Tottenham Hotspur 2026-27 preview: With money spent and the squad rebuilt, how high can they finish?
The mood inside Tottenham Hotspur has undergone a transformation over the last six months.
When Roberto De Zerbi was appointed as head coach on a five-year contract in March, it looked like they were going to be relegated. Spurs had not won a game in 2026 and fans were grappling with the prospect of spending at least 12 months stuck in the Championship. However, De Zerbi turned their fortunes around and they survived after beating Everton 1-0 on the final day to finish 17th for the second consecutive season.
Spurs have been one of the biggest spenders in the transfer market this summer, as well as tying down some key players to long-term contracts. Excitement is building that De Zerbi can achieve something truly special.
Here, The Athletic looks at how Tottenham’s season might play out.
What are the expectations inside the club?
Nearly £250million (more than $330m) has been spent on six new signings and Spurs would like to add a couple more before the window closes, including Manchester City winger Savinho.
There is a lack of attacking options within the squad, especially because Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons and Dejan Kulusevski are recovering from long-term knee injuries, but Spurs should be aiming for the top six.
Savinho has been a long-term target for Spurs (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Who have they signed?
The defence and midfield have been remodelled. Spurs broke their transfer record twice in a week to sign Mateus Fernandes for £85m and Sandro Tonali for £100m from West Ham United and Newcastle United.
Last season’s captain Cristian Romero has joined Atletico Madrid and has been replaced by Jan Paul van Hecke — signed from Brighton & Hove Albion — in central defence. Andy Robertson arrived from Liverpool as a free agent to provide competition for left-back Destiny Udogie but fan favourite Djed Spence left for Inter.
Micky van de Ven agreed a new long-term contract and will battle with new signing Marcos Senesi to start as the team’s left-sided centre-back. Antonin Kinsky’s promotion to first-choice goalkeeper allowed Guglielmo Vicario to pursue a loan move to Juventus, with an option to buy. That means Martin Dubravka will be Kinsky’s understudy after leaving Burnley when his contract expired in June.
Jan Paul van Hecke has been brought in to strengthen Spurs’ defence (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
If Spurs can complete a deal for Savinho and add another quality forward, they will have arguably had the most exciting summer window of any Premier League side this year.
What is their transfer priority before the window closes?
Spurs’ pursuit of Savinho has been well-documented but they probably need another centre-forward. Richarlison, last season’s top scorer (12 goals in all competitions), has played under five different head coaches since he joined Spurs in July 2022 and has never been a perfect fit. De Zerbi admitted earlier this month that the Brazil international “sometimes wants to leave”.
Dominic Solanke is talented but only made 15 appearances last season for a total of 1,000 minutes. The England international has started in under 50 per cent of the available league games (36 out of 76) since he arrived from Bournemouth in August 2024. Spurs need a striker who is consistently available and can carry out De Zerbi’s demands.
Solanke’s injury issues have prevented him from becoming a key player for Spurs (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)
What else is new?
It is easy to forget that De Zerbi barely tinkered with the team’s tactics when he took over, as he focused on lifting their spirits following a miserable period under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.
There have been glimpses throughout pre-season of the intricate, risky build-up play that earned De Zerbi so many admirers during his two-year spell with Brighton. Kinsky is more suited to De Zerbi’s style than Vicario, so expect to see lots of nerve-inducing passes under pressure from him and Tottenham’s centre-backs inside their own penalty area.
What is the biggest lesson they learned last season?
Spurs were stung in the summer of 2025 by their failed pursuits of Bryan Mbeumo, Eberechi Eze, Antoine Semenyo and Morgan Gibbs-White. Former executive chairman Daniel Levy had a reputation for haggling over deals, sometimes allowing rival clubs to steal transfer targets from them. Spurs then gambled in January by signing only Conor Gallagher and Souza, now 20, when the team was in dire need of more help.
There has been a complete change of attitude this summer from chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham, sporting director Johan Lange and recently appointed director of football operations Carlos Raphael Moersen. Spurs beat off competition from Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain to sign Fernandes, while Manchester City were interested in Tonali. But Spurs acted quickly to tie up those deals and secure Porro, Kinsky and Van de Ven to new contracts.
Spurs are finally throwing money around in a way they rarely have before.
Spurs outpaced rivals to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham (Phil Walter/Getty Images)
Who’s been the best player in pre-season?
Lucas Bergvall has been exceptional despite the uncertainty over his future. The Athletic reported in June that the midfielder expressed a preference to move on but bids from Nottingham Forest and Newcastle were rejected. Bergvall has worked hard and has shown signs of building an exciting partnership with Tonali. Even so, it is unlikely he will start in Saturday’s league opener against Brentford because Fernandes has recovered from the minor injury that restricted his game time on the pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Luca Williams-Barnett, the 17-year-old attacking midfielder, has thrived and a tough decision needs to be made about whether he should stay with the first-team squad or head out on loan.
What are they worried about?
Mention injuries to anybody connected with Spurs and you will send a shiver down their spine. Fitness issues have played a huge part in Spurs recording back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the top flight. Three players tore their anterior cruciate ligaments last season, Kulusevski did not play a single minute and several other squad members suffered muscle problems.
Dan Lewindon joined as performance director in February and has instigated changes that will hopefully help them avoid another injury crisis but there are concerns about the limited involvement of Van de Ven, Udogie, Solanke and Mohammed Kudus in pre-season.
Dejan Kulusevski has not featured for Spurs since May 2025 (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
How’s the manager feeling?
De Zerbi should be thrilled by Tottenham’s business this summer. Landing Fernandes and Tonali was extremely impressive, while Van Hecke and Van de Ven can reignite an excellent centre-back partnership that can be traced back to the Netherlands’ youth teams. As a bonus, Andrew Crofts has been appointed as De Zerbi’s assistant coach after they previously worked together on the south coast.
Romero, Spence and Vicario could have become distractions but Spurs have waved goodbye to them before the start of the new campaign. If Spurs sign a couple of attacking players, then they will have put everything in place for De Zerbi to succeed.
What’s the percentage chance of De Zerbi seeing out the season?
This should be a straightforward answer after the Italian’s rescue act last season. The 47-year-old has a huge amount of credit with supporters and a strong relationship with senior figures.
However, De Zerbi never sticks around for too long. He fell out with his bosses at Brighton over their recruitment strategy and left Marseille after they were knocked out of the Champions League. Hopefully, all of the ingredients are there for a fruitful, long-lasting relationship, but you never know.
Spurs fans are excited about how their club can progress under De Zerbi (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)
I wouldn’t be surprised if…
Spurs gatecrashed the top four. They have struggled over the last few years to juggle domestic competitions with Europe but they do not have that dilemma this season. In theory, players will feel refreshed and coaching staff will have more time to prepare for opponents.
Over the last 12 months, Spurs have cycled through three different head coaches, sacked their long-serving executive chairman, rehired Fabio Paratici only for him to leave after four months and had multiple parties express an interest in taking over from the majority shareholders, the Lewis family.
There is never a dull day in north London. Quite frankly, anything could happen.
What is their strongest XI?
4-2-3-1: Antonin Kinsky; Pedro Porro, Jan Paul van Hecke, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie; Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali; Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Mathys Tel; Dominic Solanke.