Former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is bottom of the Premier League with Tottenham
Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has offered his backing to Roberto De Zerbi after Tottenham’s poor start to the new campaign.
Spurs are bottom of the Premier League and winless after five fixtures despite a summer of lavish spending where more than £380million was committed on new players.
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However, Venkatesham pointed to the “underlying performances” with Tottenham able to create plenty of good openings without scoring in matches against Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Everton.
Speaking during last week’s first Fan Advisory Board meeting of the season, Venkatesham noted he was “encouraged by aspects of the underlying performances since the opening day defeat (at Brentford).”
The Spurs CEO “acknowledged the disappointment at the current points total even at this early point in the season and recognised the frustration this caused supporters following the previous campaign”.
Venkatesham was quick to point out his belief in De Zerbi and the revamped playing group after 10 new signings joined along with the departures of experienced players like Guglielmo Vicario, Djed Spence, Cristian Romero, Kevin Danso and Joao Palhinha.
“The club had made significant changes over the summer, both on and off the pitch, and recognised that these might take time to take full effect,” Venkatesham told the meeting.
“(Venkatesham) expressed confidence in Roberto De Zerbi, in the players brought in and in the changes made, noting the considerable work under way behind the scenes.”
While Tottenham spent big to secure Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Savio, the club made around £150m in departures with highly-rated teenager Luka Vuskovic allowed to join Brighton in a £50m deal.
Further significant fees will follow next summer after Radu Dragusin and Danso left with obligations to turn their loans into permanent moves and Vicario and Pape Sarr could also bring in funds given their exits to Juventus included an option to depart permanently.
After Spurs’ majority owners the Lewis family injected another £120m in capital last month, Venkatesham laid out the financial “constraint” on the north London club.
Venkatesham told the meeting: “The club needed to improve as a seller of players, having achieved limited returns in previous years and doing so is important in modern football for compliance with financial regulations.”
He continued: “Financial regulations represented a genuine constraint. The club had not recorded a profit since 2019 and its costs were rising through investment in the men’s team in wages and transfer fees.
“Successive 17th-placed finishes and the absence of European revenue this season had also affected the club’s revenue position.”
It was confirmed “significant changes” had been made to Spurs’ performance team across medical, physical preparation and performance departments to improve the club’s high number of injuries. Improvements have also been made to the training centre to aid with this issue.