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5 September 2026

Spurs appeared to lose their nerve on Deadline Day, making two surprise additions to round off a frantic summer transfer window.

When Tottenham chief executive Vinai Venkatesham posted on LinkedIn this week about the club’s summer business, he spoke of the “months of scouting, analysis and planning” behind the rebuild of a squad that came perilously close to relegation to the Championship last season.

In truth, Spurs were quick out of the blocks in the market, moving decisively to identify targets and persuade them to buy into Roberto De Zerbi’s vision.

A clear strategy was carried out with conviction, and the rest of the Premier League took notice as the north London club broke their transfer record twice to bring in Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.

Yet as the deadline approached, there were signs of anxiety. After failing to score in either of their opening two league matches, Spurs still lacked enough in attack and had missed out on their first two choices, Cody Gakpo and Iliman Ndiaye.

Missed target: Iliman Ndiaye

De Zerbi, Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange were then forced to search for an opportunity in the market, eventually settling on a Deadline Day loan move for Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk.

In a summer when the club had made Premier League-proven players a priority, they ultimately signed a footballer who has scored only five goals in 53 top-flight appearances.

On top of that, Mudryk has not featured in a competitive game since November 2024 because of a doping ban, so it is fair to say Spurs have taken a gamble in trying to revive the Ukrainian’s career.

For all the discussion around dependable signings, Mudryk represents the opposite. He is an unrefined talent, blessed with pace and power, but still short on polish and footballing schooling.

De Zerbi once said Mudryk, his former protege at Shakhtar Donetsk, could go on to win the Ballon d’Or. The Spurs head coach knows there is now far more than a little work required to bring the Ukrainian anywhere close to that level of debate.

“He has had many problems,” De Zerbi said when asked about that prediction, which he originally made in 2022 while he was Brighton manager.

“In the end, the potential is clear, and now his challenge is to respect all his qualities. He's a great player. He has to feel this season, to live this season in the right way. Not too much pressure, but it's the right moment for him to show all people things.

Returner: Mykhailo Mudryk

“Because if Chelsea paid €100million four years ago. I think they brought in a lot of big players. And to spend 100 million, I think they thought very well about the qualities of Mudryk.”

Few are in a better position than De Zerbi to draw the best from Mudryk. The 25-year-old has described him as his footballing father, and the Spurs boss may now need to offer the patience and unconditional backing that only a father figure can provide.

Mudryk is a complex young player. He is quiet by nature but full of self-belief, and that reserved personality can mean he keeps his confidence locked within, often ignoring the support of team-mates as he charges down the wing on a personal mission to silence critics.

His January 2023 switch to Stamford Bridge, in a deal that could still rise to £89m, may simply have come too early, and De Zerbi believes the size of the transfer fee weighed heavily on the winger.

“From Shakhtar to Chelsea, I think he paid a big price because different leagues, different countries, a different level of the club with a big, big responsibility because he knew the price Chelsea paid for him.”

Covered in tattoos from head to toe reflecting his religion, confidence and tireless work ethic, it is the words inked just above his feet — “Play Freely” and “Play Happy” — that De Zerbi will want Mudryk to live by.

Confidence shapes the forward’s entire game and, at times, even controls him. But if he finds rhythm, as he briefly did during Chelsea’s 2024-25 Conference League run, he can create all kinds of problems.

Reunion: Roberto De Zerbi

With sharp footwork in tight areas, a burst of pace that gives him a yard and a half on his marker, and a fierce curling effort off his favoured right foot, Mudryk at his best can force defenders back into their own penalty area.

His relentless application — “he works double than other team-mates” — means he will do everything possible to put his career back on course under De Zerbi.

But the major challenge for De Zerbi will be turning that energy into end product on the pitch. Mudryk even arrived late for his Spurs media duties because he was staying behind to do extra work after training.

What De Zerbi does not need is another raw attacking talent trying to turn pressure into diamonds. Spurs’ transfer business this summer was meant to deliver immediate results.