Roberto De Zerbi Issues Reality Check After Tottenham’s £300m Spending Fails to Deliver

Tottenham have spent more than £300million rebuilding their squad this summer. Three Premier League games into the new season, they are still without a win — and, more worryingly, without a single goal.

A frustrating 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, September 5 gave Roberto De Zerbi’s side their first point of the campaign, but did little to ease the scrutiny surrounding an expensively assembled squad. Spurs had already suffered defeats against Brentford and Newcastle before being held at the City Ground.

The goalless draw also extended Tottenham’s remarkable scoring drought to three league matches. The club’s own match report acknowledged that they are still searching for their first goal of the campaign, while De Zerbi admitted that the biggest area requiring improvement is decision-making in the final third.

For a team that narrowly avoided relegation last season before embarking on such an ambitious rebuild, the contrast is difficult to ignore.

But De Zerbi insists Tottenham cannot expect a completely new squad to click instantly.

‘It’s not Football Manager’

The Italian’s message after the Forest draw was simple: assembling a squad is one thing, turning it into a team is another.

“We bought very, very good players but you can’t just build the team with the names like in Football Manager,” De Zerbi told Sky Sports after the match.

The Tottenham boss pointed to the limited time his players have actually had to work together.

“We are disappointed for the result but for the performance very happy,” he said, noting that the squad had only started working together collectively the previous Thursday.

The scale of the rebuild makes that point particularly relevant. Tottenham’s summer recruitment has brought in a mixture of established Premier League experience and high-profile attacking talent, including Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Sávio, Omar Marmoush and Jan Paul van Hecke, while Andy Robertson also arrived from Liverpool. Tottenham’s confirmed 2026/27 squad shows just how extensively the team has been reshaped.

 

Tonali alone arrived from Newcastle as one of the headline additions, while Robertson was recruited to provide experience and leadership.

De Zerbi therefore believes there are legitimate reasons for the slow start — even if the results remain well below expectations.

Spurs have shown signs of improvement

The scoreline at Forest was another setback for Tottenham’s attack, but De Zerbi did not view the entire performance negatively.

“We have to improve in every part of football, organisation with and without the ball,” he said.

“Even today I thought we defended very well.”

That assessment was backed up by Tottenham’s defensive display. The club reported that Spurs made 24 clearances and restricted Forest to just two efforts on goal. Tottenham also had 12 attempts themselves, although they failed to seriously test goalkeeper Matz Sels.

The biggest issue, therefore, remains turning possession and opportunities into meaningful chances.

“We have to work because I think we played very well with the ball, we found the solution,” De Zerbi said. “I think we can be much better in the final third.”

That lack of attacking conviction has become the defining problem of Tottenham’s opening weeks.

A £300m rebuild still lacks the finishing touch

The scale of Tottenham’s spending has naturally made their start more uncomfortable.

According to Reuters, Spurs spent more than £300million during the transfer window but were unable to secure a recognised striker, while the club’s failure to convert possession into shots on target was again exposed at Forest.

The result also highlighted the challenge facing De Zerbi: he has plenty of new attacking options, but developing an understanding between them will take time.

Sávio made his first start against Forest, while Marmoush was also involved from the beginning. Marmoush came closest to breaking the deadlock for Spurs early in the match but fired narrowly wide after being sent through by Pedro Porro.

There were also changes from the bench as De Zerbi attempted to find a breakthrough.

Mudryk begins another new chapter

One of the most intriguing introductions was Mykhailo Mudryk, who arrived from Chelsea on a season-long loan on deadline day.

The Ukraine international made his first Premier League appearance since November 2024, having previously served a ban after testing positive for a banned substance.

His arrival also reunited him with De Zerbi, who knows the 25-year-old from their previous time working together.

Tottenham officially confirmed the loan on September 1, describing Mudryk as a player capable of bringing speed and creativity to the team.

De Zerbi has previously spoken extremely highly of Mudryk’s potential, even suggesting he could one day become a Ballon d’Or winner.

But the manager is asking for patience.

“He needs time and he needs work,” De Zerbi said.

Mudryk is not the only talented player competing for a role in that area. Mathys Tel also remains part of the equation, although De Zerbi believes the young forward still needs to improve his decision-making.

“We have in that position Mathys Tel – big potential – but also Tel takes too many wrong decisions,” he said.

“Two big players with potential.”

The pressure will only grow

Tottenham now have a squad filled with expensive and experienced additions, but the league table does not yet reflect the scale of their investment.

After three matches, they remain winless and without a goal. Their first point at Forest stopped the losing streak, but the attacking problems remain unresolved.

De Zerbi’s argument is that Tottenham are still at the beginning of the process.

The transfer window is now closed, meaning he finally has the opportunity to work consistently with his squad rather than continually integrating new arrivals. The absence of European football this season should also give Spurs more time on the training ground to develop the organisation and chemistry the manager says they need.

But patience will inevitably be tested.

Tottenham have invested heavily after a season in which they came dangerously close to relegation. The expectation was that the spending would produce a dramatic improvement.

Instead, three games have produced zero goals, one point and another unwanted chapter in the club’s early-season history.

De Zerbi is asking for time.

Now he has to make sure that time eventually turns Tottenham’s expensive collection of players into the team he believes they can become.