Times: Spurs reach full agreement with De Zerbi
Get right with God. The De Zerbi era begins.
ROME, ITALY - JULY 11: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Head coach Roberto De Zerbi of US Sassuolo yells during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and US Sassuolo at Stadio Olimpico on July 11, 2020 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) | Getty Images Despite a vigorous fan backlash against the very idea, according to the Times of London’s Tom Allnutt, Tottenham Hotspur has reached a full agreement with former Brighton and Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi to become Spurs’ next permanent manager. As previously reported, De Zerbi will join the club immediately on a five year (and change) deal.
He will join the club the middle of next week when players are due to begin returning from international duty, giving him a week and a half to train with his team before Spurs travel to Sunderland to play on April 10. This comes after Spurs announced on Sunday that Igor Tudor had mutually agreed to leave the club after a disastrous 43 day tenure where he picked up only one point out of seven matches in charge. There is a huge bonus built into his contract should De Zerbi manage to save Tottenham from relegation in what’s left of the Premier League season.
Allnutt says that Spurs were “reluctant” to include a break clause in the contract, and it’s not clear, yet, if one exists in the final agreement or not. The announcement, expected to come in the next day, comes despite a pronounced fan backlash over De Zerbi’s appointment, driven by his tempestuous and combative reputation and penchant for falling out with players and club hierarchies, and also his public defense of Mason Greenwood, who was credibly accused of rape and sexual assault, and whom Marseille controversially signed in 2024. The club was surely aware of the fan response to this possibility yesterday and notably CEO Vinai Venkatesham and Sporting Director Johan Lange have ignored it.
You do not have to like this appointment. I certainly don’t. And each individual Tottenham fan will need to make a decision over what they want to do with their Spurs fandom in the wake of this appointment.