Tottenham cannot yet decide what to do with Roberto De Zerbi because they have not decided who at the club would make that call.
That, in essence, is the message from journalist Ben Jacobs, who reports that the club’s next move is not in the dugout but in the boardroom. Spurs, he says, are looking to appoint a new senior sporting executive before assessing the head coach.
“Roberto De Zerbi joined on a long-term project and my feeling with Tottenham is there’s not really a sporting infrastructure in place to make a decision,” Jacobs said.
“Behind the scenes at Tottenham they are relatively calm, and I’m still told the intent is to explore whether another sporting official, a co-sporting director or some form of senior executive is necessary.”
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“Maybe only after they find that name in whatever capacity will they start to understand if they need to assess Roberto De Zerbi.”
£300m spent, two points won
The context makes the paralysis louder. Spurs sit 20th in the Premier League on two points from five games, their worst start in 18 years, after losing 3-2 at home to Aston Villa on 21 September. The summer had promised the opposite: a record £300m-plus overhaul, headlined by Sandro Tonali at around £100m from Newcastle, Savio and Mateus Fernandes at about £85m each from Manchester City and West Ham, and Jan Paul van Hecke at roughly £52m from Brighton.
De Zerbi, appointed on a long-term contract towards the end of last season, has taken 4 wins from 14 matches in charge. After the Villa defeat, he offered a bleak reading of his own squad.
“In my 14 years as a coach, I’ve never seen a team like us, so fragile and inconsistent,” he said.
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Romano: confidence, for now
Fabrizio Romano’s read of the boardroom matches Jacobs’ calm, even if the surrounding numbers do not.
“The message from Tottenham, as of today, remains a message of confidence in Roberto De Zerbi,” Romano said on 20 September.
“It’s not a switch you make from 17th in the league, saving from relegation in the final game of the season, to Champions League spots just because you spend big money.”
The Italian added that “they all, including De Zerbi, had different expectations, not two points from five games”, but insisted the club still believed in the process.
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The next real test
The international break has bought De Zerbi time; the fixture list will not. Tottenham travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on 10 October. That match will not settle who Spurs report to at executive level, and on Jacobs’ reading, that appointment is the one that has to come first.
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