Tottenham Hotspur have officially appointed Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach, with the Italian tactician signing a long-term deal reportedly spanning five years.
He takes over from Igor Tudor, who stepped down after only 44 days in charge following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest prior to the international break.
Tudor’s short stint, the fourth-shortest of any permanent Premier League manager, saw him fail to win any of his five league matches, earning just one point from a 1-1 draw at Liverpool. Spurs currently sit 17th in the Premier League, just a single point above the relegation zone, with seven games remaining.
According to reports, De Zerbi was a unanimous choice among Spurs’ board and ownership, who preferred a long-term appointment over a temporary fix to steer the club through the remainder of the season.
“I am delighted to be joining this fantastic football club, which is one of the biggest and most prestigious in the world,” De Zerbi said in a statement on the club’s official website.
“In all my discussions with the club’s leadership, their ambition for the future has been clear – to build a team capable of reaching great achievements, and to do that by playing a style of football that excites and inspires our supporters. I am here because I believe in that ambition and have signed a long-term contract to give everything to deliver it. Our short-term priority is to climb the Premier League table, which will be the complete focus until the final whistle of the last game of the season. I’m looking forward to getting out on the training pitch and working with these players to achieve that.”
Spurs confirmed the appointment in a statement, adding that it is subject to work permit. Sporting director Johan Lange said, “Roberto was our number one target for the summer, and we are very pleased to be able to bring him in now. He is one of the most creative and forward-thinking coaches in world football and brings with him a wealth of experience at the highest level, including in the Premier League.”
De Zerbi has been out of management since leaving Marseille in February following a 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. During his time with the French side, he managed 69 matches in all competitions, winning 39, drawing 10, and losing 20, a 56.5 per cent win rate.
He also has Premier League experience from his spell with Brighton, which lasted just under two seasons, finishing with a 37.1 per cent win rate across 70 matches.
De Zerbi’s first game at the helm will be against Sunderland on April 12. Spurs are still searching for their first Premier League victory of 2026, with a record of five draws and eight losses. Their current run without a league win matches their joint-second-longest in history, equaling the 13-game streak of November 1912.
With 30 points from 31 matches, this campaign already matches Spurs’ joint-lowest return after 31 games, alongside the 1914-15 season under the three-points-per-win system.
