Tottenham's New Ambition Under De Zerbi
Micky van de Ven can feel it. Tottenham, a club that has flirted with crisis for two straight seasons, suddenly looks like it wants to matter again.
“New ambition,” he calls it. And when you scan the numbers, it’s hard to argue.
Spurs spend big – and think big
Twelve months after another season spent staring down the barrel of relegation, Spurs have detonated their transfer record twice in one summer. An eye-watering £237million has gone into a squad that finished 17th in back-to-back Premier League campaigns, a statement from the Lewis family that the days of drift are over.
First came Mateus Fernandes for £85m. Then a £100m package prised Sandro Tonali away from Newcastle. Six signings in total. A new manager. A new hierarchy at the top of the club.
For Van de Ven, speaking on Tottenham’s pre-season tour of Australia, the shift is obvious.
“It’s really good that you can see the club has made some changes,” the Dutch defender told British media. “They have brought a really good new manager, in my opinion, and some really good new signings. You can see the club has new ambition. It’s something that’s really important for players that have been there for a long time.”
This is a player who has been quietly linked with Liverpool, a defender whose pace and aggression would fit neatly into the Anfield blueprint. Yet, despite the noise, there has been no move. The ECHO reports Liverpool have never acted on any potential interest, and Van de Ven sounds in no rush to leave a project that finally appears to have direction.
From Levy’s exit to De Zerbi’s arrival
The transformation has not been cosmetic. It has been structural.
Daniel Levy, the long-serving chairman and the defining figure of the club’s modern era, walked away in September. His departure came just months after a Europa League triumph that ended a 17-year wait for silverware but failed to mask the domestic decline that followed.
The trophy did not spark a resurgence. Instead, Spurs slumped again. Poor form rolled into winter, and Thomas Frank paid with his job in February. Interim boss Igor Tudor barely had time to unpack; he lasted only seven games.
Power has shifted more firmly into the hands of the Lewis family, with chief executive Vinai Venkatesham brought in to drag the club out of its spiral. Their answer on the football side was bold: Roberto De Zerbi.
The Italian has been hired to restore an identity that evaporated under Frank. Van de Ven expects a very different Tottenham this season.
“It’s going to be different compared to the former manager we had last season,” he said. “It’s going to be more with the ball, more playing football. I think it’s going to be more enjoyable for people to watch playing offensive football.”
That is the promise. More front foot. More risk. More of the ball.
Europe or bust
For a club that has twice stared relegation in the face, talk of Europe might sound ambitious. Inside the camp, it sounds non-negotiable.
“Spurs is a team that needs to play Europe every year, so obviously the European spots are something we are going to aim for,” Van de Ven said. “The most important thing is we play our football and that we are a difficult team to play against.”
That line cuts to the heart of where Tottenham see themselves. They do not want to be a club relieved by survival on the final day. They expect to be in European competition as a matter of course, not as a pleasant surprise.
The money spent backs that up. So does the choice of coach. De Zerbi’s football is demanding and expansive, a clear break from the more conservative approach that failed to ignite the squad last season.
For Van de Ven, the message is clear: this is not a holding pattern. This is a reset.
Liverpool may watch from a distance, their name occasionally thrown into the conversation around his future. For now, though, the Dutchman is locked in on something else entirely – dragging Tottenham back to the level he believes they should never have left.
