Tottenham’s New Look: How De Zerbi's Spurs Could Line Up
Tottenham did not celebrate survival. They exhaled, winced at the table, and went straight to work.
That nervy 1-0 win over Everton on the final day merely kept them in the Premier League. It also triggered a promise from Roberto De Zerbi: wholesale change. A different mentality, a different dressing room, and, if the club get their way in the market, a very different XI when the new season kicks off on August 22.
Three signings are already through the door. More are being lined up. Established names are unsettled. The squad that scraped over the line may barely resemble the one that trots out on opening weekend.
A new spine, starting in goal
The first big decision sits between the posts.
Guglielmo Vicario, once seen as a long‑term solution, is being pulled back towards Serie A. Inter Milan are credited with serious interest in the 29‑year‑old, who missed the run‑in after hernia surgery and has yet to play a single minute under De Zerbi.
In his absence, Antonin Kinsky quietly did what Spurs needed most: he calmed things down. No fuss, no drama, just enough authority to help drag them to safety. That late surge has given De Zerbi a genuine dilemma. Stick with the understudy who delivered when it mattered, or cash in on Vicario and look outside?
There is longstanding admiration for Manchester City’s James Trafford, who wants regular first‑team football next season. For now, there have been no talks. But if Vicario goes and De Zerbi decides Kinsky is a No2 rather than a No1, Trafford’s name will stay near the top of the list.
The projected XI has Trafford in goal. That alone would signal a clear break from last season’s hierarchy.
Defence ripped up and rewritten
The back line is where De Zerbi has already left his fingerprints.
Jan Paul van Hecke has arrived for serious money, a £52million statement that the manager intends to build around him. The Dutchman is expected to slot straight into central defence alongside his compatriot Micky van de Ven, forming a pairing with pace, aggression and the technical quality De Zerbi demands when playing out.
That partnership may still depend on persuasion. Van de Ven has admirers and could yet leave, but De Zerbi is pushing hard to keep him and, crucially, to hand him the armband if Cristian Romero moves on. Romero’s future remains uncertain, and the feeling inside the club is that this is the summer to cash in if a sizeable offer lands.
Out wide, the picture is clearer. Pedro Porro, fresh from signing a new long‑term contract, stays as first‑choice right‑back and key outlet in possession. On the left, Destiny Udogie remains the main man, but he now has heavyweight competition and cover in Andy Robertson.
The former Liverpool stalwart brings medals, edge and a voice. He is not coming simply to sit in the background. De Zerbi wants leaders on the pitch, and Robertson fits that bill.
Tonali, Bentancur and the battle for control
Tottenham’s biggest swing of the window is aimed at the middle of the pitch.
Sandro Tonali has emerged as the club’s prime target: a ball‑playing, combative midfielder who can dictate tempo and drag a team up the pitch. De Zerbi is a long‑time admirer, but Newcastle will not let him go cheaply. Any deal would take a substantial fee and a clear plan to rebuild their midfield around him.
If Spurs land him, the shape is obvious. Tonali would sit alongside Rodrigo Bentancur at the base of midfield, a pairing that offers bite, passing range and the intelligence De Zerbi craves in his structure. Bentancur, returning to full sharpness, would be asked to shuttle and connect, with Tonali orchestrating from deep.
There is also interest in West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes as another option, a nod to the need for depth and competition. But the headline is Tonali. Get him, and Tottenham’s midfield suddenly looks like a platform rather than a problem.
Meanwhile, the academy pipeline is under strain. Lucas Bergvall and Luka Vuskovic have both signalled a desire to leave, a reminder that this rebuild is not only about who comes in, but who no longer sees a future in north London.
Maddison at 10, and a new front line?
The attack is where the plan becomes more fragile.
Injuries ravaged Spurs’ forward options last season and still cloud the picture. Dejan Kulusevski’s fitness remains a concern, and that uncertainty has forced the club to be more cautious in how aggressively they reshape the frontline.
James Maddison is the one fixed point. Back from injury at the end of the campaign, he is pencilled in as the No10, the creative hub behind a new‑look strike force. De Zerbi wants him high, central and constantly on the ball.
Out wide, the recruitment drive is bolder. Man City winger Savinho is a long‑term target, and talks have been reopened with the Brazilian, who is keen to leave in search of regular game time. His direct running and one‑v‑one ability tick obvious boxes for a manager who wants his wide players to stretch and hurt teams.
On the opposite flank, the noise grows around Marcus Rashford. The England forward is understood to have no future at Manchester United and has become the latest wide forward linked with Spurs. His name in the projected XI underlines the level of ambition, but also the risk: Rashford would arrive needing a reset, not just a new shirt.
Up front, the template line‑up points to Dominic Solanke as the central striker, a workhorse No9 who can link play, press from the front and finish. De Zerbi has been urged, publicly and privately, to bring in a proven Premier League forward, and Solanke fits that description. Whether Spurs can prise him away is another matter.
A squad on the brink of transformation
Strip it all back and a potential De Zerbi XI for opening day looks like this:
Trafford; Porro, Van Hecke, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Tonali; Savinho, Maddison, Rashford; Solanke.
It is a team loaded with technical quality and aggression, a world away from the nervous, patched‑up side that clung to safety in May.
To get there, though, Tottenham must navigate a brutal summer. Vicario, Romero, perhaps even Van de Ven: big decisions loom on big players. Bergvall and Vuskovic want out. The club are chasing expensive targets in Tonali and Rashford while trying to keep a coherent wage structure. De Zerbi has money, but not a blank cheque.
His job now is to choose his battles. Which positions demand immediate surgery? Which signings reshape the club for five years, not just five months?
By August 22, we will know whether this was just another Tottenham rebuild on paper, or the summer they finally tore it up and built a team in their manager’s image.
