Roberto De Zerbi needs to bring the best out of his Tottenham players in the Premier League in the coming weeks.
Tottenham’s dismal start to the new Premier League season means that the club could end up at the bottom of the league table if results elsewhere do not go as planned this weekend. The Lilywhites are struggling to keep pace with their rivals this season, while their poor home record is further proof that Roberto De Zerbi still has a long way to go before his team can build any momentum in domestic competitions. A defeat to Aston Villa this weekend might just have exposed some of the team’s weaknesses as we head into the three-week international break.
Not long ago, Spurs fans were excited to see their new-look side take the field in the Premier League under De Zerbi. After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, the Lilywhites decided to undergo a major squad overhaul in the summer by splashing the cash on players who could instantly hit the ground running at N17. The North Londoners spent almost £400m on ten new players, backing De Zerbi to bring immediate success in the coming months.
But after seeing how poorly some of the new signings have performed in recent weeks, it seems as though the club made a mistake by not bringing in more well-established names to improve certain areas of the pitch. By one way or another, Spurs have somehow weakened their attack by signing inconsistent players like Mykhailo Mudryk and Omar Marmoush. There is a lack of real output in the final third, and that can be seen in the team’s struggles to score goals in the Premier League this season.
Are Tottenham lacking a prolific name in their team this season?
Tottenham’s recent struggles in the Premier League are exposing some of the glaring weaknesses in the squad under Roberto de Zerbi. The players are taking their time to adapt to the Italian tactician’s playing style, making it difficult for the club to gain ground on their rivals in recent weeks. De Zerbi’s preferred combinations on the pitch are not always suited to the attributes of some players, placing the new signings under huge pressure to perform within a system that is not functioning as intended.
Steven Gerrard has now claimed that Spurs have failed to sign a real ‘superstar’ despite splashing the cash on ten new players this summer. Speaking on TNT Sports (via X), Gerrard said,
“I think Tottenham have signed good, quality players and you can see that the squad is littered with really good players. But I see this Tottenham team, and I don’t see a world-class superstar. If you’re coming up against this Spurs team as an opposition player, I don’t see any of the players that would strike fear into me. I look at Tottenham and they’ve got really good players, but they haven’t got that superstar.”
What Steven Gerrard is trying to point out is that Spurs prioritised quantity over quality this summer. The club was more focused on bringing in new faces to complete a major squad overhaul. But in doing so, the Lilywhites failed to sign profiles that could make a real difference for the club when the going got tough. As Gerrard points out, none of the new players strike fear into their opponents, which makes it difficult for the North Londoners to play on the front-foot for a sustained period of time.
So, what next for Roberto De Zerbi? The answer is simple. The Italian tactician needs to go back to the drawing board and make sure that the players are played to their strengths in the coming weeks. Maybe that would be the answer to many of their problems, as each player would then be able to play more freely and find different ways to create goal-scoring chances in the Premier League.
