Roberto De Zerbi's Challenge to Djed Spence at Tottenham

Roberto De Zerbi is rebuilding Tottenham with a chainsaw, not a paintbrush, and Djed Spence is right at the heart of the mess and the opportunity.

The Italian has spent the summer tearing into a squad that only just escaped relegation on the final day of last season, backed by a record outlay of £237m. Big names are arriving, senior figures are heading for the door, and the hierarchy of the dressing room is being rewritten in real time.

In the middle of it, De Zerbi is trying to win a battle of conviction with his England right-back.

De Zerbi’s message to Spence: stay and fight – or go

Spence, 25, signed a long-term deal only last year and started 23 of his 30 Premier League appearances as Spurs staggered to 17th place for the second season running. He played, he suffered, he helped keep them up. Now he’s being asked to decide what comes next.

Inter Milan and Everton are circling. De Zerbi, speaking in Sydney, made it clear he is not pushing Spence towards the exit. Quite the opposite.

He wants him in. But on his terms.

“I would like you to stay if you want to stay. If you don't want to stay, if you want to leave, then you have to leave,” he said, repeating the same hard line he had laid out to Lucas Bergvall, the highly coveted Sweden midfielder.

This is not the language of a manager begging a player to reconsider. It is a challenge. Stay and embrace the fight, or walk away.

The problem for Spence is obvious and it wears a Spain shirt.

Porro, “the best in the world”, and a brutal pecking order

Pedro Porro currently owns the right-back slot at Tottenham. De Zerbi did not bother to downplay it. He called the World Cup winner “the best in the world” in that role.

When your manager labels your direct rival in those terms, you know exactly where you stand. Spence is not being promised a place. He is being offered a chance.

The summer spending only sharpens the edges. Spurs have smashed their transfer record twice in two days – £85m on Mateus Fernandes from West Ham, then £100m on Sandro Tonali from Newcastle. Jan Paul van Hecke has arrived from Brighton for £52m. Marcos Senesi, Andrew Robertson and Martin Dubravka have joined on free transfers, adding experience and expectation in equal measure.

Competition is everywhere. Security is nowhere.

De Zerbi insists Spence can still be an important part of his plans, but the tone around the club is ruthless. Help, or be replaced.

Romero, loyalty, and the cost of an exit

The ruthlessness extends to the captain.

Cristian Romero, the leader of this group, is among those likely to leave. His decision last season to fly back to Argentina while injured before the final game drew heavy criticism, even though he did return to play in the decisive fixture.

De Zerbi refused to let that become the defining image of Romero’s time under him. He defended the defender’s character, saying he had shown “unbelievable behaviour” since the Italian walked through the door in April. Yet he also accepted that it is “his will” to move on.

This is how De Zerbi operates: respect the past, but don’t let it block the future.

“At the beginning of my time in April I had, I don't know, one million individual meetings. And the players told me if they are here or not,” he said.

Then came the line that sums up his regime.

“I said: ‘Yes, help me to stay up, and then I help you to leave. If you don't help me to stay up, you stay underwater with me.’”

Stay up, and you earn your freedom. Fail, and you share the consequences. Romero helped. Now he will likely be granted his exit.

Italian goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is expected to follow him out after losing his place to Antonin Kinsky. Another pillar from last season, quietly removed.

A “shark” in the market – and another “bomba” to come

For all the departures, De Zerbi is not done adding teeth to this squad.

He says Tottenham have completed around “60%” of their project. The rest of it sounds explosive.

“Now we have another ‘bomba’,” he teased, as he discussed the next attacking signing he wants alongside the club’s pursuit of Manchester City’s Savinho. The Brazilian is in advanced talks over a move to north London, with Spurs also chasing another unnamed forward.

Asked whether he wanted a winger or a striker, De Zerbi didn’t bother to split hairs. “Attackers,” he replied. He wants goals, and he wants them now.

“I don't love working with plan A, plan B, plan C. It is plan A, full stop, because all players are not the same,” he said. One plan, one profile, one target at a time. If he misses, he moves on. No diluted alternatives.

He described himself as a “shark” in the market this summer. The evidence backs him up: record fees, high-profile arrivals, established players nudged towards the door. He smells weakness and goes after it.

Spurs at a crossroads – and Spence’s decision

Tottenham are not behaving like a club that finished 17th twice in a row. They are behaving like a club insulted by that reality and determined to rip it up.

The right-back corridor is the perfect snapshot of this new era. On one side, Porro, a world champion, publicly anointed as the best in his position. On the other, Spence, a 25-year-old England defender with a long contract, a solid season behind him, and a manager who wants him – but refuses to shield him.

Stay, and he fights a man his coach calls the best in the world. Leave, and he walks into a new project at Inter or Everton, away from the chaos and the promise of De Zerbi’s Tottenham.

The Italian has drawn his lines. The money has been spent. The “bomba” is still to come.

Now it is down to players like Spence to decide whether they want to swim with the shark, or get out of the water.