Tottenham Hotspur made a ton of signings this past summer transfer window, and while it is too early to tell, none of them have really blown fans away, which is pretty apparent since the Lilywhites are somehow even lower in the table right now, sitting dead last without a win. Jan Paul van Hecke, Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, and Savio have each shown real positives, but, so far, it's been a lot of hope and little substance for Spurs.
In addition to criticizing the new signings for not showing enough, though it is early days, former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood had a go at all the major signings in the last few years. And while it is a bit hyperbolic to say that nobody has been a great signing since Son Heung-min, Sherwood's overall point is honestly well taken.
Tottenham have not had a successful blockbuster signing in a while
He said, via Chris Cowlin, "No, no one. I can't say anyone's really impressed me, and anyone would have done a better job than anyone who was there last season. They've underachieved, they really have. We always judge on results, so I don't look at any individual player and think, 'Well, you're coming out of some credit here', because the team's losing, and I'm not sure there's been any outstanding performers. Probably the last four or five years, the track record of Tottenham signings has not been fantastic. It's been a very long time since they've made a decent signing. Now, I'm not saying they're poor signings; I'm saying that they haven't done it yet, and there's still a lot of time to be able to get some confidence and show what they can really do. We've seen them in fits and starts and little cameos for other teams, but it's a different kettle of fish playing for Tottenham. I've seen more nos than yeses at the moment over the last five years in the transfer market. I think the best signing they've made in recent history would have to be (Heung-Min) Son - and we're going way back there! We're talking about a real success. Maybe (Dejan) Kulusevski, but then he's picked up the injury. But other than that, I can't say there have been too many outstanding successes in the transfer market. But it's up to Roberto De Zerbi to develop them players, and hopefully some of these players we've seen in recent years can be unrecognisable."
There are quite a few current Tottenham players who can take umbrage with Sherwood's remarks, but the main one who will have a gripe is Ghanaian international Mohammed Kudus. Prior to his season ending injury in 2025/26, Kudus was the clear star of the attack and carrying the team to relevancy, and after his injury, Spurs went into the relegation zone.
Kudus has not started the season fully fit due to the lingering effects, so he has 10 times the motivation to remind people like Tim Sherwood exactly who he is and what he's about. Xavi Simons, his fellow big signing from 2025, is dealing with an ACL tear, so the pressure is on Kudus and his job is to show everyone he is a great signing in his own right and that those months under Thomas Frank were no fluke at all.
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