Roberto De Zerbi is under early pressure after an underwhelming start to the 2026/27 campaign.
Tottenham Hotspur have endured a difficult start to the Premier League season and are winless and goalless after four games, leading to growing frustrations behind the scenes.
There are growing demands for Roberto De Zerbi to get points on board as quickly as possible and kickstart Spurs’ Premier League campaign. The 47-year-old was backed heavily in the past summer transfer window, with 10 new faces arriving at White Hart Lane and players in double digits departing. This has increased the fans’ expectations of a better season than they have endured in recent years.
After picking up just two points from a possible 12, Roberto De Zerbi is facing questions over his position as Tottenham head coach. While there are concerns that the players are not performing to their usual standard, the brunt of the criticism will ultimately fall on the head coach, who is now being questioned by the fans and the media.
David Ornstein reveals Tottenham verdict on Roberto De Zerbi’s position at the club
The North London club invested over £300m on signings in the summer to strengthen across the pitch. Sandro Tonali, Matheus Fernandes, Omar Marmoush, Savio and Jan Paul van Hecke were among their high-profile additions, while Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka were snapped up as free agents.
An underwhelming start to the campaign sees Tottenham currently lie just above the relegation zone. Shedding light on De Zerbi’s position at the club and what is going on at Spurs, reputed journalist David Ornstein told USA Sports (h/t TEAMtalk):
“It feels like it’s history repeating itself. We’ve just passed the one-year anniversary of Daniel Levy leaving the club after 25 years at the helm, and that saw the Lewis family almost reclaim control.
“You could ask what they were doing as ultimate owners in that period – but it set off the most remarkable overhaul we’ve seen in probably modern Premier League history. Where they came along with big promises for more wins, more regularly, huge spending.
“And they’ve certainly embarked upon that. Of course, the managerial upheaval at the club led them to Roberto De Zerbi, and they went all in on him. A five-year contract, no clause in the event of relegation to depart and a massive salary.
“He’s paid among the very biggest managers in the Premier League and European football. They got going in the market in remarkable fashion, in terms of numbers, in terms of transfer fees, in terms of salaries, which Tottenham had been so spendthrift on in the past.
“At the heart of it was Vinai Venkatesham, the chief executive, and Johan Lange, the sporting director. They brought in a director of football operations from Manchester City in Rafael Moersen, and also tried to get the former Borussia Dortmund executive Sebastian Kehl to help. That deal fell through, but really at the heart of it all has been Roberto De Zerbi.”
Ornstein has stated that Spurs have no immediate plans to sack De Zerbi but are expecting him to deliver results sooner rather than later.
“They’ve given him power in a way that no Tottenham Hotspur manager has seen before, and they rebuilt the defence, the midfield, the attack. It’s a team that looks so different in personnel but at the moment not in results,” Ornstein added.
“Now it’s going to be a really interesting period ahead based on what they are going to do in the next windows because Peter Charrington, the non-executive chairman, has said it will take multiple transfer windows to get to where they want to be.
“As you said at the top, there’s very little patience, they are asking for time, and Roberto De Zerbi will be judged ultimately as the man on the touchline.
“It would be very expensive if they were to part with him, but I don’t think that’s on the agenda for now. I think it’s all about him getting results on the pitch and extracting maximum performances after the best part of £400m was spent. Now it’s time to deliver.”
With frustrations building behind the scenes and within the fanbase, there is a feeling that the longer Tottenham go without a win, the more doubts will creep in about De Zerbi. There are no doubts that the club’s hierarchy are keen to support and stand by the Italian as things stand, but there is a recognition that results will need to improve, or they will be forced to make a decision over his future.
