Back-to-back 17th-place finishes. Four head coaches in 18 months. A squad that went from Champions League regulars to surviving on the final day of the season. This is where Tottenham Hotspur find themselves in the summer of 2026, and the rebuild under Roberto De Zerbi is starting with the only currency the club can currently afford: free transfers.
Marcos Senesi is close to arriving from Bournemouth on a free. Andy Robertson, the Scotland captain leaving Liverpool after seven trophy-laden years, is the next target. Mathys Tel wants to stay. Dejan Kulusevski might not make the World Cup. The pieces are moving, slowly, carefully, and with the kind of restraint that two seasons of near-disaster demand.
This is not a glamorous summer window. There are no £80m signings or Champions League finalists walking through the door at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But it might be the most important window the club has had in years. Get it right and the trajectory changes. Get it wrong and next season's relegation battle will not end with survival. Follow every move and all the live scores at iScore.ai.
Senesi: Free Transfer Almost Done
Marcos Senesi is edging closer to a move to Tottenham after positive talks this week. The 29-year-old Argentine centre-back is available on a free transfer after four seasons at Bournemouth, where he made 128 appearances, scored six goals and provided 10 assists.
Senesi had offers from LaLiga and Serie A. The chance to stay in the Premier League and move to London was something he had been keen on for some time, according to Sky Sports News. Spurs look to have won the race.
On paper, it is a smart piece of business. Senesi is a left-footed centre-back, comfortable in possession, experienced in English football and available for nothing. He brings composure to a back line that has been anything but composed for two years. He can play in a back four or a back three, which suits De Zerbi's flexibility.
The risk is age and durability. Senesi turns 30 in 2026 and has had his own injury issues at Bournemouth, missing significant chunks of the 2024-25 campaign. Signing a 29-year-old on a free is not the same as investing in a long-term asset. But Spurs do not have the luxury of thinking long-term right now. They need players who can improve the first team immediately, and Senesi does that.
Robertson to Spurs: Deal Expected Before World Cup
Andy Robertson departing Liverpool is one of the biggest stories of the summer. Seven years, 330 appearances, the Champions League, the Premier League, every domestic trophy. He leaves as a club legend and arrives on the market as the most accomplished left-back available for free.
Tottenham tried to sign him in January. The move fell through because Robertson stayed at Anfield to see out the season. Now he is available and Spurs are back in, with genuine optimism that a deal will be completed before Robertson captains Scotland at the World Cup.
Juventus have shown late interest but Robertson's preference is to stay in the Premier League. The deal makes sense for everyone. Robertson gets a starting role at a Premier League club in a World Cup year. Spurs get a proven winner with leadership qualities who costs nothing in transfer fees. His wages will be significant but the overall package represents excellent value for a player of his caliber.
For Tottenham, the appeal goes beyond the pitch. Robertson brings a winning mentality that has been conspicuously absent from a squad that has known nothing but struggle for two years. He has played in pressure matches, big occasions, title races. Spurs have players who have experienced only relegation battles. The cultural shift matters.
Mathys Tel Wants to Stay
Mathys Tel's 18 months at Tottenham have been a test of patience. Four different head coaches. Two 17th-place finishes. Dropped from the Champions League squad by Thomas Frank, brought back in December to replace Dominic Solanke, removed again in January when the striker returned to fitness. The uncertainty was relentless.
And yet, Tel wants to stay. Sky Sports News understands the 21-year-old French forward's priority is a stable environment where he feels the trust and confidence of the club. He has found that under De Zerbi, playing his best football since the Italian took charge.
The turning point came at Wolves in late April. Tel came off the bench and chased down a lost cause to win the corner that led to Joao Palhinha's goal and Spurs' first league win of 2026. It was the kind of effort that earns a manager's trust and Tel has not looked back since.
Keeping Tel would be a statement of intent from Spurs. He is 21, talented, versatile and wants to be there. The club should not need to think twice. The challenge is convincing him that the project is genuine and that next season will not be another relegation scrap.
Kulusevski's World Cup Dream in Doubt
Dejan Kulusevski's season has ended in the worst possible way. Sweden's team doctor has confirmed that the midfielder's injury has not healed sufficiently for him to be considered for the World Cup squad. For a player who has been one of Tottenham's few consistent performers across two miserable seasons, missing the biggest tournament in football is a devastating blow.
The specifics of the injury have been closely guarded. Kulusevski had been managing the problem for weeks before the end of the season, playing through pain in several matches as Spurs fought for survival. The decision to delay treatment in order to help the club stay up may have cost him his World Cup place.
