Tottenham Hotspur have settled into the era of Roberto De Zerbi with all-round power. It hasn’t been a quiet tenure so far. Let’s say so. Then again, that’s definitely not the case with Italians, is it?
The vocal manager has only been with Spurs for a few months, but in that time he has kept Spurs in the Premier League and helped them break transfer records twice. The first was the signing of Matheus Fernandes, and the second was the arrival of Sandro Tonali in north London.
Next, they are trying to strengthen their front lines. From AC Milan’s Rafael Leao to Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Crupi, De Zerbi and others have secured several big contracts.
But why do we need them? Well, it’s safe to say that Tottenham weren’t particularly good in attack last season.
Why Spurs are interested in Leo and Crupi
Three years ago, Ange Postecoglou had just been offered the Spurs job. It all ended in tears for the Australian, but he arrived in London at a very different time.
When he first arrived, he had Harry Kane and Son Heung-min at his disposal, but that didn’t last long. Kane soon moved to Bayern Munich, where he established himself as one of the greatest goalscorers of all time.
Tottenham were always going to struggle without him, and of course they did, but no one expected them to fall by the wayside so much. His consecutive 17th place finish speaks to his disappointing results. Son Heung-min left the club last summer, as did Postecoglou. Then Thomas Frank quickly left, followed by Igor Tudor.
It was a complete whirlwind, not helped by injuries and poor performance. The defense was disastrous at times, but there were also major problems in the final third.
Last season, the club’s top scorer list in all competitions said it all. The much maligned Richarlison finished the season with 11 goals, more than anyone else at the club.
Behind him sat Micky van de Ven and João Parinha with seven each. Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke followed in sixth place.
Spurs – Premier League top scorer 25/26 | |
|---|---|
player | the goal |
Richarlison | 11 |
straw | 5 |
Romero | 4 |
van de ven | 4 |
telephone number | 4 |
Solanke | 3 |
simmons | 2 |
holy | 2 |
Searle | 2 |
gray | 2 |
It’s safe to say that you won’t be able to finish in the top half or compete for many major honors if you rely on a group of more defensive players to score the brunt of your goals.
As a result, De Zerbi’s recruitment team plans to go big on signing new forwards. Crupi, who is valued at £90 million, is said to be keen on a move and is said to be subject to a number of offers. His 13 goals in the 2025/26 season are the most ever scored by a teenager in his debut season in the Premier League.
The experienced Leo may not have played in English football before, but he has a habit of scoring regularly, having scored more than 10 goals in each of the past five seasons. Spurs held discussions with the camp regarding the transfer.
But there’s another move in the pipeline, and he looks a bit like both Leo and Crupi.
Spurs considering £60m solution
Kane and Son both left, but things haven’t changed since then. No one tried to replace the former. He is currently the best striker in the world.
Given his son’s age, they should have been able to replace him a little more easily, but they didn’t and almost paid the ultimate price. Demotion. Therefore, the addition of players like Crupi and Leo is essential. Some might say Omar Marmouche is also a must-have.
For much of this period, Spurs’ relationship with Brazilian teammate Sabinho has been in the spotlight, but given his level of performance over the past two seasons, Marmouche will undoubtedly receive more attention.
The Egyptian, who scored 28 goals in the 2024/25 season, definitely knows where to find the back of the net and will be a great attacker.
TEAMtalk report that Spurs and Newcastle have begun “formal” negotiations with City to understand whether a move is possible and what it would take to lure him away from the Etihad.
A deal could be completed for a total of £60m. That’s not a bad price, even if the 27-year-old struggled a bit last season.
Due to various reasons including injuries and AFCON, the 2025/26 season was not the best of Marmouche’s career. He started just eight league games and scored eight goals in all competitions.
It wasn’t a disastrous result, but it was a wake-up call for the forward. Like the players who came before him and tried to play second fiddle to Sergio Aguero and Erling Haaland, he too will eventually leave. Spurs would be the ideal player if he were to leave.
In many ways, he resembles both the aforementioned Crupi and Son. Like Pair, he has the ability to play in multiple positions up front.
He is a truly fluid attacker who can play as a central striker, wide striker or second striker. Like Son, he is an incredibly direct player, with a successful dribble percentage of 1.29 per 90 minutes last season, ranking him in the top 17% of players in his position in Europe’s top five leagues. By comparison, Son ran a 1.23 in his final year with the Spurs.
Like the pair, Marmouche makes smart moves and is a ruthless finisher as well as providing opportunities on a regular basis. In the 2024/25 season, when he moved to England midway through, he recorded 17 assists.
Spurs may be able to kill two birds with one stone here, as they are quick, agile and aggressive in their running, attacking from central and wide positions in front of goal. Find a cheaper replacement for Krupi and replace Son as well.
