Tottenham want to make some big moves in the transfer window to supplement those players Roberto De Zerbi has who are desperate to show what they can do
Roberto De Zerbi is looking to overhaul his Tottenham squad but he will also be aware that he has some players desperate to prove a point next season after spending most of the past year somewhat forgotten and out of the limelight.
Spurs have already made four signings this summer with Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka joining on free transfers and Jan Paul van Hecke arriving from Brighton in a £52million deal. The north London outfit are also set to sign midfielder Mateus Fernandes for a club record £85million from West Ham and have held talks about signing Sandro Tonali from Newcastle as well as Manchester City winger Savinho.
De Zerbi believes he has a core of players at Tottenham that need building around with top level quality and that could include some of those players who became forgotten at points last season as they sat on the sidelines unable to help.
Here are five players who could have a big campaign for Spurs under the Italian as they seek to remind everyone exactly what they can do.
James Maddison
It was a washout of a season mostly for James Maddison as he suffered that ACL injury in pre-season out in South Korea, having only just come back that summer from the partial tear suffered towards the end of the previous campaign.
De Zerbi took it cautiously with the England midfielder and used him mainly behind the scenes after he returned to training, as a leader around the group and a voice in the dressing room.
In the end Maddison would play just 34 minutes of normal time plus a fair chunk of added time in the final three games of the season and in the derby at Stamford Bridge especially you could see little glimpses of what he would bring when he's sharp again.
The 29-year-old produced 23 goal involvements for Spurs in the previous campaign and his absence made it easy to forget just how creative a game changer he can be.
"Real leaders who talk inside the dressing room, Maddison is a top player on the pitch with the ball but also as a personality, mentality on the pitch," De Zerbi said of the midfielder.
Maddison will be desperate to remind people what he is capable of and his return at the end of the campaign should act as a prolonged pre-season of sorts for him to be more than ready for the coming year.
Mohammed Kudus
Mohammed Kudus was on his way to being Tottenham's player of the season without question. Yes, the Ghana international dipped before his enforced absence but that was mostly due to Thomas Frank overplaying him into the ground and a system that only ever saw the ball come his way every single time and the opposition knew it, constantly surrounding him.
It says plenty that the 25-year-old ended up as Spurs' joint top assist provider, despite being injured with that troublesome quad since January and missing the remainder of the campaign, as only Pedro Porro and Xavi Simons could match his tally of six. He also scored three times, which he will want to improve on next season.
Once he is fully fit, with the pain of missing the World Cup to fuel him, Kudus with his power and ability to beat a man will be huge within De Zerbi's system. The Italian had said the attacker was set to be one of his 'crucial' players only to lose him within days of his return to training.
It's a cliche of course but it will be like Kudus has signed again when he returns because the £55million man is that good a player and De Zerbi will use him in the right way.
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Dominic Solanke
Last season's rusty Dominic Solanke was not the version of himself that he or anybody wanted to see. It was a campaign riddled with injury woe for a striker who arrived at Tottenham with barely a physical problem to his name for years.
He started just 11 Premier League games, one in the Champions League, and scored only six goals across a season in which an ankle injury kept him out from August until January and then he only showed glimpses of looking fit and sharp before a hamstring problem ended his campaign prematurely.
Many fans have given up on Solanke already - frequent injuries and being rusty and off the pace on your return will do that for a striker. However, it shouldn't be forgotten that the 28-year-old produced 49 goal involvements in his preceding two seasons, despite a knee injury swiping two months out of his debut Spurs campaign.
De Zerbi has already said that Solanke is a big player for him and don't bet against the former Bournemouth forward getting goals aplenty in a system that might finally get the ball to him in the opposition box.
Destiny Udogie
It's easy to forget that Destiny Udogie is still just 23-years-old. De Zerbi has plenty of faith in the young Italian but the key for the left-back is to get over the injury issues that just stop him getting a long run of games in a row under his belt.
It's no coincidence that when he finally does get a string of appearances going, Spurs invariably look more balanced and better on the pitch. Ange Postecoglou managed him well through the end of last season, using him mainly in the Europa League, and he was integral to Tottenham lifting that trophy. Likewise at the conclusion of this campaign, Udogie started six of De Zerbi's seven matches and Spurs only lost two of them.
Next season he will have Andy Robertson as big competition at left-back and that's a good thing for him. He will learn plenty from the Scot, who has won everything you can in the club game, and the competition will drive both players on. Keep an eye on Udogie to shine under his compatriot this season.
Dejan Kulusevski
It's crazy that Dejan Kulusevski has not played a game of football for club or country since May 11, 2025.
More than a year has passed since the talented Swede last took to a pitch and the problems with his knee have been well documented since, with the setbacks and the clean-up procedure all culminating in his World Cup dream being dashed as he tried to get back before the end of the season.
Kulusevski has a remarkable mindset and if anyone is going to come back from this and star again it will be the 26-year-old former Juventus man. You cannot overestimate just how big a player for Spurs he was, dragging them through games at times.
When he returns he will need some time to get sharp again, but when he's back in the swing of things he's going to be a huge addition for De Zerbi.