A busy summer for Tottenham in the transfer market will continue in the weeks and months ahead as Roberto De Zerbi builds his squad
It’s another summer, another head coach and another rebuild for Tottenham Hotspur as Roberto De Zerbi wants a squad that can operate far higher up the Premier League table.
Back-to-back 17th place finishes mean Spurs must act this summer and fix an often injury-ravaged squad that has not been fit for purpose. De Zerbi made it clear after he helped the north London club save their Premier League status on the final day of the season that he only had “10, 11, 12 players good enough to stay”.
With a first team squad containing 36 senior players, including those on loan but not some of the young players looking to break through, De Zerbi has plenty of decisions to make and Spurs have some major work to do in the transfer market.
They moved quickly with a couple of free transfers but need far more both in and out of the club with the World Cup set to play its usual havoc on the transfer window dominoes. Tottenham also have no European football to offer prospective signings, so will have to get more creative and use some money, with the Lewis family expected to inject more cash into the club in the weeks ahead.
The transfer window officially opened for Premier League clubs on Monday, so let’s work through De Zerbi’s squad and see what Tottenham need and want to do in the weeks and months ahead.
Goalkeepers
In the goalkeeping department all eyes are on whether Guglielmo Vicario heads out of the door. The Italian has two years left on his contract at Spurs and has been heavily tipped to make the move back to Italy with various Serie A clubs said to be weighing up a move for the 29-year-old.
With Antonin Kinsky impressing and Brandon Austin the homegrown third choice, Tottenham would want another first choice goalkeeper to battle with Kinsky if Vicario does head home.
Dutch stopper Bart Verbruggen is on the club’s and De Zerbi’s radar as a former player of his, coming through in the Italian’s final season at Brighton after joining from Anderlecht. At just 23-years-old, the Netherlands international knows the Italian’s style of football and fits the profile for a Spurs signing for the now and the long-term.
With two years left on his contract, the Seagulls would expect big money if he were to leave – as they do with all of their players – and Verbruggen has the World Cup to deal with first anyway.
Also aged 23 is Manchester City’s James Trafford, who had to be content with games here and there last season after his previous loan at Burnley.
It’s also worth noting though that De Zerbi might want some experience to replace Vicario if his compatriot departs. Kinsky is also only 23 and the head coach might want an experienced head at the back to guide the young Czech and compete with him.
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Full-backs
This now seems the most settled department of the squad, barring any unexpected bids for Spurs’ full-backs.
Andy Robertson has arrived to boost the experience in the group with some winning mentality and the Scotland captain strengthens an area of the pitch in which Destiny Udogie has missed too many games in recent seasons. With Ben Davies’ contract being extended by another 12 months and Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven also able to play on the left, there’s scope to loan Souza out to allow the Brazilian, who turns 20 on Tuesday, to adapt to European football.
On the right, Pedro Porro is now one of the club’s best-paid players with his new deal until 2031, with an option for a further 12 months, and he and Spence can both have a good battle for that spot in the coming campaign.
Centre-backs
Spurs have already made one new addition in this department with the free transfer move for Bournemouth’s player of the season Marcos Senesi before he was added to Argentina’s World Cup squad. The left-footed 29-year-old can compete with Van de Ven for the left centre-back spot while also playing alongside him in a back three.
All eyes are now on the right side of central defence. Tottenham are trying to sign Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton to reunite him with De Zerbi but have so far had a couple of bids rejected by the Seagulls. The World Cup has now begun and that might slow down the process, with the player hinting at such ahead of Sunday’s draw with Japan.
The move for the 26-year-old will have a couple of knock-on effects within the Spurs squad and how the club deal with the next move for a couple of players.
The widely-held assumption is that captain Cristian Romero will leave N17 this summer but the eventual price tag for Van Hecke has an impact on his departure. That’s because if Spurs have to sign Van Hecke for more than £50million with Brighton said to value him at £70million, despite him having only a year left on his contract, then the 28-year-old World Cup-winning Romero, with a longer contract signed last summer, must surely be sold for a higher sum.
It makes no real sense if the Argentine departs for less and that valuation could make it difficult for some European clubs to afford him unless some kind of release clause built into that new contract has yet to emerge.
The other defender affected by Van Hecke’s potential arrival is Luka Vuskovic. Brighton made a £30million bid for the 19-year-old Croatian starlet which was based in real interest but also served as a measuring stick for their Van Hecke valuation amid the negotiating.
If Van Hecke arrives then Vuskovic will not get the required minutes at Tottenham this season in a campaign without European football and will need another loan move. Spurs would want far bigger money for a permanent transfer than £30million and that would seem a very short-term solution anyway for a player with so much long-term potential.
