Teddy Sheringham urges Tottenham to sign leaders as De Zerbi’s summer rebuild gathers pace.
Teddy Sheringham has delivered a pointed and timely warning to Tottenham Hotspur as the summer transfer window accelerates, insisting that simply recruiting more of the same kind of player will not change the club’s trajectory and that what is genuinely needed is a fundamental shift in the character and leadership profile of the squad.
The former Spurs striker who scored 125 goals for the club, has been one of the more vocal critics of the club’s direction throughout a turbulent season, and his message ahead of what promises to be the most consequential summer in the club’s recent history carries the weight of someone who understands exactly what the dressing room culture at Tottenham requires to produce sustained success. Sheringham said (h/t Chris Cowlin on X):
“The most important thing for Tottenham to remember is that if you just bring in the same sort of players that you always have, that you’ve already got, and they’re all good players, you’ll end up in the same position again, and that’s not good enough for Tottenham at the moment. They need to go and bring some leaders into the camp and change the whole picture at Tottenham.”
The observation cuts to the heart of a problem that has defined two consecutive seasons of underperformance. Tottenham have not lacked quality in their squad in either campaign. The injury list has been extraordinary, but even accounting for absences, a group containing players of the calibre of Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Conor Gallagher, and Dejan Kulusevski should not be fighting relegation. The issue, as Sheringham identifies, is not purely technical. It is cultural, and culture is built by the characters inside the dressing room as much as the tactics on the training pitch.
Tottenham are headed in the right direction
The signings made so far this summer suggest De Zerbi and the club have heard that message clearly. Andy Robertson, a Champions League winner and long-serving captain of one of the world’s most demanding clubs, brings exactly the leadership profile Sheringham is describing. Marcos Senesi’s arrival statement spoke of wanting to win things and return the club to where it belongs. Pedro Porro’s contract renewal was framed explicitly around his mentality and daily desire to improve.
Whether the summer’s remaining business continues in that spirit will determine whether Sheringham’s warning has truly been heeded or merely acknowledged.