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Hello and welcome back to The Score, my weekly column on the biggest talking points of the Premier League weekend. For the new season, we’ve given it a little revamp – with a new structure and some shiny bells and whistles at the end. Please let me know your (positive) thoughts on social media: @danielstorey85

Another Tottenham Hotspur season and more records to be broken. This is now the first time since 1974 that Tottenham have lost the first two league matches of a season without scoring a goal. They were better than against Brentford – such a low bar it should make you laugh – but Newcastle United have suffered enforced flux and found it way too easy in the second half.

The answer, it appears, is just to keep on spending. Sunday morning brought news of Iliman Ndiaye arriving from Everton with Richarlison going the other way (unrelated deals, honest). Take a deep breath and now list the attacking players who must be competing for a maximum of four positions: Savinho, Matthys Tel, Ndiaye, Dominic Solanke, Omar Marmoush, Wilson Odobert, Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons.

The theory – and it probably carries some weight – is that piling up enough proven Premier League experience and talent will eventually cause a positive reaction. You cannot spend hundreds of millions of pounds on those who have done it elsewhere and have them all just fall into a black hole of incompetence. Honestly, you can’t.

But there are two caveats to that theory. The first is this: more than any other club in the top flight, Spurs needed a fast start to this season to ease the biggest concerns that the entire place was cursed. By buying so many new players (and it is almost an entirely new set of outfielders now), you create greater need for patience because none of them have ever played together before.

That presents a chaotic, difficult start to the season as inevitable, even if the details of their first two results were evidently not ideal. It is just that every supporter is so indoctrinated towards things going awry that they needed a sprinting start rather than this stumbling mess.

The other problem: what does this do to the mindset of new signings? Spurs deliberately paid the asking price to get deals done quickly ahead of the competition, considered a necessity given the lack of European football. But does that attract players joining for the right reasons and does it mean they might – even subconsciously – lack some stomach for the fight if things get tough again?

And on that second point, Roberto De Zerbi’s comments about not being able to buy mentality in the transfer market were instructive. Because: 1) you really can, Roberto, and 2) what does it say about the new signings that you are already accusing them of lacking the mentality to be better than this?

It will come good eventually. Good players eventually work things out and Spurs have signed plenty. But we are already lowering our expectations of where they might end up this season and De Zerbi needs to get a handle on this quickly.

Newcastle and ‘verticality’ might be a perfect match

That Newcastle crisis didn’t last long. Having been the better team against Liverpool last weekend, Matthias Jaissle earned his first win as a Premier League manager at Tottenham with some comfort and in some style. Rebuilds can be fun!

When Jaissle arrived, he explained that his aim was to play with “verticality”, which is a modern translation of getting the ball up the pitch quickly when you win the ball and trying to get quick players in behind the defensive line before it is set.

The principal beneficiary of that style? Anthony Elanga. Elanga flourished at Forest when given space to run into but became unstuck last season because Eddie Howe’s team were too sluggish and slow in possession. He has been reborn already under Jaissle, becoming the first Newcastle player to score in the first two games of a Premier League season since Alan Shearer.

Coventry already in firefighting mode

A weekend of unacceptably bad vibes for Coventry City. It started with empty seats at the CBS due to a new ticketing process that disallowed season ticket holders from transferring tickets to friends and family if they could not attend the fixture. It continued with a home defeat against the club who, pre-season, were the most likely to finish behind them.

Coventry have been more circumspect than Ipswich Town and Hull City this summer. I have no issue with that given their financial woes of the past. But when that combines with early home defeat against a likely relegation battle peer, don’t be surprised when supporters start to panic.

Coventry’s greatest issue lies in the lack of creative force having got promoted. They turned 69 per cent into just 11 shots and 1.29 xG. Hull were happy to sit back and back themselves to repel the threat and did so with far too much ease. Remember that this Hull side conceded 66 goals in the Championship last season and four of their starting back five were part of that defence.

Rashford gets a new start at Man Utd

There is little to be learned from Bruno Fernandes’ creativity in open play, but far more from how Marcus Rashford flourished on the left wing. There was an intent to take on Dara O’Shea that is directly proportional to Rashford’s confidence; we know how he tends to turn back to pass when things aren’t going his way.