De Zerbi said that Kevin Danso will be part of his squad next season but Radu Dragusin is expected to move on this summer as he seeks regular football. Ashley Phillips and Kota Takai are the other first team centre-backs at the club and both are unlikely to be playing in a Spurs shirt next season, despite another impressive loan for the former.
Midfielders
Yves Bissouma will depart from this department at the end of this month and Tottenham must decide what they are willing to spend on Joao Palhinha, who turns 31 next month, with efforts to knock down that now expired £26million option Bayern in his loan contract.
Spurs are expected to sign another midfielder this summer regardless of Palhinha staying or not, as De Zerbi looks to increase the quality and ball playing ability in a midfield that he and his predecessors struggled to find the right blend in throughout the season.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Conor Gallagher both have admirers in the new head coach while Lucas Bergvall, currently at the World Cup, and Archie Gray are stars for the long term, even if one of them might find themselves getting a loan out if the midfield department becomes too squashed with bodies.
James Maddison will be fit enough by the time pre-season comes around to play a more active central role after his long absence while a decision will need to be made on Pape Matar Sarr, who was unable to make the same impact as he did in previous seasons, although that could be levelled at all of the Spurs players.
Xavi Simons will not return to the pitch until early next year and Tottenham will have to decide in the meantime whether to get involved in the transfer battle for Alex Scott this summer. The 22-year-old has never hidden the fact that he is a big supporter of the north London club but he will also have some big sides knocking on his door this summer, not least Liverpool now Andoni Iraola has made the move to Anfield, if Bournemouth decide to sell.
Scott, who Thomas Tuchel took to the USA to experience life with England in the build-up to the World Cup, only has two years left on his contract with the Cherries but is still rated by his club as being an £80million player.
Spurs have long been admirers of Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton but with talk of a £100million price tag on the 21-year-old and the Premier League’s top clubs interested in him, that might be a battle too far for a club with no European football. Likewise Carlos Baleba will be of interest to De Zerbi but the Cameroon international will fetch a similarly huge sum for Brighton.
Morgan Gibbs-White will continue to be linked with Tottenham after last summer’s near miss but how realistic would it be for Nottingham Forest and the north London club to deal with each other after those shambles 12 months ago?
In terms of outgoings among the young players considered to be in the first team squad, Alfie Devine looks set to depart this summer with plenty of interest in the 21-year-old after another strong season out on loan in the Championship.
Attackers
This is a department packed with injury doubts. De Zerbi will have to wait to see how and when Mohammed Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski return to Tottenham life and he also knows that Wilson Odobert will not be at his disposal until the end of this year.
De Zerbi would like Spurs to sign another striker this summer. The Italian has made it clear publicly that he is a fan of Dominic Solanke and sees him as one of his big players. He will be looking to get the former Bournemouth man fit and firing again next season with better service from the wings and in behind into the England international. Through balls were an alien term at Tottenham last season.
Richarlison’s goals were crucial to Spurs staying up last season but with 12 months left on his contract the Lilywhites may decide to take the last opportunity to cash in on the Brazilian this summer.
Randal Kolo Muani will leave N17 at the end of his loan contract this month while another departing striker is Alejo Veliz, who will join Bahia when his loan at Rosario Central comes to its end this month.
Will Lankshear had a big season on loan in the Championship with struggling Oxford United and De Zerbi should take a look at the 21-year-old before deciding what comes next for the striker. With a year left on his contract, Dane Scarlett’s future will also need to be decide after another season without a breakthrough or many goals for the 22-year-old.
The transfer market is not exactly rammed with available strikers of the required quality this summer and Tottenham will need to get creative and use their data to claim the next rising star as others do, unless they fall back on one of the well known names offered around to everyone.
Dusan Vlahovic has been linked with plenty of European clubs this summer with the 26-year-old available on a free transfer unless Juventus can convince him otherwise in the next fortnight. The Serbian’s wage demands are reportedly on the huge side but those could drop if there are no willing takers. Would Tottenham stand a chance without European football on the table though?
On the wings, Spurs want to sign Savinho this summer after failing to get him in the winter window and the Brazilian will be able to play on either flank. His arrival will mean decisions must be made on Mathys Tel and Mikey Moore, although with those injury doubts mentioned above it might mean a January switch is more sensible for one of those two young attackers.
De Zerbi must also decide what to do with Manor Solomon, if Fiorentina do not take up the option to sign him, while Yang Min-hyeok will require another loan move.
Tottenham have been linked with Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo as well as Algeria star Ibrahim Maza. Expect plenty of links this summer to any player who impress at the World Cup.
Ultimately De Zerbi needs more quality and options in his squad across all departments while also balancing it for a season in which there will be fewer games to go around. It’s going to be a juggling act but one that Spurs must come out the other end in a far better position than they were.
