Credit: Bein Sport/Imago

Cameron Smith

Tue 14 April 2026 17:00, UK

Tottenham Hotspur fell to defeat once again on Sunday, with Sunderland beating Roberto De Zerbi’s side 1-0 at the Stadium of Light in the Italian’s first game in charge.

The Italian joined the club over the international break, three months after his ties with French outfit Marseille were severed.

Handed the task of steering Spurs to safety, De Zerbi has inherited a downtrodden squad riddled with injuries after the previous dismal spells of Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor this season.

As has been the case on too many occasions for the Lilywhites this term, Sunday’s match ended in defeat on Wearside, giving the 46-year-old a lot to think about.

And heading into Saturday’s match against Brighton, presenter Richard Keys has given his thoughts on the decision to appoint De Zerbi.

Richard Keys baffled by Tottenham decision to appoint Roberto De Zerbi

Making the move to Brighton in 2022, De Zerbi instantly succeeded upon his arrival in England.

Playing some of the best football in the division, the Seagulls would fly into Europe under his guidance, while his managerial stocks soared.

Following his departure in 2024, the combustible Italian would join Ligue 1 giants Marseille, who he would guide to a second place finish last term – albeit 19 points behind Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite his record, Keys remains unconvinced.

Returning to his blog for the first time since the international break, he said: “Can someone please explain to me what De Zerbi has done in his coaching career to land the Spurs job?

“I wasn’t surprised to see him get it, but I just don’t know how he qualifies for it. I guess one reason would be Spurs are running out of options. They’re also running out of time. How? How on earth has it come to this?”

While the question is more than correct as to how on earth it has come to this, Spurs fans will be eager to see De Zerbi prove himself at the club.

De Zerbi is more than qualified for Tottenham job

Keys’ comments can be somewhat excused, given the fact that football often doesn’t really exist nor matter outside of the Premier League bubble for some.

Working with Sassuolo from 2018-2021, the Italian produced some of the best football seen during the period in Serie A, dragging a provincial club all the way to a European fight, while De Zerbi’s guidance saw both Manuel Locatelli and Domenico Berardi star for Italy as the Azzurri won the rescheduled European Championships in 2021.

Then alongside this, his Brighton side were one of the best that the Premier League had to offer, and a move after finishing sixth in the division would be no different to any other instance where a manager has been poached from a mid-table side.

It is almost as if some forget just who Mauricio Pochettino joined Tottenham from.

Naturally, though, Tottenham are the club in the firing line from fans and pundits alike across the country at the moment, so De Zerbi was always going to come under fire at some point, even for an apparent lack of qualifications.

He has six matches to rescue Spurs, with former club Brighton coming up first.

And while he may have to stray away from his principles as he looks to do that, the Italian will absolutely deserve the keys to the summer rebuild if he keeps the Lilywhites in the division.