Without the ball, there was something entirely new. The accusation – long-term in its application – is that Rashford’s offers insufficient tracking back and defensive work to account for the attacking returns in an age when the best wingers are either super-productive or do both attacking and defending.

This gave hope of another new start. Rashford’s three tackles were only bettered by one other United player. There was a moment in the first half where Rashford lost possession in a duel with Abdul Fatawu, who sprinted away from him. Rashford sprinted with him and, when a teammate forced Fatawu to slow down, it was he who nicked the ball away. Old Trafford roared as if it were a goal.

Gameweek 2 highlights

Goal of the weekend – Kevin Schade (Brentford)

We all have our kinks and one of mine is finishes of a type that you don’t see very often – variety is the spice of goals, people.

Which brings us to Schade and Brentford’s opener at Elland Road.

The German flicked a drilled cross with the outside of his right boot so that it looped up and over James Trafford and into the top corner. It is an outrageous piece of skill.

Mistake of the weekend – Bart Verbruggen (Brighton)

The equivalent of a slip fielder dropping a simple catch because he had too much time and so forgot to maintain concentration.

Verbruggen can reasonably claim some interference from a teammate, but having come to claim the loose ball he had to do better than juggle it to Romeo Lavia.

This Chelsea attack is going to be good enough without giving them freebies.

Player of the weekend – Rayan Cherki (Man City)

I’m not saying that France would have won the World Cup if Cherki had been given more than 96 minutes, but I am saying that it would probably have been worth a go.

Cherki started as the most central advanced midfielder (although swapped positions with Phil Foden a fair bit) against Crystal Palace and had a lovely old time.

There was some doubt whether Enzo Maresca might take to Cherki given his reputation as a luxury attacking option, so it was interesting to hear City’s manager praising his midfielder for his work rate, pressing off the ball and man-marking of Adam Wharton when Palace were in possession. The rest of us enjoyed the two goals because we aren’t sickos.

Stat of the weekend

Alexander Isak had 13 touches against Nottingham Forest, the fewest by a Liverpool player to play 90 minutes in a Premier League match since full data was collected in 2003-04 (Opta).

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM — The great Tottenham Hotspur rebuild of 2026 has not gone to plan just yet.

Despite now passing the £300m mark in outgoings this transfer window, Spurs have lost both of their opening Premier League games, conceding five times without reply. What’s equally alarming is they didn’t play particularly well in either match and those score-lines were hardly flukes.

When team news dropped prior to Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Newcastle, there was a prevailing thought that this overhauled team was already in need of another overhaul. And, well, after finishing 17th two years on the spin, you’d be correct for presuming this Tottenham side still requires more parts.

The main area of concern was in attack, where right-back Pedro Porro – making his first Premier League start since winning the World Cup with Spain – had to start on the wing. Even more concerning was the fact that Tottenham’s best spells in the game came when they played this unorthodox hand.

At 0-0, Spurs did look like they had the better of Newcastle and that they were slowly turning the key to unlock an all-important goal. Then Anthony Elanga went down the other end, scored with a remarkable piece of trickery, and the hosts lapsed back into their bad habits.

The players shrunk and retreated back into their shells. They did not create a meaningful attack once Newcastle took the lead. Mathys Tel’s comedic free-kick into row Z of England’s tallest single-tier stand got a round of meaty groans that could have powered a wind turbine (just in case Spurs needed another source of power and/or revenue).

Tottenham put their round pegs back in round holes six minutes after Elanga’s opener, with Porro heading back into defence and Mohammed Kudus, marking his return from an eight-month injury, slotting in on the wing. Within another four minutes, Newcastle had their second through Yoane Wissa from a corner.

Premier League newbie Matthias Jaissle would seldom have been nervous as the clock ran down, despite Spurs having over half an hour to try and claw their way back into the contest.

Jaissle arrived at Newcastle with the club in flames. Eddie Howe had surprisingly stood down halfway through pre-season amid a flurry of high-profile sales, including Sandro Tonali’s to Tottenham for £100m. They weren’t expected to be ready for the Premier League campaign ahead, yet have taken an impressive four points from even more impressive performances against Liverpool and Spurs.

But what about Roberto De Zerbi? The supposedly elite coach who would be Tottenham’s X-factor in their ascent up the table? The man handed the blank cheque as reward for saving Spurs from relegation?

