Soccer
Roberto De Zerbi reaches agreement in principle to become Tottenham head coach
Tottenham have reached an agreement in principle with Roberto De Zerbi to become their permanent head coach, the Press Association understands.
Spurs parted company with Igor Tudor on Sunday afternoon after five defeats in seven matches during a shambolic 44-day reign.
Tudor was hired as interim boss after the dismissal of Thomas Frank on February 11 but Tottenham’s precarious position in the Premier League has forced the club to turn to a permanent head coach with seven games left, and De Zerbi has agreed to take over after days of negotiations with only small final details to be resolved, PA understands.
The appointment of De Zerbi will not be universally popular among the Spurs fanbase after three supporter groups on Friday urged the north London club to not appoint De Zerbi due to his past association with Mason Greenwood at Marseille.
Proud Lilywhites, Women of the Lane and Spurs Reach all expressed their concerns with ‘No to De Zerbi’ statements.
Former Manchester United forward Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling and coercive behaviour and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online.
The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in February 2023 owing to “a combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light”, which meant there was “no realistic prospect of conviction”. Greenwood has since resumed his career and joined Marseille in 2024.
In November, De Zerbi described Greenwood as a “good guy” who had paid a “heavy price” and added: “It saddens me what happened in his life, because I know a totally different person than the one who was described.”
Even without a potentially split fanbase, De Zerbi faces an enormous job at Tottenham given they are one point above the bottom three after a 13-match winless run in the Premier League.
A 3-0 home loss to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest earlier this month piled more pressure on an injury-hit Spurs side, who have won only two of their last 22 league fixtures to become embroiled in a shock battle to stay in the top flight.
Tottenham’s gamble to turn to former Brighton boss De Zerbi has for the time being ruled out an emotional return of old manager Mauricio Pochettino, but key figures at the club will hope it is a price worth paying if it secures Premier League status come the final day of the season on May 24.
