Tottenham’s Summer Overhaul: De Zerbi's New Look Spurs
Tottenham didn’t celebrate survival. They endured it. A final‑day win over Everton kept them in the Premier League, but it also lit the fuse under a summer that was never going to be gentle.
Roberto De Zerbi promised “wholesale changes” after that narrow 1-0 victory. He has wasted no time. Three defenders already in, more deals lined up, senior players edging towards the exit. By the time August 22 rolls around, Spurs may barely resemble the side that staggered over the line last season.
A new spine, or a new fracture?
The most dramatic surgery is coming through the middle of the team.
At the back, De Zerbi has targeted experience and leadership. Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke have all arrived to stiffen a defence that creaked under pressure for much of last year. It is a clear statement: this rebuild starts from the back.
The knock-on effect is brutal for some of the old guard. Cristian Romero, the captain, is likely to go. Micky van de Ven could follow, though De Zerbi is fighting hard to keep the Dutchman and, if Romero does depart, potentially hand him the armband. The Italian wants a leader he can build around, not just a name on the teamsheet.
Van Hecke, signed for £52million, is being lined up as Van de Ven’s long-term partner. Two Dutch centre-halves, both comfortable on the ball, both aggressive without it – it is the kind of pairing that fits De Zerbi’s blueprint perfectly, if he can keep them together.
Robertson, the former Liverpool mainstay, looks set to shadow Destiny Udogie at left-back, offering depth and a winning mentality. On the right, Pedro Porro has locked down his place with a new long-term contract. The full-back positions, for once, look settled.
The Vicario question
The biggest uncertainty sits in goal.
Guglielmo Vicario has been linked with a move back to Italy, with Serie A champions Inter Milan circling the 29-year-old. Hernia surgery ruled him out of the run-in, which meant he never played a competitive minute under De Zerbi.
In his absence, Antonin Kinsky stepped in and impressed. Calm, reliable, and part of the defensive tightening that dragged Spurs to safety, the understudy suddenly looks like a genuine contender to be No1 next season. De Zerbi could decide the simplest solution is already in his dressing room.
There is also long-standing interest in Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford, who wants regular first-team football. For now, there have been no talks over a deal, but his name sits firmly on the list. The choice in goal will say plenty about how radical De Zerbi wants this reset to be.
Tonali at the heart of the project
If there is one signing that would define this window, it is Sandro Tonali.
Tottenham want a ball-playing midfielder who can control games, set the tempo and give them authority in the centre of the pitch. De Zerbi has zeroed in on Tonali as his prime target. He is a huge admirer, fully aware it would take a serious fee to lure him away from Newcastle.
Should Spurs pull it off, Tonali would likely slot in alongside Rodrigo Bentancur at the base of midfield. On paper, it is a partnership that blends bite, passing range and intelligence. It also gives De Zerbi the double pivot he craves to launch his high-risk, high-reward football.
West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes is also on the radar, another option to reshape a midfield that has often looked flimsy and short of personality. But Tonali is the headline act they want.
Attacking overhaul, with caveats
Up front, the picture is messier.
Injuries have ravaged Spurs’ attacking options, which makes a full-scale revolution harder to execute. They cannot rip everything up and start again when half the forwards are in the treatment room.
Even so, the club is pushing hard. Savinho, the Manchester City winger, remains a long-term target. Talks have been reopened with the Brazilian, who is eager to leave in search of regular minutes. De Zerbi wants wide players who can stretch the pitch and commit defenders; Savinho ticks those boxes.
Then there is Marcus Rashford. Frozen out at Manchester United and heading for the exit, he is the latest wide forward to be linked with Spurs. The attraction is obvious: Premier League proven, still in his prime, and desperate for a reset of his own. For a club trying to reinvent itself, it is a tempting gamble.
James Maddison, back from injury at the end of last season, is expected to reclaim his role as the No10, the creative hub behind the striker. Dejan Kulusevski’s persistent fitness issues, though, remain a concern and add another layer of uncertainty to the forward line.
The XI De Zerbi is chasing
If the window breaks Tottenham’s way, the team that steps out on August 22 could look radically different to the one that survived in May.
A potential De Zerbi-era XI: Trafford; Porro, Van Hecke, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Tonali; Savinho, Maddison, Rashford; Solanke.
It is bold. It is expensive. It is nothing like the Spurs that clung on last season.
A manager with money – and decisions
De Zerbi has been backed. The funds are there. The clear-out has begun. Now comes the hard part: choosing which pieces to prioritise, which risks to take, and which positions can wait.
Tottenham need an overhaul, and everyone at the club knows it. The danger is obvious too. Spend badly, misjudge a key departure, miss on a marquee signing, and this doesn’t become a new era – it becomes another reset in a decade full of them.
The Italian wanted control and change. He has both. What he does with this summer will define not just his Tottenham, but what kind of club Spurs want to be from here.
