the exit.
That uncertainty is sharpened by the club’s protracted pursuit of Savinho. Negotiations with Manchester City over the Brazilian winger have dragged on all summer, with no breakthrough in sight. Each day without progress increases the likelihood that Moore is asked to step into the spotlight at Brentford.
Fernandes race, Porro’s sharpness, long‑term absentees
In midfield, the club’s most expensive arrival of the window is also on the watchlist.
Mateus Fernandes, signed from West Ham for £85million, has been nursing a calf problem since joining up with Spurs on their pre‑season tour of New Zealand and Australia. The hope is that he will be available for selection on Saturday, but De Zerbi’s conservative handling of injured players suggests he will only feature if there is complete confidence in his condition.
On the right of defence, Pedro Porro is in a different category. The World Cup winner is not injured, yet he has only just returned to training and may lack the sharpness and match fitness De Zerbi demands. Throwing him straight into a high‑tempo away game would be a risk; leaving him out would mean reshuffling again.
Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski remain long‑term absentees, stripping depth and variety from De Zerbi’s attacking options at a time when he is trying to imprint a demanding style.
How Spurs could line up
Against that backdrop, the predicted XI has a slightly makeshift feel:
Kinsky; Gray, Van Hecke, Senesi, Robertson; Fernandes, Tonali; Moore, Gallagher, Tel; Richarlison.
It is a team that blends new signings, returning figures and one or two players pushed forward by circumstance rather than design.
Injuries rule out Simons, Odobert and Kulusevski. Doubts linger over Maddison, Solanke, Porro, Fernandes, Udogie and Kudus. For a club desperate to turn the page on last season’s chaos, the medical bulletin looks uncomfortably familiar.
Yet this is the hand De Zerbi has been dealt for his first real crack at a full campaign. A heavy summer spend, a tricky away opener, a squad already stretched. If Tottenham want this to be the start of something different, they may have to prove it the hard way.
