Tottenham's £200m Rebuild Begins: De Zerbi's First Look at the Squad

Tottenham’s £200m rebuild steps out of the shadows tonight, not in front of a packed south stand, but on a training pitch at Hotspur Way with only staff and scouts for company.

Behind closed doors or not, this first pre-season friendly against MK Dons is Roberto De Zerbi’s opening look at the squad he has been handed – and the one he has reshaped at considerable cost.

De Zerbi’s first live look

Spurs have been back in from holiday for two weeks, working under the Italian’s demanding training schedule. Drills are one thing. A match, even a low-key one like this, is something else entirely.

De Zerbi will finally see his ideas tested, if only in short bursts. The expectation is clear: heavy rotation, minutes spread widely, fitness the priority. But for several players, this is more than conditioning. It is an audition.

Tottenham have already spent over £200million on six new faces, and two of the most intriguing could step onto the pitch in lilywhite for the first time.

Tonali and Fernandes under the microscope

Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes are both in line to feature against MK Dons, easing their way into English pre-season life.

Tonali’s involvement may be carefully managed. Work permit delays meant he joined up later than his new teammates, and De Zerbi is unlikely to push him hard in the first outing. Even a brief cameo, though, will draw plenty of internal attention. This is a marquee signing being dropped into a midfield that has long cried out for control and personality.

Fernandes, younger and with less fanfare, has a different kind of opportunity. A sharp performance here, even in a quiet training ground setting, can accelerate his path towards meaningful minutes when the Premier League starts.

Martin Dubravka has also been training with the group and offers experienced cover in goal, though his role tonight remains unclear with De Zerbi expected to share minutes widely.

World Cup stars still on ice

Not everyone is ready to go. The Spurs contingent who went deep at this summer’s World Cup have yet to report back.

Pedro Porro started for Spain on Sunday as they edged Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final, and he will now take a deserved break. Cristian Romero and Marcos Senesi, also involved in that showpiece, are in the same boat and will not feature.

Djed Spence, who impressed as England finished third, is another who will sit this one out as he recovers from a busy summer schedule.

One major arrival did show his face this week. Scotland captain Andy Robertson was at Hotspur Way on Tuesday for his first day as a Spurs player after joining on a free transfer from Liverpool. His integration will follow in the coming days, but the sight of him in club colours underlines just how different this Tottenham side will look by the time August rolls around.

Walking the long road back

Away from the new signings and World Cup returnees, De Zerbi must also manage a group at various stages of recovery.

Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert, both dealing with serious anterior cruciate ligament injuries, have been seen around the training ground but remain some distance from full fitness. Their presence is a reminder of the depth Spurs possess when everyone is available – and of the patience required with long-term absentees.

Mohammed Kudus is another working to rejoin the main group. A serious quad injury has kept him on a tailored rehabilitation plan, and he will not be risked.

The same story applies to Dejan Kulusevski. He did not play a single minute last season because of a persistent knee problem, and Spurs will not jeopardise his recovery in a low-stakes July friendly.

Academy auditions

If the senior absences open gaps, the academy is ready to fill them, at least for a night.

Mikey Moore has trained with the first team and is in contention for minutes against MK Dons. Fresh from an eye-catching loan spell at Rangers, the youngster remains one of the most coveted talents in the system. De Zerbi has not yet decided whether Moore’s future lies immediately with the senior squad or elsewhere on loan. Perform well this evening, even in a controlled environment, and that decision becomes harder.

Jamie Donley is another name to watch. The academy forward has been with the first-team group for the past couple of weeks and is understood to have impressed De Zerbi. A composed display here would only strengthen his case for staying close to the manager’s plans when the serious business starts.

How Spurs could line up

With fitness the focus and changes guaranteed, predicting a starting XI is a guessing game, but there is a working outline of how Spurs might shape up for this first run-out.

A possible XI: Kinsky; Takai, Phillips, Davies, Udogie; Fernandes, Tonali; Yang, Donley, Tel; Solanke.

The names tell their own story. Youth mixed with experience. New signings dropped in alongside academy hopefuls. Senior professionals such as Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie offering structure while De Zerbi experiments further forward.

Kick-off is set for 5pm BST on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Hotspur Way. No cameras, no crowd, no noise.

For De Zerbi and a squad rebuilt at speed, it is still a significant moment. The first glimpse of what this new Tottenham might become.