Roberto De Zerbi became Tottenham Hotspur manager in late March 2026, replacing interim coach Igor Tudor with seven matches left in the Premier League season [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. He helped the club avoid relegation by winning three of those final games as Spurs finished 17th in 2025-26, narrowly escaping the drop [6, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 5].

Since then, Tottenham has invested a club record £237 million (about $316 million) during the 2026 summer transfer window [1, 2, 8]. Major signings include midfielders Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85 million and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle for £100 million [1, 2, 8, 9, 5]. Dutch defender Jan Paul van Hecke also joined from Brighton for approximately £52 million [1, 2, 8, 9, 5].

In addition, Spurs signed full-back Andy Robertson, centre-back Marcos Senesi, and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka on free transfers [6, 7, 9, 5]. The club’s transfer activity signals a significant rebuild under De Zerbi, who has emphasized building a team with "soul and passion" and playing more attacking, enjoyable football [6, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 5].

De Zerbi said, "Football now is not just on the pitch, it’s not just with the ball, it’s before, it’s in life. It’s how many hours during the day you think about your job" [6]. He added, "I spoke a lot of time with the owner, with the board and they want to build a very strong team for this season, to make the days for the future become great again" [7].

Players have welcomed the new direction. Midfielder James Maddison praised De Zerbi’s clear vision: "The manager is very clear. The goals are to be better, to play better football, to be passionate and to be proud to play for this club". Maddison also called De Zerbi "a coach you want to play for because he loves everything with the ball... I’m really excited" [3, 4, 5]. Defender Micky van de Ven said, "You can see the club has a new ambition," adding, "It’s going to be more with the ball... more enjoyable for people to watch because we’ll be playing offensive football" [1, 2].

Tottenham began their 2026 pre-season tour on July 26 with a 2-0 win over Auckland FC in New Zealand [6, 7, 9, 5]. They are scheduled to face Sydney FC on July 29 and Chelsea in Sydney three days later [6, 7, 9]. The Premier League season opener is set for August 22, when Spurs will host Brentford [3, 4, 5].