Whlie Roberto De Zerbi's first game as Tottenham Hotspur manager went far from swimmingly, there were enough fluke occurrences in that game that Spurs supporters should not feel that much more discouraged by what they saw against Sunderland in comparison to the futility that Spurs have exhibited throughout the 2025/26 Premier League season.
De Zerbi made a few managerial blunders, like not starting Mathys Tel and Xavi Simons, but Spurs were not worse than before. As long as De Zerbi learns from his mistakes and quickly gets up to speed with the strengths of the squad, he should be able to adjust. But this coming weekend, he will be tested a lot more by his former club Brighton, who do have more firepower to burn what has been a very disorganized Tottenham side.
Beyond the structure of the team, De Zerbi now has a pretty big lineup decision to make that was not quite as big of a controversy before the Sunderland game. With Guglielmo Vicario still recovering from hernia surgery to repair an injury that clearly hampered him throughout the season, Antonin Kinsky got his first start in goal since his slip and slide debacle against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Antonin Kinsky is making a real push
Kinsky passed his test with flying colors and was the best player on the pitch on a poor afternoon for Spurs, blameless in a 1-0 loss while showing the kind of character that should, if his teammates have any spine left, inspire those around him to play better in this relegation fight.
Now, Roberto De Zerbi has a decision make. Does he start Guglielmo Vicario, the incumbent, because of his experience and what he has done in the past? Or does he roll with Antonin Kinsky and try to see if the Czech goalkeeper is the man for the future? Because even if Spurs survive Premier League relegation, Vicario is almost certainly gone, with Inter Milan on the verge of acquiring him this summer - if they have not quietly agreed to terms already.
Meanwhile, if Tottenham Hotspur do get relegated, then not only will Vicario 100 percent be gone even if De Zerbi wants to keep him, which is probably not going to be the case anyway, but Spurs will also have trouble recruiting the upgrade they want. Nobody really thinks Robin Roefs, Bart Verbruggen, James Trafford, or the other options Spurs want in goal would join a Championship side. Meanwhile, Kinsky could be an excellent goalkeeper in the second division and continue to develop with more starts.
So Kinsky vs. Vicario has become a real question for De Zerbi, and increasingly, with Spurs supporters looking towards building a better future, you may hear a lot more support for the No. 2 in the days leading up to the Brighton match.
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