The Italian had a full pre-season with his team, save for the late returns from the World Cup and their most recent transfers. Even the players of inferior quality should show some cohesion given the time they have spent together, yet still they look like strangers. Spurs’ structure off the ball is among their worst qualities, with nobody too sure where they should be standing.

The rationale behind Spurs’ summer activity, buying exclusively from other English clubs, was that it would harden and embattle a weak group to ready for the rigours of the Premier League. Two weeks into the season, they are the least-ready team in the division.

The excuse for last week’s 3-0 humbling at Brentford was that it was a makeshift XI that would probably never be fielded together again. That’s fine in isolation, but that line doesn’t wash this time after the likes of Porro, Micky van de Ven and debutant Omar Marmoush stepped into the lineup.

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Prior to kick-off on Saturday, stadium announcer Paul Coyte tried to whip up the crowd with a rousing speech. “We’ve spent and we’ve spent. We’re back. We’re going places. We’re huge.”

Now, it is Coyte’s job to excite the fans and improve the atmosphere. He’s hardly to blame for the 90 minutes that followed. But it’s hard to shake the feeling that the Tottenham hierarchy have been thinking along the same lines this window.

The board have been so obsessed with trying not to be Daniel Levy that they seem to have strayed from ambitious to merely reckless. De Zerbi has been backed with each of his top targets, bar Liverpool starter Cody Gakpo, delivered before their first home league game. As best demonstrated by the Reds last year, the most expensive windows usually necessarily the most successful.

So here Spurs are, entering the final week of the transfer window already more than £300m deep, lumbered with a team that can’t defend or attack. That seems like a problem.

Tottenham will look to offset some of their £300m-plus summer spend with more outgoings planned before Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

Spurs have ripped up tradition by bringing in eight major signings with three deals – Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Savio – that shattered their previous record.

However, they have also operated shrewdly the other way, bringing in around £140m through the sales of Luka Vuskovic, Cristian Romero and Djed Spence. A further £35m has been raised by selling off fringe players including Will Lankshear, Alejo Veliz, Ashley Phillips, Manor Solomon and Alfie Devine.

Pape Matar Sarr is also expected to depart, with Nottingham Forest having overtaken interest from the Turkish Super Lig. The Senegal midfielder is valued at around £20m, but that fee could be pushed down the road with Forest considering an initial loan with an option to buy.

“Pape is good,” De Zerbi said of him on Friday. “We have to see in the last days of the transfer market what can happen with him.”

Roberto De Zerbi has been vocal in his wish to keep Lucas Bergvall, who was also monitored by Forest and Newcastle.

The arrival of Omar Marmoush has also potentially opened the door for Richarlison’s exit. Despite rumours linking him with a return to Everton, Saudi Arabia currently looks like a more viable option. The striker is also valued at around £20m.

De Zerbi is also allowing Jamie Donley to leave on loan, with the forward set to join Jack Wilshere’s Luton Town.

There is more uncertainty surrounding Mikey Moore, who had agreed a move to FC Koln but who has featured in both Spurs’ competitive matches this season, scoring the opening goal in the 5-1 Carabao Cup win over Charlton.

Moore spent last season at Rangers and was always expected to be sent on loan again to gain experience, with the Savio and Omar Marmoush deals making that more likely.

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Having begun the summer with a threadbare attack, De Zerbi now has Marmoush, Dominic Solanke, Mathys Tel and Savio to accommodate. Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert and long-term absentee Dejan Kulusevski are currently sidelined and James Maddison is also set for a spell out after fracturing his shoulder in the 3-0 defeat to Brentford.

De Zerbi has already delivered on his promise of a major “bomba” this summer and faces a crucial test against Newcastle in the Premier League this weekend after a horror start in west London.

Spurs have been set back by injuries and players’ delayed returns from the World Cup, with Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven and Kudus all missing the opening day and Fernandes only fit enough to feature in the second half.

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the signing of Savinho from Manchester City in a deal expected to rise to £85m.

Roberto De Zerbi described the Brazilian as a player “who brings energy, imagination and quality in wide positions. He has the courage to attack defenders and the ability to change a game with his creativity.”

Spurs will pay £75m plus £10m in add-ons, taking the club’s summer spending past the £300m mark.

That shatters the club’s previous record of £160m forked out in the summer of 2024 on players including Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert.

