The spectre of dismissal haunts De Zerbi: a surprise name emerges to save Tottenham

€400 million is not enough

Pressure is mounting on Roberto De Zerbi at Tottenham. The start of the season has turned into a real nightmare, with disappointing results despite the club's huge spending during the summer transfer window.

Five rounds into the Premier League, Tottenham are still without a win and sit bottom of the table. They spent more than 400 million euros to sign ten players this summer, and that outlay has piled the pressure on the Italian manager.

Against this catastrophic backdrop, former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood believes the club's fans would welcome the return of Argentine Mauricio Pochettino should the board decide to sack De Zerbi.

Sherwood said, in comments carried by the French website "Foot Mercato": "Tottenham's fans prefer Mauricio Pochettino to Roberto De Zerbi". He pointed out at the same time that the current squad differs greatly from the one the Argentine managed during his previous spell.

Pochettino led Tottenham for five and a half years before his sacking in 2019, a few months after he guided the team to the Champions League final. He also finished second and third in the Premier League during his spell, despite failing to win any title.

The scale of the summer spending has significantly raised expectations, Sherwood believes. "I know a lot of managers who would have wished to spend 400 million pounds on their teams", he said.

Negative results keep coming, and speculation about De Zerbi's future is growing. Tottenham's fans now await a swift turnaround that returns the team to the winning path.