Ledley King has now opened up on Tottenham’s summer spending spree and the impact Roberto De Zerbi has had since joining the club.
Tottenham Hotspur will be hoping to set the record straight this season as they aim to improve on their dismal showing from last campaign.
Spurs finished in 17th place in the 25‑26 Premier League season, coming so close to relegation and only surviving by their teeth thanks to a final‑day 1‑0 win over Everton.
After consecutive 17th‑place finishes, Tottenham now look determined to avoid an even worse fate this campaign and have begun work to improve their squad this summer.
Tottenham’s huge summer spend earns praise from Ledley King
Spurs have spent a whopping £237 million this summer on midfield and defensive reinforcements. Their massive spending spree has also seen them break their transfer record fee twice following the signings of Mateus Fernandes for £85 million and Sandro Tonali for £100 million.
Spurs’ spending this summer ranks second in their history, and they could well topple that as they look to secure forward signings.
Former Tottenham captain Ledley King has now opened up on the club’s business so far this summer while speaking on The Managers podcast.
King was first asked for his thoughts on Tottenham’s busy summer after investing heavily in the squad, with the former defender making it clear that he believes such a rebuild has been necessary following the club’s recent struggles.
He said: “I’ve been really impressed but I think the last two seasons have not been good enough, you know, we need to make a big, big change. We don’t want to be in that position again.”
The conversation then turned to why Tottenham have often fallen short of competing consistently with the very biggest clubs despite their obvious potential.
King replied: “Biggest problem I always felt with us, we always lost our best players along the way.”
Ledley King explains Spurs’ long-standing problem and Roberto De Zerbi’s influence
Quizzed further on why Spurs struggled to keep hold of their biggest talents, King expanded on his earlier point.
He said: “Because the actual team that we were losing these players to were Manchester United and Real Madrid a lot of the time. But also, you know, players want to push themselves. They want to play at the highest level.
“You know, my job as a captain was trying to obviously keep the group together but continue to keep building, to keep progressing. And I’d say under Harry Redknapp that was our best team that we had. The likes of Luka Modric.”
The Tottenham legend then revealed that Roberto De Zerbi has already had a significant impact behind the scenes, explaining that the Italian has convinced some players to reconsider their futures at the club rather than pursue moves elsewhere.
He added: “From what I gather, you know there were certain players that were thinking about moving and have changed their tune in terms of… I think we can do something under him.”