Tottenham Hotspur are on the brink of relegation from the Premier League, following their 1-0 defeat to Sunderland in new manager Roberto De Zerbi's first game in charge.
The Italian took charge at the Stadium of Light for the first time since signing a five-year contract during the recent break in games, replacing former interim boss Igor Tudor, who departed after making the situation even worse after replacing Thomas Frank.
But despite having the best part of a week to work with his players and begin to implement his ideas, Spurs struggled massively to create chances and looked shaky in defence, leaving them in the relegation zone with just six games remaining of the campaign.
Tottenham Must Make Changes
It's clear that change is needed in north London, on and off the pitch, but while De Zerbi is in it for the long run at Tottenham Hotspur, others most definitely are not.
One such player is Cristian Romero. The club captain has been strongly linked with a move away from the club in recent transfer windows, but signed a new contract with Spurs last summer, when he was handed the armband permanently. However, it has recently emerged that there is a release clause in the deal, and the Argentine wants to leave.
While staying in the Premier League may have provided some hope that he could stay, it seemed unlikely, and it now seems that De Zerbi's style of play and management won't be able to win him over after he suffered a knee injury in the game this past weekend.
Romero left the pitch in tears and is now set to miss the rest of the season as a result, with his World Cup hopes also hanging in the balance. With an exit anticipated and an injury ruling him out of the season, his time under De Zerbi is surely done already.
Who Can Replace Romero?
It's never easy to replace a top defender like Romero, but his leadership qualities have been called into question regularly this season, with a number of suspensions meaning he has missed large chunks of the campaign at key times.
Kevin Danso is available and ready to step in for the short-term, but whether he is the answer in the long term remains to be seen. De Zerbi, though, will now get the chance to find out.
Danso will undoubtedly be the man to step into Romero's place for the remaining games, and if he can stake his claim then it may affect transfer business. But one thing is clear, Romero's Spurs career is clearly over.