Roberto De Zerbi got exactly what he wanted this past summer transfer window, as Spurs not onlly spent nearly 400 million pounds on new player, but they also made sure to cater to exactly who the manager wanted. Tottenham Hotspur's biggest signing among all their record deals was a 100 million pound splurge for Sandro Tonali, who is from De Zerbi's Brescia and is, in theory, one of the best midfielders in the world.
De Zebri was smitten with Tonali and wanted the Newcastle United star at all costs, with Spurs blowing what other clubs were willing to spend on the Italian international out of the water. And although Tonali has played pretty well in recent weeks, especially defensively, to recover from a poor start to the 2026/27 Premier League season, there is no way he has been worth 100 million pounds.
While Tottenham fans view Tonali as the least of their problems, it is fair to question the money spent on a player who is not impacting the final score of games as Spurs sit last in the Premier League table. And he has not even played better than veteran holdover Rodrigo Bentancur.
Alex Scott is having a great start to the season
Meanwhile, childhood Tottenham Hotspur fan Alex Scott and 2025/26 Bournemouth breakout midfielder Alex Scott is having a torrid start to the season, and he is a younger player Tottenham could have signed to pair with in the center midfield next to Mateus Fernandes for significantly cheaper than what they bought Sandro Tonali for.
Per statistics from Opta Joe, Scott is in the top three of the Premier League in six different statistics, including having the most ground duels won, fouls drawn, high turnovers generated, and fouls off take ons won.
Those stats show that Alex Scott has been one of the best players in the league, if not THE best, at carrying the ball and winning possession overall. He is an ideal box to box midfielder who can set the edge and blow plays up for Bournemouth, and Tottenham are missing that kind of quality badly, in terms of someone who can make a difference for the next several years.
Tonali is probably the better player overall when looking at his passing and technical quality compared to Scott, but there is no hiding the fact that Scott is younger, would have been cheaper, and is outplaying Tonali to start the season. His performances are another reason for Spurs to wonder if they threw too much at Tonali in listening to Roberto De Zerbi.
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