Tottenham Hotspur supporters are beyond ecstatic to see what the club accomplish this season, as Spurs have made sweeping changes to the squad to back Roberto De Zerbi in a way that huge managing legends like Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho were not. De Zerbi took on the job because of the salary, the size of the club, and, of course, the power he now has to make these decisions, such as getting Spurs to pay 60 million euros for his adopted son Jan Paul van Hecke despite only having a year left on his deal.
But by far the two biggest signings are the new starting midfielders for Tottenham, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. They are two of the most talented in the entire Premier League and the new pillars of a Spurs midfield that was one of European football's most pathetic over the past couple of seasons.
Spurs spent a fortune on them, though. While the market values of players are rising and the 185 million pounds combined on Tonali and Fernandes is not actually all that exorbitant, they are already facing a lot of pressure and criticism from outside of N17.
Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes are under real pressure
Roberto De Zerbi has to understand that by demanding to sign Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes at 100 and 85 million pounds, respectively, he has not only upgraded the squad significantly, but he has also placed a massive weight of expectation on these players. And Fernandes is a U23 midfielder, so 85 million pounds is a lot of presssure to bear.
That said, Fernandes already had to face a lot of pressure last year in trying to be the star of a West Ham United side destined for Premier League relegation. And Tonali knows a lot about facing the pressure, especially since he helped lead AC Milan to a return to the summit of Serie A in 2022.
Still, the pressure of a Premier League Big Six club and of rescuing Tottenham Hotspur of two seasons in the doldrums in 17th back to the top five is massive, and the money spent does not ease the psychological pressure one bit.
De Zerbi is already showing that he is a master at getting the most out of his players and getting them excited again, which was the case for the likes of Xavi Simons, Micky van de Ven, and Pedro Porro at the end of the 2025/26 season. Tonali and Fernandes, despite the pressure of the price tag, are in a great spot psychologically because of De Zerbi's swagger and full backing of them.
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