Credit: Sky Sports/Imago

Jacob Raw

Mon 25 May 2026 15:40, UK

Tim Sherwood fully believes that Roberto De Zerbi is the man to lead Tottenham Hotspur forward from what he’s seen.

Spurs fans will feel like that future is bright under De Zerbi, as the Lilywhites have gone from strength to strength since the loss to Sunderland, before securing their Premier League status.

However, the Spurs finished the campaign in 17th place for a consecutive year, and just looking at the last 16 years alone, the lowest they finished before the last two seasons was 8th.

Spurs did break their 16-year wait for a trophy last term with the Europa League success, which somewhat let the 17th-place finish slide for everyone but Ange Postecoglou.

However, Tottenham have shown encouraging signs under De Zerbi since his arrival, and Sherwood is excited to see what the future holds under the Italian, and with good reason.

Tim Sherwood says Tottenham simply cannot finish 17th again

Tottenham are ninth for form in the Premier League since appointing De Zerbi, winning 11 points from seven games, in what has been a great turnaround.

The former Brighton boss is said to have instilled calmness, trust, and belief into the Spurs dressing room, and that has boiled over onto the pitch, in a good way.

De Zerbi now has a 43 per cent win ratio with a points per game record of 1.6, the highest since Postecoglou’s reign during the 2023-24 campaign.

While speaking on Sky Sports, ex-Tottenham manager Sherwood was bang on the money about why the Lilywhites should be excited to have the recently resigned Marseille boss at the helm, despite clear background issues.

Sherwood said: “They need to have an inquest into the injuries and why they’ve taken so long to come back, but are they going to have a better season?

“We can’t finish 17th again; there are serious problems if that happens again. With this manager, I’m convinced it will be a positive season for Tottenham next year.”

Sherwood is right to suggest that an injury inquest is needed, as even James Maddison has come out to essentially say that the medical team aren’t good enough.

However, De Zerbi’s current points per game ratio would see Spurs finish either 5th or 6th in the Premier League throughout a full season, but next campaign will be the true litmus test.

These three Tottenham players are De Zerbi’s core

De Zerbi is going to oversee what should be a major clearout this summer, with multiple players set to depart N17.

Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario are both nailed on to be the first two to leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while uncertainty remains over several other players.

However, Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, and Marco Senesi can be the three who get Spurs back to their best.

Doubt remains over Micky van de Ven, though his recent comments have given some fans hope.

It’ll be a long summer, but those three are nailed on to be here, and the trio can be De Zerbi’s core to build from.