Tottenham Hotspur fans will not be too pleased with where Ashley Young has their side finishing during the upcoming Premier League season.
The expectations at Tottenham are arguably as low as they have been for around two decades following the club’s abject showing in the Premier League over the last two years.
Two back-to-back 17th-place finishes, including nearly being relegated last season, have meant that very few pundits expect the Lilywhites to mount a serious challenge for Champions League qualification.
However, Spurs are now at the beginning of the new era under Roberto De Zerbi, who has not been afraid to set his aims very high ahead of his first full season in charge.
Ashley Young expects Tottenham to finish in the bottom half yet again
While the consensus seems to be that Spurs could be around sixth place or just below after backing their head coach with some big signings this summer, Young disagrees.
The former Man United star made a grim prediction, suggesting that the Lilywhites would finish the campaign in the bottom half of the table for the third season in a row.
The pundit did a segment for Sky Sports where he was asked to quickly assign the finishing positions of each of the 20 Premier League teams, and he predicted that Tottenham would finish in 13th place, just four places ahead of last season.
What will constitute an acceptable season for Roberto De Zerbi and Spurs?
While there has been a lot made of the successive 17th-place finishes, one also has to take into account the mitigating factors, including the Europa League run in the 2024-25 season and the unprecedented injury crises.
Reports indicate that Tottenham want to sign Cody Gakpo, Savinho and another striker before the window slams shut.
If the club does deliver that to De Zerbi, finishing outside the top six places would be considered a failure for the Italian in his first full season in charge.