Alan Shearer has fired a warning at Roberto De Zerbi ahead of Tottenham’s clash against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Tottenham’s poor start to the season has been a huge talking point after a transfer window where the club undertook a rebuild the likes of which the Premier League has never seen.
10 new players arrived through the door at Spurs, while an even higher number of players were offloaded, as De Zerbi shaped the squad to his liking.
However, having done so, the Italian has not been able to deliver results on the pitch yet, and concerningly, Tottenham are still waiting for their first Premier League goal of the season.
Alan Shearer warns Roberto De Zerbi that Tottenham will want a return on investment
Shearer believes that Spurs have ended up overpaying for many of their summer signings, and De Zerbi is responsible for that, having insisted on the club landing his top targets.
The Newcastle legend warned the Italian that the Spurs owners will expect a return on their big investment very soon.
Shearer told Betfair (as relayed by Football.London): “Roberto De Zerbi desperately needs a result. Clearly, he got what he wanted having kept them up last year, and there was a deal that he could bring in whoever he wanted at whatever cost. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again, they have paid way over the top for some of the players they have brought in, and it is not working.
“Some of his comments regarding their fitness are tough to understand, so he desperately needs a result and a goal. The longer it goes on, the harder it becomes. The Spurs hierarchy will want to see a return on their investment now. When you spend that type of money, you need to get results quickly, and the longer it goes, the more desperate it becomes.
“When you have paid that money out for those players, you need results quickly. They are under huge pressure, there is no doubt. I’m not seeing anything really positive yet to justify the money spent. How can you? They haven’t scored a Premier League goal or won a game.”
Shearer says Spurs need to beat Aston Villa
The Newcastle legend insisted that he has seen little evidence from Tottenham’s performances so far that their results will improve.
He suggested that a loss against Villa will come as a huge blow to Spurs and De Zerbi ahead of a three-week international break.
Shearer added about the Lilywhites: “I didn’t think they would qualify for the Champions League, but I thought they would be in and around sixth or seventh, something like that. But at the minute, I have not seen anything to suggest they can do that. They have a tough one against Villa this weekend, who are in a sticky patch themselves in the league but got a great result in the Champions League. Spurs have been really poor up to now. From what I have seen, I wouldn’t be too hopeful that it’ll get better quickly.
“If they don’t get a result, the three-week break will feel more like three months. That’s why both teams, particularly Spurs, need a result on Saturday. Spurs just haven’t been good enough and haven’t created enough. I have seen them miss one or two chances, but nowhere near enough.
“I know they signed Savio and Marmoush. The situation with Richarlison isn’t going away, but I haven’t seen anything that suggests to me it will change. I saw Marmoush miss a couple of chances, but I guess that is one positive they have, because if you keep getting in there, then it’ll change. But the longer it goes, the harder it becomes. It’s not as if they are blowing teams away and being really unlucky.”