Tottenham’s Summer Overhaul: De Zerbi's New Line-Up for Opening Day
Tottenham didn’t celebrate survival. They exhaled, winced at the table, and reached for the detonator.
The narrow 1-0 win over Everton on the final day kept them in the Premier League, but it also underlined what Roberto De Zerbi already knew: this squad had reached its limit. Promises of “wholesale changes” were not a soundbite. They were a threat to the status quo.
Barely weeks into the window, Spurs have started to make good on it.
A defence ripped up and re-wired
De Zerbi’s first move has been the most brutal: start at the back, and start again.
Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke have all arrived to drag experience and leadership into a back line that creaked its way to safety. It is not subtle surgery. It is a rebuild.
The plan is clear. With Cristian Romero expected to move on, £52million signing Van Hecke is earmarked to slot in alongside fellow Dutchman Micky van de Ven at centre-back. That pairing, if De Zerbi gets his way, will become the spine of his defence.
Van de Ven has admirers elsewhere and could yet be tempted away, but De Zerbi is pushing hard to keep him. The Dutch defender is not just seen as a starter; he is a potential captain if Romero goes. That is the level of responsibility being sketched out for him.
On the flanks, the picture is more settled. Pedro Porro, fresh from signing a new long-term deal, remains first-choice right-back and a key outlet in De Zerbi’s attacking patterns. On the opposite side, Destiny Udogie holds the starting berth, with former Liverpool stalwart Robertson drafted in as high-level cover and competition at left-back.
It is a back four with a very different personality: more vocal, more experienced, more aligned to De Zerbi’s demand for brave, front-foot football.
The goalkeeper question De Zerbi can’t dodge
Behind them, though, sits the first major dilemma of the summer.
Guglielmo Vicario has been linked with a return to Italy, with Serie A champions Inter Milan among those credited with interest. The 29-year-old missed the final weeks of last season after hernia surgery and, crucially, has not played a single minute under De Zerbi.
In his absence, understudy Antonin Kinsky stepped in and did more than just keep things ticking over. He impressed. Spurs tightened up, did enough to survive, and Kinsky’s calm presence did not go unnoticed by his new head coach.
De Zerbi could reward that form and back Kinsky as his No1 next season. It would be a bold call, but not an illogical one.
There is also longstanding interest in Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford, who is keen on first-team football. For now, though, that remains only interest. No talks, no bid, no breakthrough.
If the window breaks Spurs’ way, Trafford could yet walk straight into the projected XI: Trafford in goal, shielded by Porro, Van Hecke, Van de Ven and Udogie. A new-look unit in front of a new face.
Tonali and the search for control
Move up the pitch and the theme is the same: control the chaos, add authority.
Spurs want a ball-playing midfielder to dictate games and set the tempo that De Zerbi craves. They have circled around one name above all others: Sandro Tonali.
The Italian is Tottenham’s biggest target of the summer. De Zerbi is a huge admirer and sees him as the fulcrum of his midfield, but prising him away from Newcastle would demand a substantial fee and serious conviction.
If Spurs land him, the shape is obvious. Tonali would sit alongside Rodrigo Bentancur at the base of midfield, a pairing designed to give Spurs both bite and rhythm. Bentancur’s press and energy, Tonali’s passing range and composure. On paper, it is a partnership that drags Spurs up a level in the middle of the park.
There is also said to be interest in West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes, another nod to De Zerbi’s insistence on technical quality in central areas. The message is blunt: this midfield must be able to keep the ball and hurt teams with it.
Attack in limbo, but big names on the board
The biggest unknown sits in front of them.
Injuries ravaged Spurs’ attack last season and still cloud the picture. That makes a full-scale overhaul harder to execute, even if the need is obvious.
One long-term target remains firmly on the radar: Man City winger Savinho. Spurs have reopened talks for the Brazilian, who is keen to leave this summer to secure regular minutes. He fits the profile perfectly – direct, inventive, and hungry.
Then there is the headline name. Marcus Rashford, out of favour at Manchester United and with “no future” at Old Trafford, has become the latest wide forward to be linked with Spurs. His situation makes him one of the most intriguing storylines of the window. For Tottenham, he would likely feature off the left in this imagined XI, with Savinho on the right.
Through the middle, the club’s thinking has been clear in recent weeks: they want a reliable Premier League No9 to finish the moves De Zerbi’s system is designed to create. In the projected line-up, that role falls to Dominic Solanke, a striker De Zerbi has been urged to sign and whose profile – hard-working, link-play, penalty-box presence – matches what Spurs lack.
James Maddison, back from injury at the end of last season, is pencilled in as the No10. This is the stage he wants: fit, central, and responsible for threading passes into that new-look front three. Dejan Kulusevski, by contrast, remains a concern, his ongoing fitness problems making him harder to build around.
Put it all together and the fantasy XI, if everything falls Spurs’ way, looks like this:
Trafford; Porro, Van Hecke, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Tonali; Savinho, Maddison, Rashford; Solanke.
It is ambitious. It is expensive. It is also a world away from the side that clung to safety in May.
A squad on the brink of reinvention
Amid the arrivals and targets, there is an exodus quietly gathering pace.
Youngsters Lucas Bergvall and Luka Vuskovic have both signalled their desire to leave, a reminder that not everyone wants to wait around for a place in De Zerbi’s revolution. The futures of Romero and Vicario hang in the balance. Van de Ven could yet be tempted elsewhere. Every decision at the top of the pitch seems to trigger another at the back.
De Zerbi has money to spend and a mandate to reshape the club, but the margin for error is thin. He must decide who to build around, who to cash in on, and which big move genuinely shifts Tottenham’s level rather than simply changing the names on the teamsheet.
This is not a gentle refresh. It is a gamble on a new identity, with a new coach at the centre of it and a fanbase tired of false dawns watching closely.
If the window goes to plan, Spurs will walk out on August 22 looking like a completely different team.
The real question is whether they will finally start to look like the team they have been trying to become for years.
