Tottenham Hotspur had to do a lot of convincing in order to bring Roberto De Zerbi in to a job that carried no guarantees of Premier League football for the 2026/27 season, as Spurs were on the brink of relegation thanks to Thomas Frank and did not want to lose their new manager just because they were already going down.
De Zerbi ended up sparing Spurs relegation blushes on the final Matchday, but that is not the only reason why he has so much power to make decisions behind the scenes - far more than more legendary predecessors at Tottenham like Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte, and Jose Mourinho got.
It was part of De Zerbi's contract to entice him to coming to Tottenham, in addition to the hefty salary, that the Italian manager would have a big say on transfers. And many of the targets, presumably 100 million pound addition Sandro Tonali, were part of a pre-determined list made in March at the time of his appointment.
Roberto De Zerbi has the transfer market in his hands
For the most part, De Zerbi's choices have been excellent and a clear upgrade on what Tottenham Hotspur were bringing in before. Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes are potential world class midfielders who will transform how this team will play; they are true transfer bombas. And even though Jan Paul van Hecke cost a lot of money on an expiring contract and also cost the club their biggest gem in Luka Vuskovic, Spurs fans can still get behind De Zerbi's pick because of his playing style and proven Premier League quality (and a great World Cup did not hurt either).
But viewing the players Roberto De Zerbi wants in the attack is a troubling reminder that living and dying by the sword of one man is risky business in football; it's why a lot of clubs are going to the German model of having a sporting director supervise above the manager so there is one uniform, longitudinal voice at the club. Spurs did have that, of course, it's just that, problematically, that voice was the voice of Daniel Levy and private equity.
Cody Gakpo is an example of a player De Zerbi loves but many Tottenham fans do not, especially if Liverpool stay firm on a 70 million pound price point for a player who is not a great left winger or striker, but rather a second tier in both positions. Maybe Gakpo works out and flourishes under De Zerbi if signed, but the risk of giving him so much power is that Spurs are basically beholden to trusting his ideals and judgment on talent.
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