Sport
Tottenham’s Transformational Summer Transfer Window
Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer window has been transformational already. When Roberto De Zerbi arrived late last season, there was a sense he was walking into an impossible job, but he turned it around and things are looking up, with work still to do.
After finishing 17th and winning the Europa League under Ange Postecoglou in 2025, a repeat felt unthinkable. Although it was a poor season in the league, there was a sense it had been sacrificed for the good of a trophy. Postecoglou paid with his job, but when Thomas Frank was sacked and Igor Tudor failed to arrest the slide, De Zerbi appeared with relegation more likely than not.
But his drive and intensity instantly made a difference and they survived. Now, all of a sudden, they are looking to mount a challenge at the other end of the table. After years of harnessing their ambitions in favour of a stronger balance sheet under former chairman Daniel Levy, they have already spent big on Sandro Tonali from Newcastle, Matheus Fernandes from West Ham and Brighton defender Jan-Paul van Hecke.
Those players are very impressive recruits because they offer a lot more steal to a team that badly lacked in last summer, under a coach who is known for wanting his team to play rather openly. But they also demonstrate the ambition at the club relative to Premier League rivals; Tonali and van Hecke departed both Brighton and Newcastle respectively, while Fernandes was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United.
Now there is genuine hope of a Champions League push, and the ‘project’ in North London is seen as one of the most exciting in England. But, as things stand, those ambitions should be tempered.
Spurs badly need an overhaul in the final third. Many of their options are or have been seriously injured, including Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, Xavi Simons, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke. Richarlison’s future, according to De Zerbi at least, is far from certain.
“I don’t know because I like him as a player and as a guy,” De Zerbi said on Spurs’ pre-season tour. “He’s unbelievable in terms of attitude and behaviour. But, in the end, we have to respect what he wants to do.”
“For me, he’s still an important player because it’s not easy to find another striker like Richarlison,” he said. “Richarlison scores goals. He knows the way. With any new striker, we don’t know.
“He scored 12 goals last season, not because of luck but because he knows how to score.
“All of us love him, the team-mates, the club and the staff because he works hard every day, seriously every day, and we can’t say anything about him on the pitch.”
Even if De Zerbi wants to keep Richarlison, he is not reliable enough to fire them to where they want to go. Given the fitness records of the other players, too, there is still pressure to find more firepower, or the buzz around their summer business could dissipate.
Reports suggested, even with the near £250m outlay on the three signings, they wanted to sign El Junior Kroupi from Bournemouth. The young French star scored 11 goals in his debut season with the Cherries, helping fire them into Europe for the first time. Everyone wanted him this summer and it was another success story for their recruitment policy, but now he too is facing months on the sidelines.
Victor Osimhen has also been linked and this would be a very interesting move. The Nigerian has been a goal machine across Europe, particularly with Napoli, and his now with Galatasaray; he has always looked to be Premier League ready, and at the age of 28, it feels like now or never for him to prove that.
It is the ambition that really intrigues about Spurs is how bullish the ambition is. After years of developing and looking to the future, they want to win now. Without a striker, though, that will be difficult.
