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Tottenham head into the international break without a win in the Premier League after losing 3-2 at home to Aston Villa.

Roberto De Zerbi's expensively assembled side were hit by goals from Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia which handed Villa an important win - their first of the season.

Both clubs had made slow starts to the new campaign after summer rebuilds and while Spurs had failed to score in four league fixtures.

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Conor Gallagher at least got Spurs' first goal of the season late on, followed up by a Jan Paul van Hecke header, but it was nothing more than a consolation and too little too late.

After a bright start from Spurs where they forced Zion Suzuki into four saves inside the first 20 minutes, Villa hit Tottenham with a sucker punch - with captain Micky Van de Ven off the pitch after he took a whack to the face from Tyrone Mings, Manzambi fired in.

Spurs' goal drought appeared over on the hour mark when Sandro Tonali played in Andy Robertson and Mohammed Kudus poked in his cross, but VAR ruled it was offside.

Jackson then made it 2-0 by finding the bottom corner.

A wonderful effort by Buendia from 25 yards made the victory safe for Villa and sparked 'you're getting sacked in the morning' chants by the away faithful.

Ahead of the extended break, Spurs find themselves in the relegation zone and have only won five of their last 36 matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"The pressure heats up," said former Tottenham defender Michael Dawson on Soccer Saturday.

"That's what happens when you finish 17th twice, you spend all this money, there's a huge expectation around the football club. I believed there was going to be a shift but when there isn't, it breeds and now, unfortunately, for Spurs, they've got three weeks to wait until the next game."

The key moments from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium...

De Zerbi admits he 'didn't speak to players' after defeat

Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi on the timing of the international break:

"Maybe it's better, I didn't speak with the players today because I didn't want to say anything.

"But the players who go with the national team they have to play, they have to work and the other players like Gallagher, Solanke, Tosin, Senesi, Savio for sure we have to work more because of the physical condition I didn't like in this game."

He added: "I'm very disappointed, very sad, very frustrated for the performance because we can't lose this game in this way, absolutely. We can't concede the second goal, we can't lose balance just because in the first half we are losing in the beginning of the second half.

"I spoke with the four attackers to use their heads calmly, play calm, play, enjoy, don't take risks. When we conceded the second goal it was incredible."

Emery singles out duo for praise

Villa boss Unai Emery speaking about the performances of Zion Suzuki and Nicolas Jackson:

"They are here for it. Their commitment to us, challenging themselves to achieve what we did before and replacing important players, is fantastic. But every player needs to understand how we can feel better collectively and how they can help us with their qualities, exploiting our best performance.

"Today, we made a clear step forward in improving that. Zion is maintaining the performance he showed before, and Jackson clearly improved from the previous matches. This is the way and the example of how he played."

What the result means and next fixtures...

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Tottenham are in talks with Inter Milan over the sale of Djed Spence.

Inter believe a total package of £30m could be enough to get a deal done and Spurs are understood to be willing to sell if they receive an acceptable offer.

Spence's opportunities could be limited at Spurs this season with Destiny Udogie and Andy Robertson also competing for the left-back position and the ever-present Pedro Porro the clear first choice on the right.

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Inter want to bring in a new player who can operate as a wing-back.

Spence has been high on their list all summer and Inter are now turning their attention to the Spurs man after struggling to strike a deal for Al Ittihad's Moussa Diaby.

De Zerbi: Spurs aren't done in the transfer window

Roberto de Zerbi maintains Tottenham are "not finished yet" in the transfer market as they look to build a competitive Premier League squad again.

Having only avoided relegation on the final day of last season, Spurs have spent already spent around £237m - with the club's transfer record broken twice in deals for Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.

Dutch defender Jan Paul van Hecke also arrived from Brighton for £52m, while Martin Dubravka, Robertson and Marcos Senesi signed on as free agents.

With Micky van de Ven having also committed his long-term future to the club, there is genuine hope Spurs will soon be challenging at the other end of the table.

"In the transfer market, we have not finished yet [with] the players who will arrive," De Zerbi said, speaking to the Men in Blazers Network.

"We are looking forward to start another season with, I don't know [different] ambitions, but with different results."

De Zerbi continued: "The club has been great because they closed [deals for] very, very important players. I think we have not finished yet.

"Okay, we spent money, but the other clubs made the same or more in the past. To compete in the Premier League, you need first [the] level of the players.

"The ambition of the owner of the club, of the board, of the people who decide behind me are very important and very high, so we have to find the condition to build a strong team, a stronger team than the last seasons, to compete again for the top of the table."

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Tottenham are interested in signing Cody Gakpo from Liverpool this summer.