Omar Marmoush isexpected to follow Savinho from City on a deal until 2031, with a fee closer to £55m. That would mean Manchester City would avoid having to pay Frankfurt a 15 per cent sell-on fee, which only applies if he is sold for more than the £63.4m they originally paid for him.

De Zerbi is seeking to be active in the transfer window after his side endured a nightmare start to the new Premier League season with a 3-0 defeat at Brentford.

He demanded sweeping changes this summer after taking over in March and keeping Spurs up on the final day.

A combined £185m was spent on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes in midfield, £52m on centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke, and Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka coming in on free transfers.

How Tottenham can afford Savinho

That is not quite the eye-watering amount of money it appears. Tottenham have raised over £100m organically through the sales of Cristian Romero, Djed Spence and Luka Vuskovic. All three wanted to go and while Spence could have gone for more had he stayed in England – there was some surprise Everton did not push harder given their need of a right-back – £25m was felt to be an acceptable fee for him to move to Serie A, which is not awash with the conspicuous consumption of the Premier League.

Tottenham are the ninth richest club in the world and have boosted the coffers with non-football events – from boxing and NFL to Beyonce, Guns N’ Roses, Lady Gaga, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Gorillaz concerts.

Make no mistake – there would not have been such a drastic change in direction had they not come so close to the brink in May. But Daniel Levy’s departure has seen Vinai Venkatesham pivot to a more urgent approach, with the chief executive and Johan Lange still overseeing transfers despite reports of a restructure at the start of the summer. The search for a second sporting director to replace Fabio Paratici is ongoing.

Owners Enic recently injected a further £100m into the club and Spurs have also agreed an advance with Macquarie Bank on TV revenues from December 2026 to June 2027 – a practice which is becoming fairly standard across the Premier League. Last season alone it gave them a £90m boost and frees up even more funds to be spent on transfer fees and increasing wages, which has been another priority.

Despite reports, there has been no confirmation of a new naming rights deal for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but there is the potential for a further fillip there down the road. It is estimated the front-of-shirt sponsorship value has dipped by as much as £20m because of Spurs’ form last season.

They are not dependent on that – they are nowhere near breaking the threshold for the Premier League’s new financial rules (known as squad cost ratio). That’s worked out as a percentage of income, and Tottenham have one of the largest incomes in the league – hence why they are able to outspend clubs like Newcastle and Aston Villa, even when they are underperforming.

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Squad cost ratio is calculated over a three-year period, and fees like Tonali’s £80m, which look staggering on paper, can be amortised, or broken down, over several years of the contract.

Crucially, there is also expected to be further money coming in before the window shuts. Pape Matar Sarr is exploring the possibility of a move away and there has been interest in Richarlison – who would only be able to leave if Marmoush is signed as a replacement. Bids for Lucas Bergvall have been rejected.

A decision will be made on a potential loan for Mikey Moore, who spent last season at Rangers, as any departure was dependent on Savinho’s arrival.

GTECH COMMUNITY STADIUM – Meet the new Tottenham Hotspur, same as the old Tottenham Hotspur. Roberto De Zerbi needs a little time to get this right, but hey big spender, the Premier League can be an unforgiving place.

This was a poor imitation of the £300m+ squad that took a stun-gun to the transfer market this summer. They did not have their first-choice back line, midfield or front three, but the lack of fight was inexcusable. Spurs looked like they were still milling around on an Oceanian pre-season tour. Is it just possible they “won” the transfer window because they had the most to do and selling clubs saw them coming a mile off?

Superb Brentford bullied their abject midfield. That matters, because it is in those central channels where De Zerbi-ball will live or die. The centre-backs are supposed to play out to two narrow holding midfielders. All four were a shambles and on this evidence, they could be in for a disastrous wake-up call.

It would be premature to panic, and there were plenty of mitigating factors. Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro were unavailable. Xavi Simons, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert are long-term absentees; all improve that attack. Mateus Fernandes could be the signing of the summer but for now, that accolade looks more likely to go to Mamadou Sangare. For the Bees, an extraordinary upgrade on Jordan Henderson who is already attracting N’Golo Kante comparisons.

