The 2026/27 season is going to be a massive one for Tottenham Hostpur, because it will be the first full season after an offseason with Roberto De Zerbi, the manager who saved the Lilywhites from relegation just when it looked they were 100 percent doomed.
While the summer transfer business is not yet completed, Spurs have already made sweeping upgrades for the Italian manager in the midfield and even defense, and once the new look attack comes together, De Zerbi could have Tottenham back into the top five next season.
With Xavi Simons out due to an ACL tear he suffered at the end of the 2025/26 Premier League season, a big focus will be on veteran No. 10 James Maddison, who has a tough injury history of his own but is one of the best midfielders in the league when he is at full strength.
James Maddison is ready to ball
Like Micky van de Ven and so many of the other Tottenham Hotspur veteran stars, Maddison is very excited about what Spurs can do under Roberto De Zerbi and the style of football that they will play, which sounds like Ange Postecoglou's but way more cerebral and pragmatic.
Maddison recently told reporters about what to expect, via Spurs Insight, "The manager is very clear, the goal is to be better, to play better football, to be passionate, to be proud to play for this club. I'm still learning the way he plays. But as a player, he's a coach you want to play for because he loves everything with the ball. He's very attacking, and I'm really excited."
All the players are beyond hyped to be working with Roberto De Zerbi, but the attacking stars are going to be the ones to benefit the most. Now, because of his own ACL tear, James Maddison did not actually take the pitch for Thomas Frank, which may have been a blessing in diguise because everyone else, even defenders like Pedro Porro and Micky Van de Ven, had almost seemingly lost the will to play football; that's how bad things got under Frank.
So the turn around under De Zerbi was a swift and dramatic 180, and James Maddison is now going to be the center piece playmaker of the new project before ceding way to a healthy Xavi Simons by the end of the season. Maddison will just hope he has better forwards to pass it to as well.
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