Roberto De Zerbi has a warning for the rest of the Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur are not done spending. Even after committing £237 million to rebuilding his squad this summer, the Italian head coach says the club has completed only "60 per cent" of the project he has in mind, with one more marquee attacking signing still being chased.
The spree has already reshaped Spurs. Sandro Tonali arrived from Newcastle United for a reported £100 million, while Mateus Fernandes followed for around £85 million — the two deals breaking Tottenham's transfer record twice inside 48 hours. Defender Jan Paul van Hecke was added too, and the club used the free-agent market shrewdly to bring in Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and back-up goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka.
According to De Zerbi, the shopping list is not yet closed. Manchester City winger Savinho has been reported as one of Tottenham's leading targets to complete the attacking overhaul, with the Brazilian said to be open to leaving the Etihad Stadium in search of regular first-team football.
Asked whether the scale of the outlay weighs on him, De Zerbi waved it away. "Zero pressure," he said. "You know why? Because a taxi driver in London stopped me to congratulate me on the transfer market." He recalled the driver telling him, "You are spending a lot of money," before he asked who the man supported — the reply was Arsenal, De Zerbi's point being that even rival fans recognise what Tottenham are trying to build.
The coach's broader argument is that Spurs have no choice but to match the market. He pointed to Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal as clubs that have all spent heavily to stay at the top table, framing Tottenham's outlay as the price of genuinely competing rather than simply making up the numbers.
De Zerbi also described his personal approach to negotiations in typically blunt terms. "In the transfer market, when I want one player I become like a shark," he said. "No chance to say no!" It is a mentality that fits a summer in which Tottenham have twice smashed their own transfer ceiling in the space of two days.
The context matters. Tottenham only narrowly avoided relegation last season, and De Zerbi's remit since taking over has been as much about rebuilding confidence as personnel. A club that spent last spring fighting to stay in the Premier League is now being backed to challenge closer to the top of it — a shift De Zerbi is clearly keen to sell to a fanbase that has heard promises before.
Whether Savinho or another forward arrives before the window shuts, De Zerbi's message is consistent: this is not a one-off splurge but a project still being assembled, and by his own count, still less than two-thirds finished.
