Shocking stat sums up Tottenham’s creativity issues throughout the 2025-26 campaign.
A stark statistical summary of Tottenham’s 2025-26 Premier League campaign has emerged from Squawka, revealing that De Zerbi’s side attempted just 28 through-balls across the entire season, completing only eight of them, making them the least incisive team in the division by that measure in both attempts and completions.
The numbers are damning in their simplicity. Through-balls represent the most direct expression of a team’s ability to break defensive lines and create genuine goalscoring opportunities in behind. A side that attempts fewer than any other club in the Premier League and completes fewer than any other is a side that has been almost entirely unable to threaten the space behind opposition defences across 38 games. It explains, in cold statistical terms, why goals have been so difficult to come by and why the relegation battle felt so relentless and unforgiving throughout the campaign.
The context makes the figure even more alarming. De Zerbi is a manager whose entire footballing philosophy is built around precisely this kind of incisive, line-breaking play. His Brighton side were renowned for their ability to find and exploit space in behind defensive structures, combining patient build-up with sudden, decisive passes that unlocked opponents.
Arriving at Tottenham in March, he inherited a squad so lacking in the technical quality and creative instinct required to execute those passes that even his methods could not transform the numbers significantly in the weeks available to him.
A new striker could change these shocking through-ball numbers at Tottenham
The stat also provides the clearest possible justification for Tottenham’s expected summer pursuit of a new striker. Alasdair Gold has reported the club are expected to sign a forward this window, and the through-ball data explains precisely why. A striker capable of running in behind, timing their movement to receive those passes, and converting the chances created is the single most important addition De Zerbi can make to ensure his system functions as intended from the very start of next season.