Roberto De Zerbi has taken on the challenge of steering Tottenham Hotspur away from the Premier League relegation zone after putting pen to paper on a five-year contract. However, he's already been told four of his new players could cause big problems.
The north London side have been sliding towards the drop zone ever since the start of 2026 and now sit just one point above West Ham United, who are third bottom. After Thomas Frank's dismissal and Igor Tudor's short reign, De Zerbi has been earmarked as the long-term man to steer the ship in the right direction.
He's fresh off the back of a spell in French football, where he made Marseille into a more formidable side than they have been in years. While he has gained a reputation for being difficult to keep happy, the Italian gets his teams playing an attractive brand of football.
Rio Ferdinand Warns De Zerbi About Five Spurs Stars
Speaking on his own podcast (per Metro), former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand had plenty to say when it comes to 'underachieving' players at Tottenham. The 47-year-old was asked which players could thrive under De Zerbi, and he replied:
"I actually couldn’t tell you, I couldn’t tell you.
"I thought [Micky] van de Ven was going to be a top centre-half. Is it him or is it the lack of stability at the football club or the tactics, the way the team is being set up that’s making him look bad? I don’t know."
Micky van de Ven wasn't the only one pointed out by Ferdindnad, as he added Richarlison to the list, saying: "I can go through so many players… I spoke to Carlo Ancelotti when he was the Everton manager and he had Richarlison there and he said this kid would play for a Real Madrid or a team like that, a category A club in Europe at some point.
"He couldn’t be further away from it if he tried right now. Is that down to him [Richarlison] or is that down to the environment that he’s in at Spurs?"
"There are far too many players that are underachieving with their quality from what we’ve seen before," he continued. The defender-turned-pundit then took aim at Xavi Simons, who was expected to do big things in England:
"Look at Xavi Simons at the Euros, he was brilliant for the Netherlands and his club football, he was flying,’ the ex-Manchester United and England defender went on.
"He’s gone to Spurs and he looks a shadow of himself, confidence has dropped, the environment is sucking the life out of these players."
James Maddison, who has been out injured since picking up an injury all the way back in pre-season. However, he didn't escape criticism as one of the more talented members of the Spurs squad.
"James Maddison has obviously had a lot of injuries but he wasn’t the Maddison of Leicester, pulling up trees and getting them out of situations consistently all the time," Ferdinand concluded.
Tottenham Could 'Ruin' De Zerbi's Reputation
Ferdinand was speaking one day before Tottenham confirmed their new manager, but he was of the belief that De Zerbi should steer clear of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Citing the number of managers who have failed at the club before, he suggested a poor spell could 'ruin' the new boss' reputation.