Andy Robertson Joins Tottenham: A New Era Under De Zerbi
Tottenham have finally got their man. Six months after a failed January move, Andy Robertson has walked through the door in north London on a free transfer, the first pillar in Roberto De Zerbi’s attempt to rebuild a squad that only just escaped the drop.
This is not a cosmetic signing. It is a statement about what De Zerbi thinks went wrong.
De Zerbi starts with the dressing room
When Spurs staggered over the line with a final-day home win against Everton, De Zerbi did not sugar-coat the situation. He talked of having “10, 11, 12 players good enough to stay” and the need to “change too many players.” The message was brutal, and clear: the squad needed stripping back and reloading, both in quality and in character.
Robertson is the first piece of that reset. After nine hugely successful seasons at Liverpool, the 32-year-old leaves Anfield at the end of his contract and arrives at Spurs without a fee, but with a CV that carries weight in any Premier League dressing room. He captains Scotland and is now preparing for the World Cup with his country; he also knows what it is to live under constant expectation, and to win under it.
“Andy is someone I’ve admired for a number of years and he will bring outstanding technical qualities, experience, leadership and mentality to our team,” De Zerbi said. “He is a proven winner at the highest level over a long period and is someone who can be a big player for us, both on and off the pitch.”
That last line is the key. On the pitch, Robertson gives Spurs an elite, aggressive left-back, still sharp enough to influence games at both ends. Off it, he is being asked to help fill a void that De Zerbi clearly believes dragged the club towards relegation trouble last season.
Romero expected to go, defence under reconstruction
The leadership question becomes even more pressing when you look at the defence. De Zerbi has spoken warmly about Cristian Romero, the Spurs captain, who missed the closing weeks of the season with a knee injury. Yet inside the club, there is a growing acceptance that the Argentinian will not be around much longer. None of the players, it is understood, expect Romero to still be at Spurs once the summer window closes.
If Romero goes, he will not be the only pillar under threat. Micky van de Ven, his partner at the heart of defence, has attracted serious interest, with Liverpool among those circling. Spurs are braced for offers and De Zerbi is already working on the next phase.
Two names sit at the top of his list: Marcos Senesi of Bournemouth and Jan Paul van Hecke of Brighton. Senesi is out of contract, and Spurs have a deal lined up for the left-sided centre-back. Van Hecke is a familiar face to De Zerbi from their time together at Brighton, a defender he trusts and believes can slot straight into his demands.
Robertson, Senesi, Van Hecke: that is a very different back line in profile and personality. Less volatile, more seasoned. Built to withstand pressure rather than crumble under it.
Savinho, Wilson and Palhinha in the frame
The rebuild does not stop at the back. Spurs are pushing to add more cutting edge and control further up the pitch.
Savinho, currently on the books at Manchester City, is a key attacking target, with his direct running and creativity seen as a way to inject more unpredictability into De Zerbi’s front line. There is also concrete interest in Fulham’s Harry Wilson, a player with a reliable left foot and a track record of productivity from wide and midfield areas.
In the middle, João Palhinha wants to stay. The midfielder, on loan from Bayern Munich, has made it clear he is keen to continue at Spurs. Given the team’s struggles without a true defensive anchor at times last season, tying him down permanently would tick off another major box on De Zerbi’s list.
Piece by piece, the squad that flirted with disaster is being reshaped into one that looks more like its manager: aggressive, front-foot, unafraid of the ball and of responsibility.
Turbulence off the pitch: a new power battle brewing?
While De Zerbi reshapes the team, the club’s ownership picture is shifting under his feet.
An American investment group, Eight Sports Capital, led by tech entrepreneur and former DJ Brooklyn Earick, claims to have struck a deal to buy Daniel Levy’s 24.99% stake in Spurs’ parent company, Enic Sports and Development Holdings Limited. Levy, forced off the board last September, still owns 29.88% of Enic, and has been in talks with various parties for some time about selling his shares.
On Friday, Eight Sports Capital went public, declaring they had agreed to purchase Levy’s stake. The group is owned by Triller, the American entertainment company best known for its combat sports portfolio, including bare-knuckle fighting, and fronted by Earick, whose previous hostile takeover attempt was emphatically rejected by Tottenham’s current owners last year.
“We are delighted to have signed this agreement to acquire a significant stake in Enic,” a spokesperson for Eight Sports Capital said. “We look forward to working with the club’s shareholders, management, staff, players and fans to support Tottenham Hotspur’s continued growth and success.”
The response around Spurs has been far from straightforward. Sources close to Levy declined to confirm that a sale had been agreed. Representatives of the Lewis family, who ultimately own Tottenham through Enic, said they were unaware of any completed deal. The club itself also declined to comment.
So the picture is murky, but the stakes are obvious. Any sale to Eight Sports Capital would alter the balance of power at the top of the club and could ignite a struggle for ultimate control. For a manager trying to drag Spurs away from the memory of a relegation scare, that kind of boardroom turbulence could either unlock new backing or complicate the entire project.
For now, De Zerbi controls what he can. Andy Robertson is in. More signings are lined up. The old guard is edging towards the exit. The question is whether this new-look Spurs will be built under the same regime that almost steered them into the abyss, or under a new one determined to rip up the script.
