Fabrizio Romano believes Tottenham remain confident Roberto De Zerbi can turn things around amid a nightmare start to the season. Spurs lost again on Saturday, losing 3-2 at home to Aston Villa, who also had a disappointing start to the season, and it was 3-0 until late in the game.
The two goals were Tottenham's first of the season, but they were not enough to prevent it becoming five straight league games without a win to start the season, with Spurs picking up only two points. The major context is that Spurs spent more than £300million to strengthen their squad this summer, and that was always going to put pressure on De Zerbi if things didn't go well.
De Zerbi is expected to lead Tottenham to a challenge for the European places, and they do not look close of being in that realm at the moment. Even new signings are struggling to make any sort of impact, with Sandro Tonali in awful form after arriving on a deal worth up to £100million, and the defence looks awful despite a number of new recruits. The first Villa goal was a calamity, only summing up how poor Spurs currently are, and how they are failing to improve from game-to-game, which is the concerning part.
A tough start to the season is one thing, especially with big squad turnover, but Spurs are not trending in the right direction and not improving.
Tottenham's Premier League results so far
Brentford 3-0 Spurs
Spurs 0-2 Newcastle
Fores 0-0 Spurs
Spurs 0-0 Everton
Spurs 2-3 Aston Villa
Still, according to transfer guru Romano, Tottenham will remain patient with De Zerbi. He said on YouTube: "Tottenham decided to back Roberto De Zerbi in the summer by trusting his ideas. Obviously everything was not possible, but it was still a very ambitious market, a very expensive market.
“When I say not everything, for example, Cody Gakpo, top target, but was no longer available. And then more things they wanted to do, but it’s normal. At no club do they complete the perfect market. But still, big investments and top players signed.
“So, the message from Tottenham, as of today, remains a message of confidence in Roberto De Zerbi. So at the moment I don’t have any indication of Tottenham exploring different ways.
“I’m told that Tottenham still believe in the manager. I’m told Tottenham knew it was going to take time.
“It’s not a switch you make from 17th in the league, saving from relegation in the final game of the season, to Champions League spots just because you spend big money.
“Tottenham knew it was going to be a process and it can not always be fast. Obviously, they all, including De Zerbi, had different expectations. The club, the coach, everyone had different expectations, not two points from five games. But at the same time they maintain confidence in the process.”
Who would Spurs turn to if they sacked De Zerbi?
This is the biggest question that would need to be answered if Tottenham were to consider sacking De Zerbi. Eddie Howe will be the obvious name thrown out, but it looks as though he wants a break after spending years in a demanding Newcastle United role.
Ruling out some of the unrealistic options like Pep Guardiola, there are the likes of Roberto Martinez, Julian Nagelsman, Ronald Koeman and Arne Slot available, but are any of those really a safer bet than De Zerbi? And Spurs are not likely to want to pay to appoint a working boss at this early stage.
It's likely they will play the waiting game for now, hoping improvements can be made during the extended international break, even with many players away with their national teams.