Tottenham Hotspur's 2026/27 Premier League campaign kicks off this weekend when Roberto De Zerbi's side travel to West London to take on Brentford, and the Italian will hope this is the beginning of a reversal in his club's fortunes.
The Lilywhites have endured two torrid seasons in a row, finishing 17th in back-to-back years, and another campaign flirting with the relegation zone simply won't sit right with the hierarchy at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spending £312million so far this summer to ensure they don't sail close to the wind again, De Zerbi won't be given much leeway.
Sandro Tonali has arrived for £100million from Newcastle United, Mateus Fernandes has signed for £85million from West Ham United and Jan Paul van Hecke has joined for £52million from Brighton, with Savio finally completing a £75million move from Manchester City on Tuesday too. Alongside these big-money acquisitions, Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson have joined on free transfers. Further reinforcements are still expected in the forward line.
While there is understandably huge excitement amongst the Tottenham fanbase over what these new signings could bring to the table, there are three players who are yet to play significant roles under De Zerbi but will be available from the start of the season and may actually feel like new additions.
James Maddison
For so much of last season, Spurs lacked a creative spark — this was reflected in their dire attacking numbers. They scored just 48 league goals, more than only seven teams in the division, while they ranked 17th for expected goals created (as per UnderStat).
Clearly, they weren't able to create the volume or quality of chances they needed to. This was partly due to systematic failures induced by their various coaches, but also due to a lack of creative personnel.
James Maddison, who spent almost the entirety of the season recovering from an ACL injury, is arguably the most creative player in Spurs' squad, and he'll finally be back fit and firing from the beginning of the 2026/27 campaign. He managed just 34 minutes at the back end of last season, hobbling about as Tottenham desperately sought to save themselves from relegation.
Having had a summer off to work on his fitness, he should be nearing a level where he can start contributing, despite missing all of pre-season. He'll get to work in a De Zerbi system which historically juices the attacking players' numbers, and if he can stay fit, he will ultimately make a significant difference to Spurs' offensive play.
Dejan Kulusevski
Dejan Kulusevski might be the archetypal 'feels like a new signing' if he actually makes his way back from his lengthy injury and plays meaningful minutes for Spurs again. That said, it's a huge if, given the significance of his setback and just how long he has been out.
He's not played a minute of football since the end of the 2024/25 season, although he is said to have stepped up his recovery in recent days, according to TottenhamHotspur.com. De Zerbi may need to find a slightly different role for the Swede, as he's unlikely to be capable of racing down the wing again any time soon.
While he was never reliant on pace, creating separation from defenders is going to be difficult after such a spell away from the game. Instead, De Zerbi can lean into the playmaker's passing quality, and this creativity should provide the Lilywhites with another solution to their attacking frailties.
Mohammed Kudus
While not quite as severe as Maddison and Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus also endured an injury-plagued 2025/26 season. He managed just 1,545 league minutes and didn't play at all after January. He's therefore another who hasn't featured in any capacity in the De Zerbi era, and will be itching to get going under the new head coach.
While the Ghanaian isn't expected to be fit in time to start the season, he's not supposed to be too far away. Given Spurs' lack of options on both flanks, Kudus will be a welcome returnee, with his ability to operate on either side and cause havoc through his mazy dribbling, attributes that the North Londoners missed last term.