Tottenham Hotspur chiefs won't want to make a managerial change after throwing all of their eggs into the Roberto De Zerbi basket less than six months ago, but they are also well aware that this is a results-driven business.
After a £300m+ summer spend and some promising signs from the De Zerbi project, the Tottenham hierarchy would have been confident of the club kicking on and avoiding what had happened in the previous two seasons.
Of course, it is early days and that could still happen, but there is no doubt that performances and results are just as poor as they have been across the last two campaigns, despite the Italian bringing in 10 new players, all of whom arrived with Premier League experience.
The 47-year-old had a full pre-season to work with his existing players and the majority of the new faces, but they have started the season taking just two points from 15 available, with their first two league goals of the campaign coming in the 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa last time out.
What has been served up for Spurs supporters so far simply hasn't been good enough, and the north London outfit have a massive game against Manchester United at Old Trafford after the extended international break.
Red Devils boss Michael Carrick is also feeling the pressure after a similarly underwhelming start to 2026-27, which has seen them win only two of their seven matches, despite a sensational run of form when Carrick was interim manager in the second half of last season.
With no European football to contend with, De Zerbi has bigger gaps between matches to work on things on the training ground and get them right, but he will be aware that he needs to show a big improvement, and quickly.
Spurs have invested in him for the long-term and given him a lot of control, so they won't want to make a change, but if results carry on like this for much longer, then their hand could be forced.
There are a lot of managers available on the market right now, including Premier League title winner Arne Slot.
Slot Could be Game-Changing Tottenham Appointment
After finishing third in Jurgen Klopp's final season, there would have been some apprehension among Liverpool fans as to how they would fare in the following season under his replacement, Arne Slot.
They needn't have worried as the Merseyside outfit ended up comfortably winning the Premier League title by 10 points, in a hugely impressive campaign for the Dutchman.
The 2025-26 season was far less impressive, but there were a lot of mitigating circumstances, including the tragic death of Diogo Jota, which understandably impacted everyone involved with the club.
For Slot to go in and instantly get the players onside, and deliver a Premier League title, shows how good he is, and that is exactly the profile of boss Tottenham could do with if they do decide to make a change.
Slot was actually interviewed for the Spurs job previously in 2023 following the departure of Antonio Conte and, had it not been for his family, it sounds as though he would have taken it because it was a move he would have 'loved' to have made.
Speaking in his biography, the Dutchman said:
“The fact I didn’t go to Spurs was 99 percent a family decision. We talked a lot and I told my kids it would be great to come and visit me in London during the school holidays, though my daughter said she might want to go do things with her friends sometimes.
I’d have loved to have gone to Spurs, because who goes straight from Feyenoord to Tottenham, but when Liverpool approached me last season it was very different.
That in itself would suggest that Slot would at least consider the opportunity if it arose again, given he was so open to the move before.
This summer has shown that he would be backed in the transfer market, although he could be put off by the downward trajectory the club seem to currently be on.
What is clear is that the 48-year-old could make a big difference on the pitch, with comparisons to Pep Guardiola being made by Dutch journalist Marcel van der Kraan.
He is very similar to Pep Guardiola, his ideas are very similar, he is a massive fan of Pep and he plays the same.
"He goes ultra-attacking, he is almost like a maniac. Not on the touchline but it is fantastic to see how he has turned an average side into a wonderful attacking machine."
If Tottenham do part ways with De Zerbi anytime soon, then Slot should be high on their list of replacements.