Does Roberto De Zerbi have the quality in attack to enjoy a successful season at Tottenham Hotspur? The answer, as things stand, might well be no.
The Lilywhites have seen so many world-class talents delight in north London in modern times, be it Harry Kane, Heung-min Son, Gareth Bale or Rafael van der Vaart, yet there is somewhat of a vacuum in that sense right now.
Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert remained sidelined. Mohammed Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski haven’t featured in pre-season as yet. Dominic Solanke has been peripheral this summer too.
There’s been so much to like about Tottenham’s activity so far, but the next two weeks could well define their season. Thankfully, the Lilywhites have previous for leaving it late in the window.
Remembering Spurs’ best deadline day signings
Deadline day isn’t here as yet, but it’s fast approaching, and with the new season now just a week away, it is looking ever more likely that Spurs are set to leave it late to strengthen the forward line.
As noted above, that approach has been a fruitful one in the past for the north London side, it must be said, memorably snapping up long-serving skipper, Hugo Lloris, from Lyon on deadline day in August 2012.
It was a similar story for the beloved striker, Robbie Keane, the Irishman moving to White Hart Lane exactly a decade earlier, before going on to score 11 league goals or more in each of the next six seasons.
Even cult hero, Lucas Moura, arrived late in the day in January 2018, the Brazilian joining from Paris Saint-Germain on a £25m deal, while famously playing his part in dragging the club to the Champions League final a year later, following that night in Amsterdam.
Speaking of Ajax, academy graduate Van der Vaart made his way to north London on deadline day in 2010, the deal just about getting over the line despite technical issues.
The ex-Real Madrid man had fallen from favour at the Bernabeu, yet looked reborn in his two-season stay at Tottenham, scoring and assisting 46 goals in 78 games in all competitions.
It was a brief yet impactful spell for the Dutchman, with his quality shining through in Lilywhite. Could De Zerbi be set to oversee something similar this summer?
How Spurs could replicate Van der Vaart success
Mateus Fernandes aside, every signing made so far this summer has been 26 or above, with it clear that De Zerbi wants experienced and ready-made additions who can instantly hit the ground running.
It was that profile of player that he was unable to get in the door back at Brighton and Hove Albion, with the club’s rigid transfer policy having been a key reason behind his decision to leave the Seagulls in 2024.
Now, at N17, the former Marseille boss appears to be in real control of transfer proceedings, with that seemingly evident in the case of Tottenham’s pursuit of Cody Gakpo.
As per reports relayed by Sport Witness, De Zerbi has spoken to Gakpo already in order to convince him to make the move, with the Liverpool man now said to be ‘definitely open’ to heading to the capital.
The suggestion is that Tottenham have already lodged an initial, formal €60m (£51m) bid in order to try and strike an agreement with the Merseyside outfit, with things ‘now in motion’ regarding the potential transfer.
This might not be the ‘wow’ signing that some supporters are craving, but Gakpo does have his merits, even while having split opinion at Anfield.
At 27, he is the same age that his compatriot, Van der Vaart, was when he made the move back in 2010, although there is more to that similarity than mere age and nationality.
Indeed, in Van der Vaart’s case, he hadn’t ever really been a key figure back at Madrid, scoring just 12 goals in 73 games for Los Blancos, before he was turfed out by new boss Jose Mourinho.
He had been at Hamburg prior to that, albeit while first making his name at Ajax, scoring 63 goals in 156 games for the Eredivisie giants after emerging from the youth ranks.
Van der Vaart Career Record | ||
|---|---|---|
Team | Games | Goals |
Hamburg | 199 | 66 |
Ajax | 156 | 63 |
Spurs | 77 | 28 |
Real Madrid | 73 | 12 |
Midtjylland | 20 | 2 |
Real Betis | 9 | 0 |
Esbjerg | 4 | 0 |
Total | 538 | 172 |
Netherlands | 109 | 25 |
As for Gakpo, he too developed into a real star in Eindhoven after coming through PSV’s academy set-up, boasting a similar record in Holland of 55 goals in 159 games.
That sealed his move to Liverpool in January 2023, and despite playing his part in the 2024/25 title triumph, he’s never really achieved a leading role, recording a solid return of 50 goals in 180 games to date.
Maybe he needs a fresh start to re-find the form he showcased at PSV, having memorably reached double figures for both goals and assists in Holland in 2021/22. He’s never really come close to that at Anfield.
With Van der Vaart, he went from a peripheral figure at Madrid to relishing his talismanic status at Tottenham, proving such an asset be it as a number ten, second striker or from the flanks.
The similarly versatile Gakpo will be hoping to repeat the success of his compatriot, and at 27, he’s perhaps just about to enter his peak under De Zerbi’s watch.
