Tottenham look set to appoint Roberto De Zerbi as their new permanent head coach this week on a long-term contract.
The Italian was initially reluctant to dive back in mid-season, preferring to wait until the summer to assess his options, having left Marseille in February. But a breakthrough in talks with Spurs has led to De Zerbi being the chosen one for now and the future, with a five-year contract on offer at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
De Zerbi had been approached by Tottenham in the summer, following the dismissal of Ange Postecoglou, but rejected the opportunity to move to north London, with Spurs going after Thomas Frank instead.
It Is Panic Stations At Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham have seven games to save their Premier League skin, with one point and one place separating themselves from the bottom three, meaning De Zerbi has to get to work quickly and get his philosophy and style of play drummed into a group of players who are low in confidence and have appeared to lack the stomach for the fight in recent weeks.
Former England international Stuart Pearce believes Spurs have made the wrong choice in bringing in a permanent successor to Igor Tudor now.
Speaking to Betway before the news of De Zerbi’s imminent appointment, he said: “I think it will be an interim situation. If I was Spurs, I wouldn’t be looking to put anyone in full-time. The way they’re looking right now, it will be panic stations.
“There’s no doubt a lot of money gets lost if you drop out of this division and a lot of rebuilding would need doing. They need to bring someone through the door on a short-term basis.
“As bizarre as it sounds, someone like Harry Redknapp who knows the club would give the fans a lift. He’s got the charisma and the personality to lift that dressing room over a short period of time.”
De Zerbi is clearly a coach for next season, but coming in now means he has a massive job on his hands in keeping Tottenham in the Premier League, before he can even think about what he’s going to do in 2026/27.
Stuart Pearce Lays Into Tottenham Players
Pearce believes the players are to blame for the mess they are in.
He added: “I think he’s [Igor Tudor] come into a squad that look every inch a team that are not particularly reliable, so I feel half sorry for him. He’s not got them going in any way, shape or form.
“They certainly look like a team that think they’re too good to be where they are, but they’re not contributing with their performances and their togetherness.
“That is the biggest problem. It’s easy to say, get Tudor out, but they’ve just moved on, I thought, a fantastic manager in Thomas Frank. But for me, the questions would be in the dressing room, more so than the management level at Tottenham Hotspur.”
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