Roberto De Zerbi is privately very confident regarding what Tottenham can achieve in his first full season in charge.
De Zerbi has already made himself a fan favourite at Spurs by keeping the club in the Premier League, with the Lilywhites managing to stay up on the final day of the season.
The Tottenham hierarchy have said they are committed to rebuilding the squad this summer after two back-to-back 17th-place finishes, and they have started the window proactively.
The Lilywhites have secured Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson on free transfers, and are working to continue to reinforce their squad ahead of next season.
Roberto De Zerbi privately believes Tottenham can compete for Champions League qualification
After Spurs’ final game of the season against Everton, De Zerbi made it clear that Tottenham need to add quality to their squad, although he insisted that the North Londoners already have 10 to 12 players who are of the required level.
The Italian is seemingly set to get his wish, with Spurs expected to continue their spending spree over the coming weeks.
Journalist Ben Jacobs has now revealed on The Last Word on Spurs that De Zerbi is quietly confident that the club can get back to the part of the table they belong next season.
The Italian privately believes that the Lilywhites can compete for a top-five finish and get back into the Champions League in time for the 2027-28 season.
Jacobs said: “I don’t think he’ll put the pressure on the players of saying it outright, but privately, my information is that Roberto De Zerbi feels Spurs should be qualifying for the Champions League next season.
“It’s a big ask, ambitious aim, never something, as I say, that you want to kind of say before a ball is kicked because it puts pressure on a group that were fighting relegation.
“But De Zerbi is under the impression that he’s going to be further backed in the market and that this squad is good enough to do much, much better things. And if they can finally get that right, this project can move forwards.”
Why Spurs may be dark horses for a top five finish next season
The pressure is arguably off De Zerbi and Tottenham, as very few people expect them to finish in the top six next season. Many will feel that even finishing midtable is a sign of progress following two successive 17th place finishes.
However, the quality is more evenly spread in the Premier League than it ever has been, with not a lot separating the teams at the bottom end to the top.
Not having any European football could thus serve as a huge advantage for Tottenham, and with De Zerbi’s men having just one game a week, they could be the dark horses for a top four/five finish.
Look at how that helped Man United last season…