Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Mon 25 May 2026 10:10, UK

Roberto De Zerbi is set to breathe a big sigh of relief this week, as the 2025-26 season comes to a close at Tottenham.

Crucially, Tottenham Hotspur have retained their Premier League status, with De Zerbi fulfilling the duties handed to him last month.

The Italian arrived with the instant goal of keeping Spurs in the division, before he lays the groundwork for progress over the summer.

Since his appointment, he has had to work with not just a downtrodden squad, but a threadbare one.

And after guiding that group to safety, he can now sit back and ponder, as Tottenham get to work on ensuring that this season remains a memory of the past.

Planning starts now for Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham

Since joining the club, De Zerbi has had to work with a squad riddled with injuries, and these issues worsened just weeks into his tenure, with Xavi Simons forced off in the 1-0 win against Wolves.

Of course, he knew what he was walking into, but it did not make the situation any less frustrating.

Speaking at his press conference after Sunday’s win against Everton, the Italian was determined to outline that the planning for next season starts now.

“From tonight, we need to build the new team. We don’t need to change too many players,” he said.

“We have 10/11/12 players who are good enough to stay as players and people.

“Now we need to complete the squad with the first level of players because I suffered too much, but so did the players, the board and the fans, and we can’t suffer like this as Tottenham Hotspur.”

Injury woes have been a common theme at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the best part of 18 months, and while signings will be imperative, De Zerbi will be keen to get the chance to fully assess those set to return in the coming months, finally forming an operational squad after the recent mishaps.

How much of an impact have injuries had on Tottenham?

While many performances this season cannot be excused by injuries, it must be acknowledged that Tottenham have been unable to build any sort of consistency with their squad for over a year now.

This season, the issues from the first half were exacerbated, with both Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert ruled out in the wide positions.

The failure to address this in January sees the hierarchy take some of the blame, with Randal Kolo Muani and Mathys Tel operating on the flanks under De Zerbi, with both simply not being wingers.

With Kudus in mind, the Ghanaian completed 52 dribbles in the league, with Kolo Muani and Tel managing 66 between them, an even more astonishing figure when you consider the pair have made 33 starts combined, compared to Kudus’ 19.

Odobert also fits into the same bracket as Kudus, with 24 successful dribbles at a 58.5 per cent success rate across just 980 minutes and 10 league starts.

Dejan Kulusevski has also been out for an extended period, with the chances of the Swede getting back to his best in doubt.

James Maddison has been unable to rack up significant minutes as a result of his late return, while each of Tottenham’s midfielders have suffered throughout the campaign.

The simple fact of the matter is that Spurs have been unable to build any form of consistency for too long, resulting in teams being thrown together based on what is available to the manager.

Out of those suffering this term, you can almost build a full XI.

De Zerbi has players at his disposal, and the crucial task now is to mould these in with his plans, assessing who is ready, and what areas need to be addressed ahead of the coming season – a year in which it must be ensured that the 2025-26 predicament never comes to fruition again.