Simon Jordan questions Tottenham's direction after £237m summer splurge under De Zerbi

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has publicly questioned Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer strategy after the club committed £237m in summer spending following a dismal 17th-place Premier League finish under new head coach Roberto De Zerbi.

Spurs opened their window with the £52m signing of Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke, before breaking their transfer record by bringing in West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes for £85m. That record stood for only days: Tottenham have since agreed a deal worth up to £100m — £92.5m upfront plus £7.5m in add-ons — for Newcastle United and Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Jordan cast doubt on the motivations of players choosing to join a side that finished fourth from bottom last term. “What does it tell you about the players that are joining them?” he said. “Because with respect to Tonali, why would you go from Newcastle to Tottenham Hotspur? I suspect it’s because of the money — that tells you that you’ve either got a player that’s playing for money, or a player that’s playing for ambition because you’re going to a side that finished fourth from bottom of the league last year.”

Jordan then turned his attention to the club’s ownership and the apparent shift in financial philosophy under chairman Daniel Levy. “I don’t think they know what they’re doing,” he said. “They’re paying massively over the odds for these players. You’ve gone from one extreme to the other — you’ve got football expertise that Daniel and his team exhibited at certain times, but they didn’t have the balls or the financial desire to push the envelope. Now you’ve gone the other way, which is you don’t care about the financial concerns of what you’re doing. You’re just going to spend whatever you want to spend. And the fans will love it. But when you’re looking at what they’re buying…”

Tottenham’s activity is not expected to stop with those three signings. The club are reported to hold an interest in Bournemouth forward Eli Junior Kroupi, though they face competition from Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain for the player.