Tottenham's Ambitious Summer Spending Explained by De Zerbi

Roberto De Zerbi insists Tottenham’s eye‑watering summer outlay is not about him. It is about the people signing the cheques.

Spurs have smashed through the £300million barrier in an aggressive rebuild, capped this week by the arrivals of Manchester City pair Omar Marmoush and Savio. They join a wave of new faces that includes Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and Jan Paul van Hecke, all persuaded to buy into a project that, only a few months ago, was staring nervously at the drop.

De Zerbi has been widely credited as the magnet for that calibre of talent. His football, his reputation, his personality. Yet when the question came – how much of this spree is down to him? – the Italian swerved the praise and pointed upstairs.

“No, (what) makes the difference (is the) behaviour and ambition of the owner,” he said, stressing where the real power lies.

“These players are not here for me or because I need them. I am an employee of the club, I’m not the owner. But the ambition of the owner made the difference, for sure, because the owner pushed to close (deals for) the players.

“The owners’ ambition is so big, right through transfers, for every one of us, the players, the board, the staff, with myself. The motivation to do better.”

That ambition has reshaped the squad at speed. Eight signings already through the door, competition sharpened across the pitch, and still the club are not ready to put the chequebook away.

The recruitment drive rolled on behind the scenes on Thursday night. De Zerbi sat down for dinner with members of the Lewis Family, CEO Vinai Venkatesham, sporting director Johan Lange and his translator Enrico Venturelli. On the menu: the final week of the window.

“I think we can do one player more and in one specific position,” De Zerbi said.

They talked targets, roles, priorities. No tension, no politics, according to the head coach – just alignment.

“We spoke about this, but we have all of us on the same page and there is a very good connection.”

Spurs are understood to be weighing up one last move, likely for another winger or a backup right-back to push Pedro Porro. One more piece, one more push, from owners who have already shown how far they are prepared to go to match their manager’s ambition.