Italian tactician rejected Tottenham Hotspur opportunity; Fabrizio Romano confirms

Fabrizio Romano confirms that Roberto de Zerbi rejected the chance to sign for Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur have spent weeks deliberating over their future in the dugout. Since Ange Postecoglou’s departure, the board has held talks with several coaches boasting elite-level experience. The objective has been clear: to regain a competitive edge and re-establish a recognisable style of play. However, each attempt appears to have run into obstacles. Some candidates failed to fully convince the board, while others rejected the proposal outright. The process has shown clear signs of strain. Though the names have been ambitious, the responses have been inconsistent. Now, all signs point to the club preparing to make another move.

According to Fabrizio Romano via X, Tottenham plan to advance talks in the coming days with Thomas Frank, the current Brentford manager. The Danish coach has remained one of the most consistent candidates on Spurs’ radar throughout the search. The report also confirms that the club recently approached Italian manager Roberto De Zerbi. However, he declined the offer, choosing instead to continue his project at Olympique de Marseille. This represents a pivotal moment, as De Zerbi was widely regarded as one of the most promising and attack-minded coaches in Europe. His rejection has added further pressure on the Spurs hierarchy.

De Zerbi’s decision carries symbolic weight for Tottenham. Not only was he a credible and exciting option, but he opted to stay at Marseille, a club with fewer resources and significantly less global visibility. That choice hints at a more concerning truth: the Spurs project may currently lack the pulling power it once had. Against this backdrop, interest in Thomas Frank becomes all the more meaningful. At Brentford, Frank has built a stable, competitive side with limited resources, earning plaudits for his organisational structure, player management, and tactical clarity.

Even so, Thomas Frank’s profile is notably more conservative and pragmatic than De Zerbi’s, who places a premium on ball control and calculated offensive risk. Frank, if appointed at Spurs, would likely prioritise defensive solidity and quick transitions rather than technical flair or tactical revolution.

That difference is far from trivial. Tottenham are in urgent need of a clear identity, and the manager they choose now will define not just the immediate future, but potentially shape the club’s trajectory for the next two to three years.

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Why did Roberto De Zerbi reject the Spurs project? The answer may lie beneath the surface of contract negotiations. It’s likely he saw no real guarantees of sporting control, nor any long-term conviction from the club’s hierarchy. At Marseille, De Zerbi finds something Tottenham couldn’t offer: stability, the freedom to develop his tactical philosophy, and an environment that allows growth without the weight of toxic urgency. Tottenham, by contrast, seem suspended between the pressure to deliver immediate results and the lingering nostalgia of past Premier League highs. That tension affects more than just boardroom decisions, it shapes how the project is viewed from the outside.

If coaches like De Zerbi are choosing smaller, less glamorous projects over Spurs, something is faltering in the club’s narrative. Tottenham still possess the infrastructure and ambition of a top-tier club, but their message appears muddled, caught between ambition and identity.

That said, there is another way to read the situation. Perhaps Daniel Levy is turning the page on the high-risk, high-reward appointments that have so often unraveled. With Thomas Frank, Spurs may not get a tactical visionary like De Zerbi, but they would gain structure, order, and long-term planning, qualities the club has sorely lacked in recent years. Not every rebuild requires fireworks. Sometimes, the most enduring projects are built quietly, from a foundation of calm and clarity. And maybe, just maybe, that’s the new plan.