The arrival of Roberto De Zerbi at Tottenham Hotspur was always going to be a high-stakes gamble, but the Italian manager has found that his new seat in North London is already getting quite warm.
Just hours after being officially confirmed as the club’s new head coach, De Zerbi has been hit with a significant setback that makes an already difficult job feel even more daunting. The crisis at the club is no longer just about the league table or the tactical philosophy on the pitch; it has quickly become a battle against a mounting injury list and a fractured relationship with the fanbase.
The latest blow comes from the international break, which is often a source of anxiety for club managers. Pape Sarr, the energetic Senegal midfielder who is seen as a vital component of any high-pressing system, was unable to feature for his country in a recent friendly against Gambia. Reports from the Senegalese media suggest that a shoulder injury kept him out of the squad. This is the last thing De Zerbi needed to hear. Sarr is the kind of mobile, technically gifted player that the Italian typically builds his midfield around. Losing him now, when the team has only seven games left to save their season, is a massive stroke of bad luck.
De Zerbi took the job on Tuesday, signing a five-year contract that notably does not include a release clause in the event of relegation. This shows a massive amount of faith from both the club and the manager, but that faith is being tested immediately. Tottenham currently sits just a single point above the Premier League relegation zone. They haven’t managed to win a single league game in the 2026 calendar year, and the momentum is heavily against them. To turn things around, a manager needs his best players available, but the treatment room at the training ground is already overflowing.
Before Sarr’s injury came to light, the club was already grappling with an incredible list of absentees. Key figures like James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, and Rodrigo Bentancur are either sidelined or struggling for fitness. The defensive unit is also thin, with Ben Davies and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario dealing with their own issues. Even the newer additions and younger talents like Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel, and Wilson Odobert have been caught up in this injury cycle. For a coach like De Zerbi, who relies on very specific patterns of play and high levels of synchronization between his players, having so many starters unavailable is a nightmare scenario.
He essentially has to rebuild the team’s identity while using a patchwork squad in the middle of a relegation dogfight.However, the challenges aren’t restricted to the medical department. De Zerbi is also facing a cold reception from a significant portion of the Tottenham supporters. While his coaching credentials at Brighton and Marseille are well-respected, his appointment has been overshadowed by controversy. Several major supporters’ groups have voiced their opposition, even going as far as to release “No to De Zerbi” statements before he was even officially hired. The root of this anger stems from comments the manager made during his time in France regarding forward Mason Greenwood.
The history of that situation is well-known and deeply sensitive. Greenwood had faced serious charges in the past, which were eventually dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service after key witnesses withdrew. When De Zerbi worked with him at Marseille, he defended the player’s character, calling him a “good guy” and expressing sadness over how he had been described in the media. These comments did not sit well with the Tottenham community. Fans have argued that a manager’s values are just as important as his tactical setup, and many feel that De Zerbi’s public stance on such a serious matter is at odds with the culture they want for their club.
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust has been very vocal about these concerns, stating that the appointment raises serious and far-reaching questions about the club’s direction. Even the club’s LGBTQI+ fan group, the Proud Lilywhites, made it clear that while they will continue to support the players on the pitch, they are fundamentally uncomfortable with the choice of manager. The club’s leadership has tried to manage this by explaining that they discussed these issues thoroughly with De Zerbi during the negotiation process, but the divide remains clear.
This creates a very strange atmosphere for a new era to begin. Usually, a new manager gets a “honeymoon period” where everyone is willing to give them a chance. De Zerbi doesn’t have that luxury. He is fighting a war on three fronts: he has to fix a broken tactical system, he has to manage a medical crisis that is stripping him of his best players, and he has to win over a fanbase that is actively protesting his arrival. The next seven games will define his legacy before it has even truly begun. If he can navigate the injury to Pape Sarr and find a way to get results with a depleted squad, he might start to turn the tide of public opinion.
But with no league wins in 2026 and the bottom three breathing down their necks, the margin for error is non-existent. De Zerbi has always wanted to be a “protagonist” in the football world, and now he is at the center of a drama that is testing his resolve in ways he likely never imagined when he put pen to paper.
