De Zerbi Teases Another Bomba as Tottenham's Rebuild Continues
Tottenham’s summer overhaul is not slowing down. Roberto De Zerbi insists it is only two-thirds done – and he is already teasing the next explosion.
“We have completed 60% of our project in the transfer market. Now we have another bomba,” the Spurs head coach said, the hint as deliberate as the smile that followed it.
At a club that has smashed through its own financial ceiling in recent weeks, the word lands with weight. “Bomba” is the term fans throw around online when a transfer drops out of nowhere, a deal that jolts the timeline and rewrites expectations. De Zerbi knows exactly what he is saying.
Record fees, ruthless intent
Tottenham have not just dipped into the market. They have torn it open.
First came Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85 million, a new club record. Then they broke it again, moving for Sandro Tonali in a package that could climb to £100m. Two heavyweight deals, two statements about where this team intends to go and how quickly it wants to get there.
Jan Paul van Hecke has been brought in from Brighton to reinforce the back line. Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi have arrived on free transfers, the kind of smart, opportunistic business that supports the headline acts.
There is more. Spurs have also been linked with Brazilian winger Savinho from Manchester City, a move that would add yet another sharp edge to De Zerbi’s attacking options. Nothing is done there, but the profile fits the pattern: young, technical, aggressive, and ready to play on the front foot.
“Like a shark” in the market
De Zerbi did not try to play down his role in this aggressive rebuild. If anything, he leaned into it.
“In the transfer market, when I want one player, I become like a shark,” he said. “No chance to say no. I love working in the transfer market. It’s not pressure, it’s one of the nicest parts of my work, my job.”
There was no attempt to dress it up as a chore or a burden. For De Zerbi, this is the hunt. Identifying a target, pushing the club, closing the deal – he relishes all of it.
So when he talks about “another bomba”, it is not a throwaway line. It sounds like a promise.
Asked whether this mystery signing was close, he stayed on message but refused to overplay it. “I hope, but it’s not finished, for sure.” The deal is clearly live. The coach is clearly invested. But he knows enough about this business to avoid declaring victory before the contract is signed.
A project still taking shape
Strip away the noise and the picture is clear: De Zerbi sees this as a long-term construction, not a quick patch-up.
“We have completed 60% of our project in the transfer market,” he said. That is a striking level of specificity from a head coach. It suggests a defined plan, a squad map with red circles and ticks, and a clear sense of what – and who – is still missing.
The early signs of this new Tottenham have already flickered in preseason, where they needed a penalty shootout to see off Sydney FC. The performance was uneven, the fitness still building, the ideas not yet fully synced. That is normal in July. What is not normal is the scale of the backing De Zerbi is receiving to shape this side in his image.
He has already made headlines by addressing the situation of young midfielder Lucas Bergvall, stressing that he does not want to “convince anyone to stay” who is not fully committed to his project. It was another glimpse of a coach who prefers clarity to compromise.
Now comes the next move.
The shark is circling. The “bomba” is coming. The only real question is just how big Tottenham are prepared to go to finish the squad De Zerbi has drawn up in his head.
