De Zerbi Is One Injury Away from Major Tottenham Problem

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Spurs did good business in the summer transfer window but one failure has been exposed already

Tottenham Hotspur spent big money in the summer transfer window, but have yet to see a return on that expenditure as yet.

Four games into the new Premier League season and Spurs are winless and without a goal to their name. They have drawn two and lost two of their opening fixtures to sit 17th in the early season standings - the position they have finished in each of the last two Premier League seasons.

There is now one game before a three-week international break and victory to head into that extended break from Premier League action will be a much-needed fillip. They take on an Aston Villa side who have had a similarly disappointing start to the campaign in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off this weekend, with Villa having scored just one goal so far in a winless start.

Roberto De Zerbi got big business done early in the summer transfer window, working from back to front on his squad, bringing in Martin Dubravka, Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi early in the backline and spending big money on Jan Paul van Hecke, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes too.

Additions to the forward line took longer, however, with Savio eventually arriving from Manchester City - after the season had begun - and Omar Marmoush and Mkyhailo Mudryk also arriving late in the window, with defender Tosin Adarabioyo also joining the Spurs revolution.

Ten new signings will naturally take time to bed in and adapt to a new way of playing under a different head coach and alongside different teammates.

They have managed just 12 shots on target in four matches so far, averaging three per game. Numbers like that rely on a very strong conversion rate to get points.

The quality is undoubtedly there in the squad De Zerbi has built, but, as mentioned, it may take some time for players to gel.

The other issue De Zerbi has is that he is probably one injury away from a major problem, despite having spent more than £300million on new signings to transform the ailing squad he inherited at the end of the 2025/26 season.

Richarlison has been left out of the 25-man Premier League squad and will play no part in any game this season , by the looks of things, with De Zerbi ruling him out of the Carabao Cup clash with Liverpool on Tuesday night, despite the fact he is eligible to play in that competition.

Youngster Will Lankshear was allowed to complete a permanent move to Middlesbrough for a fee that could rise to £20million, in a move that already looks like it could be a mistake, with the 21-year-old netting five goals in six games in the second tier. Fellow youngster Dane Scarlett was allowed was also allowed to leave permanently for Leyton Orient in League One.

That leaves De Zerbi with Marmoush and Dominic Solanke to play through the middle. Solanke is the out-and-out striker of the two, with Marmoush able to play as a secondary striker and off the wings.

Speaking just last week, De Zerbi said that he “cannot forget the last 45 days” when it comes to Richarlison's future at the club, in what was a message with cryptic undertones.

The question is, if there were problems with the Brazilian more than 45 days ago, should Spurs have not done more to try and bring another striker into the club when the transfer window was open?

Signing strikers is never easy and in Marmoush, Tottenham have got one that should bang in the goals, given time, but if he or Solanke were to get injured - and Solanke has had his fair share of problems since his £65million move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, De Zerbi will find he has a major problem on his hands, with no other recognised strikers to call upon to lead the line.

And for all their good work in the summer transfer window, that would be a heinous error of judgement.

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