Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has the full respect of the organization after saving Spurs from relegation last season, and the fans are very pleased with the business he is pushing for behind the scenes with Spurs signing three major Premier League stars this summer in Jan Paul van Hecke, Mateus Fernandes, and Sandro Tonali.
These are both short and long term upgrades, but they do lead to some interesting questions for De Zerbi the manager to juggle in the 2026/27 Premier League season. Even with Luka Vuskovic joining Brighton permanently and Cristian Romero almost certainly leaving for big money after another highly successful World Cup tournament, Spurs still have some tough decisoins to make at center back.
The additions of Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke to the center of defense still give Spurs four players who are legitimately starting quality. Micky van de Ven and Van Hecke are 100 percent going to be a duo, just as they play together for the Dutch national team, but the roles of Senesi and big Kevin Danso are far less certain.
De Zerbi has to juggle the defense
Senesi was one of the best center backs in the Premier League last season for European qualifiers Bournemouth, and he played so well in terms of winning possession and progressing play that nobody on Tottenham Hotspur was as good as he was.
But then Danso, despite being a backup, is someone who needs minutes, too. Not only will he get them covering for injuries, but he is also an asset in multiple formations and in tight games when Tottenham need that big aerial presence. He is great on the ball, was once one of the best center backs in Europe when he was playing every week for Lens, and he has a great character.
What De Zerbi has to figure out is how he wants to rotate the center backs next season. Tottenham fans saw what happens when you do not rotate under Ange Postecoglou and big stars were getting injured, including Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven for stretches because they were going to be run into the ground.
Micky van de Ven and Van Hecke are undisputed starters, but Marcos Senesi is more than good enough to start and get pretty close to the minutes they do when rotating. And Kevin Danso is another guy who can play 1,500 minutes or more in the Premier League, and, realistically, the drop off between Danso and Van Hecke should not be costly for Spurs against most opponents.
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