TOTTENHAM have undergone their biggest ever summer of change – with 54 PLAYERS coming and going.
CEO Vinai Venkatesham promised a “complete reset” in a message to fans following last season’s close shave with relegation – a year after also coming 17th.
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And despite losing their opening two Premier League games, club chiefs have kept to their word in a desperate bid to avoid that situation happening again.
Boss Roberto De Zerbi saved the club from relegation, which would have cost Tottenham around £250million, so the Italian has been heavily involved in transfers.
Of the 41 players to leave the North London club in some capacity this summer, 28 of those have first-team experience and many were regulars in last season’s nightmare.
That includes England’s World Cup hero Djed Spence, captain Cristian Romero, former No1 goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Pape Matar Sarr and Kevin Danso, who played a key part in keeping Spurs up.
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And De Zerbi has replaced them with Premier League experience.
All 10 additions, including deadline day signings from Chelsea Tosin Adarabioyo and Mykhailo Mudryk, were signed by Prem clubs.
It cost the club £394million and that number could eventually reach £469m if certain adds-ons are met, but they could recoup up to £264m from outgoings.
Luka Vuskovic, who never made an appearance for the club, was sold to Brighton for £50m, while they could fetch up to £20m-plus from the likes of Danso, Sarr, Ashley Phillips and Will Lankshear.
Venkatesham said in May: “If you’d have asked me a few months after I joined, when I was no longer an outsider, I would have told you the club was in a significantly worse state in some places than I thought.
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“It was very clear that this wasn’t some form of turnaround that was required of the club in quite a few areas. It was really a complete reset.”
De Zerbi now needs their new pivot of experience to improve results on the pitch and get Tottenham back challenging at the right end of the Premier League table.
But spending the big bucks does not guarantee instant success and this is unlikely to prove a quick fix.
Spurs have been accustomed to losing in recent years – with the Newcastle defeat meaning they have won just 85 points from their last 85 Prem outings.
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And there is a clear mentality problem. Their last win after conceding the first goal in a top-flight game was way back in November 2024. De Zerbi even said after the Toon loss “you can’t buy it”.
They have recruited stars who have faced intense pressure. Andy Robertson lifted trophies galore at Liverpool, Omar Marmoush and Savio were at Manchester City where anything less winning is a failure.
Marcos Senesi played in the World Cup final for Argentina and Jan Paul van Hecke was a key man at Brighton.
These are experienced pros with hundreds of top-level matches under their belts – that is without even mentioning £185m midfield duo Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
Pre-season optimism has been shattered by defeats to Brentford and Newcastle, with familiar problems still on display.
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De Zerbi could plausibly start with SEVEN new signings at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
But lose again, and their rebuild will already come under intense scrutiny.
Spurs’ 54 ins and outs
First team signings:
Jan Paul van Hecke
Martin Dubravka
Andy Robertson
Marcos Senesi
Mateus Fernandes
Sandro Tonali
Savio
Omar Marmoush
Mykhailo Mudryk
Tosin Adarabioyo
Academy signings:
Cole Ramsey
Maxwell Adedeji
Jacob Knightbridge
First team sales:
Alejo Veliz
Alfie Devine
Luka Vuskovic
Tynan Thompson
Will Lankshear
Manor Solomon
Ashley Phillips
Cristian Romero
Djed Spence
Dane Scarlett
Loans expired:
Joao Palhinha
Randal Kolo Muani
James Wilson
Loaned out:
Luca Gunter
Radu Dragusin
Yusuf Akhamrich
Blake Irow
Dylan Thompson
Mason Melia
Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny
Yang Min-hyeok
Guglielmo Vicario
Oliver Irow
Jamie Donley
Mikey Moore
Souza
Pape Matar Sarr
Kota Takai
Kevin Danso
George Abbott
Released:
Pele Arganese-McDermott
Matthew Craig
Leon Myrtaj
Elijah Upson
Calum Logan
Tyrell Ashcroft
Samal Bangura
Jamel Beggs
Yves Bissouma
Leo Black
Dante Cassanova