De Zerbi admits Tottenham are 'not a team yet' after 3-0 humbling by Brentford on opening day

Roberto De Zerbi admitted Tottenham are “not a team yet” after his expensively assembled side were beaten 3-0 by Brentford at home on the opening day of the Premier League season, a result that laid bare the scale of the rebuild still ahead of him.

Spurs have spent heavily this summer, with the imminent signing of Savinho set to push their outlay past £300m, yet the investment brought little cohesion on the pitch. De Zerbi handed debuts to five of his six summer recruits but was candid about the limitations he is working with.

“For many reasons I think we are not a team yet,” he said. “We are not at the right point in physical condition. But no excuse. When you are building a new project I don’t want time, but we have to pass through these problems. I believe in my players, my club and myself. I think we are working well but we are late for the start of the Premier League.”

De Zerbi specifically named Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali as players “not in the best physical condition”. Senesi and Van Hecke both featured at the Copa America and Euro 2024 with Argentina and the Netherlands respectively, leaving them with shortened pre-seasons.

“We knew that before the game,” De Zerbi added. “We have to improve on that and many other things, like organisation and pressing. We can improve quickly but first we have to understand this game better. Players know I have a lot of confidence in them and we hope to improve quickly.”

The defeat was as much a statement of Brentford’s quality as it was of Tottenham’s disarray. Interim head coach Keith Andrews praised the impact of club-record signing Mamadou Sangare, the £41m midfielder who impressed on his debut.

“It’s pretty impressive on a lot of fronts,” Andrews said. “It felt like we were in a good spot and we produced a pretty good performance. He adds to an already quality midfield. I really enjoyed his performance today. You never truly know in a different league, with a different language, but he’s a humble young man who looks very hungry.”

For De Zerbi, the immediate task is clear: converting a squad of expensive individuals into a functioning unit before the early-season damage becomes irreparable. “The target is to become a team,” he said. “To find the spirit, the soul — that is a process.”