Tottenham Are Risking Repeating a £63m Mistake With Mateus Fernandes

· GiveMeSport

Tottenham are risking repeating a £63m mistake thanks to manager Roberto De Zerbi and his stubborness.

Tottenham Hotspur are having a nightmare of a season so far, despite their huge summer transfer window following years of battling relegation.

Spurs have finished 17th in each of the last two Premier League campaigns, but despite spending almost £400m this summer to bring in ten new players for Roberto De Zerbi, the team sit rock bottom after five games, having failed to win a single game.

The team have also been eliminated from the EFL Cup after defeat to Liverpool in the third round, and there have been major question marks about the way the team is playing under the Italian manager.

De Zerbi has tried to implement a high-intensity game, but the players have looked lost under his leadership so far, with very little going their way.

Spurs didn't score a goal in any of their first four games in the Premier League, while their only two clean sheets came in 0-0 draws against Nottingham Forest and Everton in recent games - showing that they are seemingly unable to balance their plans to be strong at both ends of the pitch.

One player who has suffered more than most is Portuguese midfielder Mateus Fernandes, who joined the club in a club-record £85m deal from West Ham during the summer, following back-to-back relegations at Southampton and the Hammers in his two Premier League campaigns so far.

The player's talent is undeniable. There is a reason that top clubs like Man Utd, Arsenal, and clubs in Europe were looking closely at getting a deal done for him, before Spurs entered the race and were willing to pay more than everyone else.

But the misprofiling of the 21-year-old is a worrying sign so far, despite only being a handful of games into his Spurs career, and there are concerning signs that the club could be about to repeat a mistake with a previous record-breaking midfield signing.

Back in July 2019, Spurs beat a host of top clubs to the signing of French midfield star Tanguy Ndombele, smashing their transfer record to seal a deal with Lyon worth £63m including add-ons.

The hype level was high, his talent was there for all to see, and his technical quality looked perfect for what Spurs needed to add to their squad. But he was used in a midfield that had previously had strong runners, and the setup wasn't changed, which meant we never saw the best of him.

There were other issues too, including the player himself, but De Zerbi is now risking doing the same with Fernandes by using him in the completely wrong role.

Fernandes is an old-school midfielder who can do a bit of everything to a high level. But De Zerbi has so far used him more often than not as a number 10, which just simply doesn't suit him. At £85m, the scrutiny on the player is enhanced, and the manager simply isn't doing his player any justice.

If De Zerbi refuses to make that change, there is a risk that Spurs' results don't change, and Fernandes ends up seeing his career in north London labelled as a flop.

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