Head coach Roberto De Zerbi wants to sign at least one wide attacker after making big moves to improve his midfield and defence.

Liverpool would not be willing to let Gakpo depart without having a replacement through the door. The Netherlands international also has four years left on his deal and would not come cheaply.

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Liverpool are expected to make a formal approach to Paris Saint-Germain for France winger Bradley Barcola. However, that will not be a simple deal to do given PSG value the 23-year-old at £145m.

Gakpo is one of the more experienced forwards in Andoni Iraola's squad. He also has the capacity to provide striker cover, for which there is a greater need while Hugo Ekitike continues his rehab from an Achilles injury.

If Gakpo were to go - and Barcola arrived in his place - it would leave Liverpool with teenager Rio Ngumoha and new-signing Victor Munoz as their other options on the wing.

Spurs have also explored a potential deal for Manchester City winger Savinho.

City are aware the Brazilian wants to leave and join Spurs but are not in a position to act yet, given there has been no bid.

Savinho signed a new contract last summer, which makes this another potentially expensive deal to do, and City would want to be assured of a replacement too before letting him leave.

Could Gakpo be Spurs' 'bomba' player?

Spurs boss De Zerbi says Tottenham are lining up another transfer "bomba".

Spurs have already spent £237m this summer, signing Sandro Tonali for a club-record £100m after adding Mateus Fernandes for £85m.

"The transfer market, it's not finished for sure, but we completed 60 per cent of our project in the transfer market. Now we have another bomba!" he told football.london last week.

De Zerbi confirmed the new arrival would be an attacker and when asked whether the deal was close, he added: "I hope, but it's not finished for sure."

The Spurs boss also said last week that the club could sign two or three more players.

"I think two, maybe three," he said on whether there would be more additions. "We have to see.

"Bomba in Italian is different from bomba in English. You can write what you want, no problem, no pressure. But I said we have to complete the transfer market.

"I think we have some other players to complete the squad, and the players will be here in the next few days; for me, they are top players.

"I don't know if the expectations are bigger than two days ago, but we have to go forward and think of the good of the team, of the club, of the squad. But in Italian, it's a different word."

Asked what the definition of 'bomba' was in Italian, De Zerbi said: "I think Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Senesi, Robertson are bomba. For me, top player for us."

Atleti and Inter interested in Romero

Atletico Madrid and Inter remain interested in Tottenham captain Cristian Romero.

There is an expectation that Romero will depart this summer just a year from being made skipper and signing a new deal.

De Zerbi has said he has communicated with the Argentina international and will discuss his future when he returns from his post-World Cup break.

The Spurs boss has suggested this summer in an interview with Football London that he does not want to stand in Romero's way if he does wish to leave.

Inter have already signed John Stones to bolster their centre-back options and a deal for Romero was already viewed as being financially complicated to do.

Benjamin Pavard leaving could help Inter to meet Spurs' demands for the centre-back and would create the required space in the squad.

New Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi has issued an apology to "those who I offended" regarding comments made about Mason Greenwood during his time in charge of Marseille.

De Zerbi, who was appointed as the replacement to Igor Tudor at Spurs on Tuesday, came to the defence of the former Manchester United forward who joined Marseille in 2024 after charges against him, which included attempted rape and assault, were dropped. The Italian described Greenwood as a "good guy" who paid a "heavy price" in November.

He added at the time: "It saddens me what happened in his life because I know a totally different person than the one who was described."

De Zerbi's arrival on a five-year contract was met with concern by the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust who said that his hiring "raises serious and far-reaching concerns", adding in a strongly-worded statement that Spurs were directly warned about the "strength of feeling" among fans.

Opting to speak in Italian during his first interview with the club media, De Zerbi addressed the comments for the first time since his appointment, saying: "I have never wanted to downplay the issue of violence against women or violence against anyone more broadly.

"In my life I have always stood up for who are more vulnerable, more fragile. I have consistently fought and taken a stand to be on the side of those who are more at risk.

"Those of you who know me well will know I'm not the type of person who makes compromises to win more games or to win an extra title. I apologise to those who I offended with this subject matter. I have a daughter and I'm very sensitive to these things and always have been.

"I hope that over time, people will get to know me better and will understand that in that moment I didn't mean to take a stance."

De Zerbi is still expected to speak about his comments during his first press conference Sky Sports News understands.

Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one of controlling and coercive behaviour and another of assault occasioning actual bodily harm over allegations relating to a woman after images and videos were posted online, although the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in February 2023.

The charges against Greenwood were dropped because of "a combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light", which meant there was "no realistic prospect of conviction".

Sky Sports News understands the Spurs board carefully considered and discussed the sentiments around De Zerbi's association with Greenwood during the hiring process

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