It is easy to see why De Zerbi prioritised such a hefty spend on the likes of Sandro Tonali when so much relies on the anchor they lacked at the Gtech. The game was lost when Fernandes, nursing a calf injury, spent the first half on the bench, placing seismic responsibility on Lucas Bergvall. The Swede spent the summer mulling a £40m move to Newcastle or Nottingham Forest and this was meant to be either his point to prove or his shop-window moment. Defensively, he produced his worst display in a Spurs shirt.

Gallagher’s role was neither here nor there. The midfield three was so utterly lost it was hard to envisage them getting up to speed soon. Brentford overloaded the middle and inevitably worked out De Zerbi’s system.

Joao Palhinha has left big boots to fill after not enough was done to sign him on a permanent deal. Under Ange Postecoglou, it was Rodrigo Bentancur who looked muddled between the No 6 and No 8 roles; now Bergvall is suffering a similar fate. De Zerbi showed a ruthless streak by hauling off both Bergvall and Gallagher for Fernandes and Bentancur. Only then did Spurs begin to enjoy the lion’s share of the ball.

The centre-backs, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke, were too easily dribbled past and Brentford’s press ensured they offered few of the ball-playing qualities for which they were signed. First, Brentford’s record signing Sangare waltzed into the box to set up Keane Lewis-Potter, before Bergvall lost it again for the second.

Antonin Kinsky blundered Mathias Jensen’s effort towards Vitaly Janelt, and Kinsky parried again from Sangare’s shot for Michael Kayode to bundle in Brentford’s third. Igor Thiago’s missed penalty was the only reprieve. There is already huge scrutiny on Kinsky replacing Guglielmo Vicario as No 1 – not least because there were doubts about him before that ignominious night at Atletico Madrid.

There is no suggestion that this is the finished product. Why, for example, was Mikey Moore made to start on the right, missing two 1on1s? Why are Spurs the only major side so far away from fielding the manager’s preferred team? Archie Gray was playing at right-back and named the youngest captain in the club’s history – despite being fifth in the pecking order – by virtue of no one else being fit.

There is hope of an immediate salvage operation in attack. Omar Marmoush will be a welcome addition from Manchester City and will likely replace Richarlison. Savinho, on the other hand, exhibits many of the same limitations as Mathys Tel, who was blocked from running inside to create any tangible end product.

And so the Thomas Frank jokes began, the relegation chants, and just about every other endurance of the last 12 months played on repeat. De Zerbi, starting from the lowest of bars after two successive 17th-placed finishes, spoke beforehand of restoring “pride”. There is no need for hysteria but Tottenham cannot afford to look so eminently beatable and devoid of self-esteem. He has to prove this is not just a reheated, rehashed version of the same haphazard project.

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One of Frank’s final matches as Spurs boss came here in west London and had the away end lamenting a “boring, boring Tottenham”. This was more like downright bizarre. Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham looked on from behind a pair of sunglasses which must have hidden a bemused expression.

Not all of his new signings failed to gel. Andy Robertson made a superb challenge to deny Dango Ouattara. Fernandes looked reasonably tidy after his introduction.

Still, the sense of urgency is not misplaced. Tottenham have gone all in on this. They can describe themselves as half-fit, unready and waiting to hit top gear. Those excuses will only get them so far.

Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement with Manchester City for Savinho in a deal which could rise to £85m.

Spurs will pay £75m plus £10m in add-ons – many of which are seen as achievable from the player’s side – taking the club’s summer spending past the £300m mark.

That shatters the previous record of £160m forked out in the summer of 2024 on players including Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert.

The extraordinary outlay has raised eyebrows at other clubs – not least because Spurs finished 17th in each of the past two seasons and have missed out on Europe altogether this time around.

Omar Marmoush is now expected to follow Savinho’s route from City. The i Paper understands Marmoush is expected to sign a contract until 2031, and his fee will be closer to £55m. That would mean Manchester City would avoid having to pay Frankfurt a 15 per cent sell-on fee, which only applies if he is sold for more than the £63.4m they originally paid for him.

That will not necessarily be the end of Roberto De Zerbi’s overhaul – he demanded sweeping changes after taking over in March and keeping Spurs up on the final day – but it will signal that all Spurs’ priorities have been ticked off over the course of the summer.

A combined £185m was spent on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes in midfield, £52m on centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke, and Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka coming in on free transfers.