For Tottenham, the priority now is getting Kulusevski fully fit for the start of next season. His creativity and work rate will be central to whatever De Zerbi plans tactically. A pre-season without him would set the rebuild back significantly.
De Zerbi's Rebuild: What Spurs Actually Need
Roberto De Zerbi has spoken about his plans for next season. The language has been measured, realistic, focused on incremental improvement rather than dramatic transformation. That tone reflects the reality of the situation.
Spurs need a centre-back who can organize and lead. Senesi addresses that. They need a left-back with Premier League experience and winning habits. Robertson addresses that. They need stability at head coach, which De Zerbi provides. They need their best players fit and committed, which means getting Kulusevski healthy and keeping Tel happy.
What they also need, and what the current transfer strategy does not obviously address, is goals. Tottenham scored 34 Premier League goals in 2025-26. That is fewer than a goal per game across 38 matches. No team can survive in this league with that kind of return. Solanke has been inconsistent. Tel is not a natural finisher. Richarlison has been hampered by injuries. The attacking recruitment needs to be more ambitious than the defensive side.
De Zerbi's system typically creates chances through possession and movement rather than individual brilliance. Getting the right profiles in attack, players who can finish the moves his system generates, will determine whether the free-transfer approach in defense is enough or just half a solution.
Two Seasons of Chaos: How Spurs Got Here
The decline has been staggering. In 2022-23, Tottenham finished eighth and reached the Champions League. Two seasons later they finished 17th twice, surviving on the final day each time. The trajectory has been a straight line downward.
The managerial churn tells the story. Ange Postecoglou started the 2024-25 season and was sacked before Christmas. Thomas Frank came in mid-season, stabilized results slightly, then left at the end of the campaign. Another appointment followed, then De Zerbi arrived in late 2025. Four head coaches in 18 months is a recipe for tactical incoherence, confused player roles and a dressing room that stops believing in any single direction.
Recruitment has been equally scattered. Big-money signings that did not fit the system. Squad players on high wages who could not be moved on. A failure to address obvious weaknesses in defense and midfield. The net result was a team good enough to compete with anyone on their day but terrible enough to lose to anyone on their off day.
De Zerbi represents the first attempt at genuine stability. Giving him a proper transfer window, backing him with targeted additions and protecting him from the short-term panic that has defined the last two years is the minimum requirement. Anything less and the cycle continues.
The Financial Reality of Rebuilding on a Budget
Two seasons outside European competition have hurt Tottenham's revenue significantly. Prize money from the Champions League, Europa League or even the Conference League is not coming in. Matchday income from midweek European nights is gone. Commercial sponsors pay less for a club that finished 17th than one challenging for the top four.
This financial constraint explains the reliance on free transfers. Senesi and Robertson cost nothing in fees, though their wages will be substantial. The club does not have the budget for marquee signings without selling existing assets first. That means decisions on players like Richarlison, Solanke and others who have not delivered value for money.
The new stadium was supposed to fund a sustained challenge at the top of the table. Instead, the club is using it to service debt while the team fights relegation. The gap between the infrastructure and the on-pitch product has never been wider. Closing that gap starts this summer.
What Tottenham's Squad Could Look Like Next Season
Based on current transfer activity and reported targets, here is an early projection of Tottenham's 2026-27 squad.
Goalkeeper: Guglielmo Vicario, Brandon Austin
Centre-back: Cristian Romero, Marcos Senesi (new), Micky van de Ven, Radu Dragusin, Alfie Dorrington
Full-back: Andy Robertson (target), Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, Destiny Udogie
Midfield: Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall
Attack: Mathys Tel, Dejan Kulusevski (injury recovery), Dominic Solanke, Richarlison, new attacking signing expected
The spine of Senesi, Robertson, Bissouma and Maddison with Tel and Kulusevski supporting a striker is a mid-table team on paper. The gap between mid-table and the European places is smaller than the gap between mid-table and 17th. Progress this season should be measured in league position first and style second.
De Zerbi has never been a manager content with survival. His Brighton team played some of the most attractive football in the Premier League. His task at Spurs is to bring that same identity while being realistic about where the squad currently stands. It is a fine line between ambition and delusion and Tottenham have crossed it too many times in the wrong direction recently.
The signings of Senesi and Robertson would be solid, sensible moves. They address immediate needs without overspending. But the attack still needs investment and the club cannot afford to go into another season scoring less than a goal per game. The next six weeks will show whether Tottenham have learned from two years of mistakes or are doomed to repeat them.
Track every Tottenham signing and all Premier League live scores this summer at iScore.ai. The transfer window opens June 15 and Spurs have no time to waste.