One of the first tasks that Roberto De Zerbi faces at Tottenham Hotspur is reducing the number of individual mistakes made in each game in the Premier League.
The Lilywhites are 17th in the division and have conceded 50 goals in 31 matches, the fourth most, and they need to improve their defence to give themselves the best chance of avoiding a first ever relegation to the Championship.
De Zerbi joined to take over from Igor Tudor during the international break and will have had plenty of time on the training pitch with his players by the time the clash with Sunderland comes around next weekend.
However, some of the issues at Tottenham cannot be fixed on the training pitch and there will have to be some big decisions made in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Provided Spurs avoid the drop, De Zerbi must be ruthless in the summer and cash in on several underperforming players to go back into the market to improve the squad.
Inter eyeing deal to sign Spurs flop
Tottenham are 17th in the Premier League and facing a potential relegation because too many of their players have not delivered enough quality on the pitch on a regular basis.
There should be consequences for that ahead of the 2026/27 campaign as it should be a wake-up call to the club to make them revamp the playing squad.
However, other teams need to be interested in signing a player for the Lilywhites to cash in on them, and there is reportedly active interest in one of their flops.
According to Calcio Mercato, European giants Inter are keen on a deal to sign Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario in the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Italian side want a new number one to take Yann Sommer's place between the sticks next season, and they have identified the Spurs 'keeper as a key target.
It adds that Tottenham are set to demand a fee of up to £17m for the Italy international if any club decides to come in with an offer for his services, and that Inter would be able to afford a deal to sign him.
Calcio Mercato reveals that Inter are ready to accelerate a move to sign the Italian stopper, but it remains to be seen when they will make their first official move.
Why Spurs must cash in on Vicario
The Lilywhites should take advantage of Inter's interest in the goalkeeper because he has become the club's biggest defensive liability since Emerson Royal was in North London.
During his time at Spurs, Emerson struggled for consistency in the Premier League. In the 2023/24 campaign, he was dribbled past 22 times in 11 starts, and he was dribbled past 66 times in three seasons with the club.
Opposition wingers found it far too easy to get the better of him down the flank at Spurs, which made him a defensive liability, and that eventually led to him signing for Milan in the summer of 2024.
Two years on, Vicario could follow in his footsteps by moving to Milan, to join the other San Siro outfit, because of his shaky performances at the back for Tottenham.
The Italian goalkeeper has made four errors that have led to shots or goals for the opposition in the Premier League and Champions League this season, after he made six errors in the top-flight in the 2024/25 campaign.
On top of continually making big errors, Vicario is also the third-worst shot-stopper in the division based on Goals Prevented this season, as he has conceded 5.22 more goals than expected based on the xG of the shots against him.
Last season, the Italy international ranked 16th in the Premier League with 0.59 goals prevented, which shows that his shot-stopping has regressed since the 2024/25 campaign.
Vicario currently looks like the biggest liability in the squad, due to both his errors and his poor shot-stopping, and possibly the biggest defensive liability at Spurs since Emerson left to join Milan.
That is why De Zerbi must make him the first player sold in the summer, amid interest from Inter, to open the door for a new goalkeeper to come in and offer more reliability between the sticks.