That is not quite the eye-watering amount of money it appears. Tottenham have raised over £100m organically through the sales of Cristian Romero, Djed Spence and Luka Vuskovic. All three wanted to go and while Spence could have gone for more had he stayed in England – there was some surprise Everton did not push harder given their need of a right-back – £25m was felt to be an acceptable fee for him to move to Serie A, which is not awash with the conspicuous consumption of the Premier League.

Tottenham are the ninth richest club in the world and have boosted the coffers with non-football events – from boxing and NFL to Beyonce, Guns N’ Roses, Lady Gaga, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Gorillaz concerts.

Make no mistake – there would not have been such a drastic change in direction had they not come so close to the brink in May. But Daniel Levy’s departure has seen Vinai Venkatesham pivot to a more urgent approach, with the chief executive and Johan Lange still overseeing transfers despite reports of a restructure at the start of the summer. The search for a second sporting director to replace Fabio Paratici is ongoing.

Owners Enic recently injected a further £100m into the club and Spurs have also agreed an advance with Macquarie Bank on TV revenues from December 2026 to June 2027 – a practice which is becoming fairly standard across the Premier League. Last season alone it gave them a £90m boost and frees up even more funds to be spent on transfer fees and increasing wages, which has been another priority.

Despite reports there has been no confirmation of a new naming rights deal for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but there is the potential for a further fillip there down the road. It is estimated the front-of-shirt sponsorship value has dipped by as much as £20m because of Spurs’ form last season.

They are not dependent on that – they are nowhere near breaking the threshold for the Premier League’s new financial rules (known as squad cost ratio). That’s worked out as a percentage of income, and Tottenham have one of the largest incomes in the league – hence why they are able to outspend clubs like Newcastle and Aston Villa, even when they are underperforming.

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Squad cost ratio is calculated over a three-year period and fees like Tonali’s £80m which look staggering on paper can be amortised, or broken down, over several years of the contract.

Crucially, there is also expected to be further money coming in before the window shuts. Pape Matar Sarr is exploring the possibility of a move away and there has been interest in Richarlison – who would only be able to leave if Marmoush is signed as a replacement. Bids for Lucas Bergvall have been rejected but he is still being monitored by a number of Premier League clubs.

A decision will be made on a potential loan for Mikey Moore, who spent last season at Rangers, as any departure was dependent on Savinho’s arrival.

It is as if everyone at Tottenham Hotspur has suffered a collective bout of amnesia of late.

Some of it has been justified. When you have just watched two full Premier League campaigns of non-stop suffering and nearly been relegated, why wouldn’t fans be excited about making signings for £100m?

And supporters should be hopeful. They live to enjoy because they never know when they will have to live to merely endure again. That shouldn’t be the moxy with which the operators of a football club do their business, however.

On Monday evening, Tottenham announced they had tied Micky van de Ven to a new contract which will run until 2031. It was reported in his native Netherlands that he will earn €75m (£64m) across the length of that deal, roughly translating to £240,000 a week. This brings him in line with the club’s newest set of top earners, alongside Sandro Tonali, Conor Gallagher and Xavi Simons, all of whom were signed within the last 12 months.

It’s a clear pivot in strategy from Spurs to up their wage bill in order to beat rivals to key targets – Arsenal and Manchester City were keen on Tonali, Aston Villa thought they had Gallagher and Chelsea were interested in Simons.

But it doesn’t make as much sense to greatly reward Van de Ven for the three years he has had at Spurs so far, let alone off the back of his most self-destructive one.

Tottenham’s troubling results last season were largely down to the coaching of their ill-fated managers Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, though the players who didn’t fall victim to their injury crisis mustn’t escape blame either.

Van de Ven, once infamous for paper-thin hamstrings, started more games than any teammate with 45. He captained the team 18 times having been promoted into the first-team’s leadership group by Frank. Spurs finished 17th, again.

Even if you remove Tottenham’s final position from the equation, Van de Ven’s performances were inconsistent, particularly after his early-season scoring surge. Most notably, he got himself sent off in a 3-1 loss at home to Crystal Palace in March, which signalled to the world Spurs were serious relegation candidates.

With Cristian Romero – Tottenham’s most disgraceful captain since Sol Campbell – set to be sold, Van de Ven will become the best outright defender at the club. Still, that did not require Spurs to hand him a ludicrously lavish new contract, especially given his previous deal still had three years left to run.

