Tottenham Hotspur head coach Roberto De Zerbi has arrived in North London with the short-term goal of helping the club to avoid the relegation zone.
The Italian boss has taken over with the club in 17th place in the Premier League, one point above the bottom three, with seven matches left to play before the end of the season.
Spurs take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in De Zerbi's first competitive game in charge in the top-flight on Sunday, and a win could go a long way towards avoiding the drop.
Igor Tudor's replacement arrives with experience of managing in the Premier League, thanks to his time at Brighton & Hove Albion, so he already knows what it takes to win a game at this level.
However, De Zerbi has joined in the midst of a disastrous season for the Lilywhites, who won the Europa League last year, and he has several problems that need to be solved in the short-term.
How Spurs have ended up in a relegation battle
Spurs have ended up in a relegation battle because of a series of poor decisions with the coaching and playing staff in recent seasons in North London.
Sacking Ange Postecoglou, an idealist with a clear style of play, and appointing Thomas Frank, a pragmatist who relied on physicality and set plays, went as poorly as expected from the outside looking in.
The players also have to take responsibility for the problems on the pitch, though, as the defence has not been good enough under any manager this season. Only the teams in the bottom three have conceded more Premier League goals than Spurs (50) so far.
Players like Pedro Porro, for example, have struggled defensively. He has averaged 2.6 tackles and interceptions per game, which is down from 3.1 per match last term, whilst he is also being dribbled past 0.3 times more per game (1.3) than last season (1.0).
The Spanish full-back is not the only Spurs defender who has regressed, causing the club to fall into a relegation battle, though, as there is another flop who should be sold by De Zerbi this summer.
The Spurs flop who is becoming Porro 2.0
Just as Porro has fallen off on the pitch after a strong start to life in North London after first joining from Sporting for £40m in 2023, there is another player who has let himself and Spurs down this season.
Versatile central defender and left-back Micky van de Ven should be sold in the summer transfer window because of his inconsistent performances at the back for the Lilywhites.
Earlier this year it was reported that Liverpool are among the teams interested in the Dutchman, and that Spurs would demand a fee of £100m for his services.
However, his performances on the pitch so far this season do not suggest that he is a £100m player in the making, because he has made too many defensive mistakes in the Premier League, hence why Tottenham have one of the worst defensive records in the division.
The left-footed centre-back has made three errors that have led to shots, goals, or penalties for the opposition and been sent off once in the league this season. In the 2024/25 campaign, he only made one such error and did not receive a single red card.
Van de Ven ranks among the worst centre-backs in the Premier League in far too many metrics this season, as he has struggled with duels in particular.
He has allowed opposition forwards to get the better of him too many times in physical duels, especially in the air, and that does not suggest that any team should be paying £100m to sign him this summer.
His poor form and unimpressive statistics, though, do suggest that De Zerbi should look to cash in on him in the summer, unless his form drastically improves in the last seven games of the season.
Van de Ven's struggles have played a significant role in the club's defensive struggles and he has become Porro 2.0, as another defender struggling after impressing in the past.
That is why the Lilywhites should look to move on from the Dutchman ahead of the 2026/27 campaign to make space in their squad for a more reliable central defender to be brought in.