Why Spurs could hire a former Tottenham player to replace De Zerbi

Oh Tottenham, you don’t help yourself, do you? After five games of the current season, Spurs are sitting in 20th place.

This was not in the script whatsoever. The whole idea of appointing Roberto De Zerbi and then handing him a war chest over the summer was that they would never find themselves at the bottom of the table again.

Well, lo and behold, this has been another Spursy old campaign for the Lilywhites again.

De Zerbi may well have got a tune out of the players towards the back end of last term, but despite surviving by the skin of their teeth, another wretched campaign is playing out in north London.

How De Zerbi compares to Spurs managers of old

The facts do not lie. This is Tottenham’s worst start to a season in recent times. Not even Nuno Santo, not even Thomas Frank had them 20th in the league table.

While the Italian did dig the club out of a hole towards the climax of 2025/26, the opening month of the new season has been torrid to say the least.

While it all ended in tears for Ange Postecoglou and Frank in the capital, they did at least enjoy very vibrant starts.

During his debut year at Tottenham, Ange had Spurs racing along. They were second in the table after just five games of the 2023/24 campaign.

It started well a year ago too. That’s just as well. Frank steered Spurs to third place after the first five games of 2025/26 and without that form, they would have been relegated. So, supporters should actually be thanking the Dane, right? Well, not quite.

What’s going wrong? Well, the Lilywhites are certainly scarred by the relegation battles of the last two years. It’s led to a damaging culture behind the scenes at Tottenham.

Not even the new arrivals, of which there are many, have been able to engineer a turnaround. It will, of course, take time.

In the 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa prior to the international break, there were six new signings who started the game. They need time to gel, time to adapt to their new surroundings.

That said, Villa had five new signings in their starting XI and seemed to have no trouble swatting their opponents to one side.

The hierarchy must be patient with the Italian for now. After all, it would cost an arm and a leg to sack yet another manager. However, if they do decide to look elsewhere, who could they turn to?

While Spurs are unlikely to pull the trigger anytime soon, it is worth looking at the manager market right now. At the top of the list would certainly be Julian Nagelsmann.

While Germany suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Paraguay at the recent World Cup, a loss that ultimately cost him his job, he is one of the best young coaches in the land.

Also on the market is Arne Slot while Antonio Conte is a free agent too. Despite Daniel Levy’s departure, that move is never happening in a million years.

So, what about Robbie Keane? How about hiring a manager who not just knows Tottenham but loves the club.

Throughout the years, Spurs have tried it all when it comes to their managers. They’ve tried the proven winner in Jose Mourinho and Conte. They’ve tried the Premier League-proven strategy with Frank and Nuno as well. They’ve even tried the less-tested manager in Postecoglou. None of it has gone very well.

What they haven’t tried is the Mikel Arteta route, the ex-player, the cult hero who could get fans on side quickly.

Keane isn’t just about that, however. He’s a mightily impressive coach and he’s open to the job. Indeed, as Spurs were looking for a replacement for Igor Tudor back in March, the idea of the Irishman returning to English football was floated.

The former striker was reportedly keen on getting the gig at the time and as he’s now a free agent, he would be available to hire immediately. So, what’s he all about?

Well, first things first, he’s adaptable. During a title-winning campaign with Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv he preferred a four-man defensive shape. However, as he led Hungarian side Ferencvaros to the league crown in 2024/25, he preferred a 3-5-2 formation.

How does the style of play develop beyond that? In a good way, there’s elements of Postecoglou’s front-foot system in there.

Speaking back in 2021, the Spurs icon detailed his coaching philosophy, saying: “It’s very aggressive in terms of with the ball. I always played in teams that were very, very good, and always a good footballing team, playing for Tottenham for eight years as you know, Tottenham is a footballing team. They have a certain way. Play off on the back, play through the lines quickly. That’s something I’m big on.”

Elaborating on that further in 2024, the Irish legend stated: “I always used to say to defenders. If you see the six or you see the eight free, straight away, pass to them. I don’t care if we’re 1-0 up, 2-0 up, 0-0, you do it, as quickly as possible. I don’t care whether I’ve got 65% possession or 55 as long as you’re doing it on the purpose of getting the ball through the lines quickly.”

That will no doubt be music to the ears of Jan Paul van Hecke, in particular, who is one of the best defenders in the world when it comes to progressive passing. Last season, he ranked among the finest 1% of positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues for that stat.

So, Van Hecke would certainly be perfect for Keane-ball, but what else would he bring? Well, he’s a demanding character. The video above demonstrates that. He also knows what it takes to please Spurs supporters.

For years, the fanbase has felt disconnected from the manager, the players and the hierarchy. Keane could resurrect that connection.