FRIDAY FEATURE: Tottenham spent big this summer after two seasons of Premier League failure and huge injuries – so, what are their realistic expectations this campaign?

At the beginning of each Premier League season, most clubs will have a fairly clear idea of what a successful season looks like.

For example, this season, reigning champions Arsenal will undoubtedly be looking to win the Premier League again, the sides who got into Europe last season will be looking to repeat that once more and the teams that earned promotion from the Championship last season will want to stay in the Premier League.

However, some clubs will have much more difficulty defining their prospective success – with Tottenham Hotspur one such team.

There’s been plenty of uncertainty around the north London outfit over the last few years and after a summer of huge change many have asked themselves the question – what is a realistic expectation for Tottenham Hotspur this season?

Summer overhaul

The story of Tottenham Hotspur’s last 12 months has been the kind of rollercoaster that the world’s greatest theme parks would be proud of. Since the end of the 2024-25 Premier League season, Tottenham have sacked a manager who won them their first trophy in almost 20 years in Ange Postecoglou, sacked two further managers (Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor), and replaced them with a man in Roberto De Zerbi who – at the time of his hiring – was being paid more than every manager in the Premier League, except the one who went on to win it in Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta. Since then, they’ve narrowly avoided what would have been a desperately embarrassing relegation and backed the new manager with a level of spending that is unprecedented in the club’s history.

Spurs have spent big on Sandro Tonali, Matheus Fernandes, Savio, Jean Paul van Hecke, and Tosin Adarabioyo whilst also bringing in Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Martin Dubravka on free transfers, in addition to the loan signings of Omar Marmoush and Mykhailo Mudryk.

It represents a level of backing that Tottenham have rarely, if ever, given their managers in the transfer window. Comparing this with the way they have backed previous managers, the contrast is stark. Mauricio Pochettino during his entire reign as Spurs manager, from July 1, 2014 – November 19, 2019, spent £377.69million on reinforcements. In just one window, De Zerbi has received over 83 per cent of the backing afforded to Tottenham’s best manager of the modern era by comparison.

Spurs have also backed their manager with outgoings this summer to shape the squad to his vision. Luka Vuskovic, Cristian Romero and Djed Spence have all left for significant fees, while the permanent departures of Will Lankshear, Alejo Veliz, Ashley Phillips, Manor Solomon and Alfie Devine have provided additional funds and freed up space in the squad for the many incomings.

Further to that, Radu Dragusin and Yang Min-hyeok left on loan early in the window, followed out on loan by Pape Matar Sarr, Kevin Danso, Guglielmo Vicario, Souza, Kota Takai and Mikey Moore later in the window. Richarlison also appears to be on the verge of a permanent exit after being left out of the confirmed 2026-27 Premier League squad.

De Zerbi has shown a ruthlessness in his management of this squad over the summer, and he’s been given the licence to do that by the Spurs board.

What has gone so wrong in the last two seasons?

Firstly, keeping goals out has been a huge issue. Their defensive stats in the last two seasons have been damning. Spurs conceded the most goals in the league of all the teams who avoided the drop, they also ranked third-worst in the league for expected goals against, and suffered 11 individual errors leading to goals.

The stats only tell part of the story. Through a combination of a high defensive line, especially under Postecoglou, a severe vulnerability in transitions, and a high rate of individual errors, Tottenham have consistently been too easy to score against in the last two seasons.

If keeping goals out has been a huge problem area for Spurs, the same can be said for putting them in the net at the other end of the pitch. Last season in particular, they suffered a 25 per cent decrease in goals scored, a 20 per cent decrease in expected goals, and a 21 per cent decrease in shots on target compared to the previous season under Postecoglou.

Huge injury problems

As much as Tottenham’s troubles in the last two seasons can be attributed to their own failings, the seriousness of Tottenham’s injury crises over the last two seasons also has to be taken into account.

Spurs had the highest number of individual players suffer injuries among Premier League sides across the 2025-26 season, in addition to losing more days and games to injury than any other team in the league in the last two seasons combined.

Dejan Kulusevski missed the entirety of last season, while James Maddison only returned for the very end of it. Meanwhile, Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus, Dominic Solanke, and Romero, among others, suffered injuries which kept them out for long periods of last season.

As weak as Spurs have proved themselves to be at times, it’s undeniable that they’d have been in a better position if they’d have had all these players fit more often. Creativity is bound to suffer when you’re missing your four best creative players at the same time.

What will the club’s expectations be?

Tottenham’s hierarchy will be keen for the club to return to European competition as soon as possible. Partially to allay some of the reputational damage they’ve incurred in the last couple of years, but more so to balance out the heavy spending this summer has brought.

Fans will also want to see Spurs contending at the opposite end of the table. A third-consecutive relegation battle, whether they survived it or not, would bring serious scrutiny upon a board that has taken a club from a Champions League final in 2019 to the brink of Championship in 2026.

De Zerbi will also have a point to prove. Doubters will point to his track record of short-term stints at clubs, and his lack of silverware in major leagues so far in his career, but the Italian will be determined to be the one to bring this club back from the doldrums and deliver it back to where Spurs believe they belong.

Finally, what is realistic?

Getting back into European contention will be an extremely difficult task this season though, as the competition for those places is potentially tighter than it’s ever been. We’ll see regulars in the European places being in contention again: the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool are all bound to be in the upper echelons of the league again this season. After disappointing league finishes last season, Chelsea and Newcastle will be similarly determined to make it back into the top six. Not forgetting the perennial overachievers of Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth and last year’s surprise package Sunderland may well be fighting for European football again this season.

Realistically, a top-10 finish would represent a colossal improvement on the performances of the last two seasons. Assuming they’ll finish anywhere above that, or underestimating any side along the way, is sure to land Spurs in huge trouble again.

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