Roberto de Zerbi: Italian agrees to become Tottenham boss
Tottenham The Italian will appoint Roberto de Zerbi as the new head coach after signing a five-year contract with the club.
The former Brighton boss has seven games to save the club from relegation to the Championship.
There is no relegation clause that would allow him to leave the team if they were relegated.
It means that in two months’ time Spurs’ third boss of the season will either secure his place as a hero at the club or be forever linked with one of the worst campaigns in their history.
De Zerbi was overwhelmingly the first choice to become the club’s new permanent head coach.
According to well-placed sources, all parties have now reached an agreement; This means he will become the club’s new manager on a permanent basis, with an announcement to be made in due course.
BBC Sport reported on Sunday that De Zerbi is the man Spurs are looking to replace Igor Tudor, who officially left the club by mutual consent at the weekend.
Talks have been ongoing since Sunday and have been successful.
De Zerbi was always open to taking the Spurs position but is understood to have been initially reluctant to accept the role before the end of the season.
But the manager, who left Marseille earlier this year, was persuaded to take the job immediately.
Tottenham sit 17th in the Premier League, just one point outside the relegation zone, and are winless in the league in 2026.
If they fail to overcome the relegation, it will be one of the league’s most notable relegations.
De Zerbi, who guided Brighton to European qualification during his time in the Premier League between 2022 and 2024, took Marseille to second place in Ligue 1 last season before leaving in February.
The Italian’s first game as Tottenham manager will be against Sunderland on April 12, followed by a home game against his former club Brighton six days later. Their remaining matches will be home matches against Leeds and Everton, and trips to Wolves, Aston Villa and Chelsea.
Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live: “He will do what he wants, he is a complete character.”
“He’s a very outspoken manager. He’s a manager similar to Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte that Tottenham have had in the past.”