If Van de Ven is your top centre-back on £240,000 a week, where are you going? Is this real ambition or simply trying to one-up the previous regime built on frugality? Who else was going to pay him anywhere near that salary?

Most of Tottenham’s summer business screams that they simply don’t want to be associated with the Daniel Levy era any longer.

Van de Ven is still a decent player with scope to improve quickly. Were he to have been shopped around, a fair few of Europe’s elite would have shown some level of interest. The hope with him is that, at 25, his best years are still ahead of him.

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But he is hugely reliant on pace and there is little evidence he can be an above-average box defender. Those are uncertainties that should have put the frighteners on those in Spurs’ risk management department.

This is all just another sign that Tottenham are trying to draw a line under the 2025-26 season without acknowledging or attempting to understand why it happened in the first place.

It is not only spending which has been a problem for Spurs, but spending wisely. They are continuing to show they deserve the same level of trust in the transfer market as you would give to a five-year-old with a £50 note in a sweet shop.

The road back to the top will have to come via Damascus for Tottenham Hotspur.

After failing to maximise the Harry Kane era, they are now trying to atone for the sins that led them to two successive 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League.

The simplest reason as to why Spurs are in such a mess relates to recruitment. In the final years of Daniel Levy’s tenure, the club found themselves dropping further back down the table than an England team in a semi-final coached by Thomas Tuchel (too soon?).

And so here we are today, with Tottenham a tad fortunate to even still be a Premier League side. The manager who saved them, Roberto De Zerbi, has arguably earned the right to lead an expensive rebuild, but there are plenty of reasons to be cautious and pessimistic about the plan of action.

At the time of writing, Spurs have signed six new players during the summer window, all of whom played in the Premier League last season – Jan Paul van Hecke, Martin Dubravka, Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. The last two names on that list saw Tottenham obliterate their transfer record with extreme overpays, with Fernandes costing a flat £85m and Tonali’s final price projected to reach £100m.

Spurs’ Catch-22

Spurs’ net spend stands at £164.7m, helped out by Dubravka, Senesi and Robertson arriving on Bosman transfers in deals more akin to the club’s previous modus operandi. The major difference comes down to the other financials.

This new Tottenham, powered by the Lewis family (a soft rebrand of Enic), are not afraid to stump up for their targets, nor to pay them an extravagant wage to blow their rivals out of the water. These were the two main factors which held the club back in the market under Levy’s regime.

Tottenham appear to have two top targets to strengthen in the final third: Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and Manchester City’s Savinho. Both fine players, both would immediately improve Spurs, and yet both would feel like underwhelming signings – even though they could cost a combined £140m.

There has been little creativity or imagination to Spurs’ window. They are both playing it safe and taking huge risks at the same time, trying to raise the floor of their team with the enlightenment that they simply cannot cut costs in the window anymore.

Adding Premier League-proven players should keep them out of another relegation battle, though that shouldn’t even have to be in their thinking. Tottenham have to make expensive mistakes just to break even in righting the wrongs of the past.

The hierarchy are still in place

That brings us to the elephant in the room. Well, the two elephants. The architects of last season’s mess, CEO Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange, are still in post.

Nobody upstairs has paid the price for nearly sending the ninth-richest club in world football down. Not in a physical sense, anyway. De Zerbi becoming the face of their transfer business is a clear shift in strategy, with the club backing a manager more than they ever have before.

The Italian himself has alluded to this. Speaking to gathered media on their pre-season tour of Oceania, he said of his involvement on transfers: “I don’t know why I love it, maybe because when you take the decision, you take the responsibility, but I think if the coach calls the player, you can build a special connection at the beginning with them.

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“The player knows you are the key for this transfer, and maybe this player feels they have to give you back something more than if, for example, Johan Lange calls the player.”

Spurs’ years of neglecting the playing squad and always playing catch-up in the market has led them to this purgatory between a rock and a hard place. Vinkatesham and Lange should absolutely not be leading the project, but is handing over the keys to the most fiery manager in the league the best strategy either?

At worst, Tottenham should be a competitive team this season. Then again, we all said that this time last year, didn’t we?

Tottenham Hotspur are still active in the final weeks of the transfer window, with at least three more outgoings planned.

Captain Cristian Romero continues to be monitored by Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid and it is expected he will have left the club when the new Premier League season kicks off on 21 August.

Despite acquiring minutes in pre-season under Roberto De Zerbi, Manor Solomon is also set to depart, with West Ham currently leading the race for the Israeli international.

The i Paper understands newly promoted Hull City are the other club interested in signing the 27-year-old, who Spurs value at around £20m but who could attract opening bids of between £10m-20m. A move is expected to gain momentum quickly and could be agreed over the coming days.

Since arriving from Fulham on a free transfer in 2023, Solomon has made five senior appearances for Spurs, going on loan to Leeds, Villarreal and most recently Fiorentina.

A year ago, he was offered brief hope of a revival under then-manager Thomas Frank as Spurs struggled to find a replacement in the market. Instead, another temporary spell away from the club followed.

De Zerbi has not included Solomon in his plans for the 2026-27 campaign and hopes to sign another wide-forward before the window closes. Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo has emerged as the most likely candidate but a deal is likely to depend on his current club being able to find a successor under new head coach Andoni Iraola. Manchester City’s Savinho is also a long-term target.

During the pre-season tour of New Zealand, De Zerbi hinted at another “bomba” – or major transfer – to top off a successful window in which Spurs have already signed Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke – Romero’s replacement – on big-money deals.

After finishing 17th last season and escaping relegation on the last day, there has been a major shift in approach, with Spurs smashing their previous wage structure to allow them to compete for major signings.

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Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Martin Dubravka have also joined on free transfers.

Mikey Moore is set for another move away after impressing at Rangers last season, with Bundesliga side FC Köln vying with Championship clubs for a loan.

Guglielmo Vicario is the subject of interest from Italy, with Antonin Kinsky likely to start the season as No 1.

Despite plenty of interest from across Europe, Marcus Rashford is most likely to get the chance to resurrect his Manchester United career next season, as the most appealing exit options for the England forward have failed to materialise.

Rashford has two years left on his £325,000-a-week United contract. With Champions League football to contend with next season, there will be plenty of opportunities to play, should he be reintegrated.

There is no ill-will from Rashford’s side towards the club over his treatment when part of the so-called “bomb squad”. He is still a fan of his boyhood club and retains a good relationship with several team-mates. Rashford also, crucially, has an ally in manager Michael Carrick.

Another claimed that he would be “very surprised” if Rashford was playing anywhere other than Old Trafford next season.

Another loan the only route

Had it not been for Rashford’s wages, he would have likely secured an Old Trafford exit already. Even coming close to matching his salary rules out most of even the biggest clubs. The conduct of senior United executives has not helped the situation, insiders said.

They have been vocal about their desire to get his salary off their wage bill – a big part of Ineos’ manifesto after taking a minority stake in the club.

As a result of their palpable desperation, no club is going to be willing to pay anything like the £26m option Barcelona had to make last season’s Rashford stay permanent.

Sources believe suitors will return with further loan offers to test whether United feel they can challenge on multiple fronts without the academy graduate or not.

Man Utd against Spurs move for Rashford

A host of Premier League clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Chelsea, have been keeping tabs on the 28-year-old, with Spurs plotting a £40m move last month.

However, The i Paper has been told there is a reluctance among senior United figures to sell to another English top-flight club, given it could lead to humiliation should Rashford start scoring elsewhere.

Galatasaray and Fenerbahce both tried to sign Rashford this summer, sources said, but he was not interested. A top Champions League team remains his priority, the identity of which is becoming clearer.

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Dangerous domestic deal

There are plenty at Old Trafford who feel there is too much water under the bridge for Rashford’s return to be a success. There is little doubt for many, however, that the talent is still there. There was evidence of that ability, fleetingly, at the World Cup.

Tottenham were prepared to make a big play for Rashford this summer, and were even willing to pay a fee, rather than a loan. While shifting the England forward was preferred, the potential PR disaster if goals flowed elsewhere made such an option much less appealing.

If Rashford were to leave, United would need another wide forward, one that does not appear forthcoming. Another midfielder is priority, and with little generated from player sales, there is not the money to splurge on other big-money arrivals.

As it stands, Rashford will join up with his United teammates at their six-day training camp in Dublin, scheduled around their friendly clash with Leeds on 12 August.