“Yes” – Tottenham star now agrees deal to walk away from De Zerbi and join huge club

New Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi has already been dealt an injury blow after midfielder Pape Sarr was unable to feature for Senegal in their friendly with Gambia.

Sarr joins growing Spurs injury list

De Zerbi was confirmed as Spurs head coach on Tuesday on a five-year deal, which does not contain a relegation release clause, despite the north London club being only one point above the Premier League bottom three.

With seven games left this season, De Zerbi has limited time to work with a team without a league win in 2026, but has immediately been affected by an ongoing injury crisis in N17.

Senegal midfielder Sarr joined up with his national team last week and featured in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Peru, but was left out of the squad to face Gambia on Tuesday due to a shoulder injury, according to Senegalese media.

Any potential injury to Sarr would be untimely for De Zerbi, who has already discovered a lengthy list of absentees at Tottenham’s Hotspur Way training ground, with Guglielmo Vicario, Ben Davies, Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus all previously sidelined or currently unavailable.

The midfielder has featured 22 times in the Premier League this season, and the Italian’s options in midfield are limited to say the least ahead of the trip to Sunderland.

Related

New Modric starts, Porro gets the boot: How Spurs could line up under De Zerbi

Tottenham are pushing to appoint Roberto De Zerbi on a long-term contract with immediate effect.

The Black Cats had not lost at home all season until recently, but have suffered three straight defeats at The Stadium of Light.

Tottenham star agrees deal to leave the club this summer

While keeping the club in the top flight is of course De Zerbi’s immediate concern, it is not his only one, with reports revealing he has told Spurs to sign a new centre-back and goalkeeper this summer.

The latter is an issue which plagued Igor Tudor’s reign, with Vicario out of form and now injured, while Antonín Kinský’s short-lived spell as the number one was extremely consequential for the Croatian manager.

And it seems Vicario’s time in North London has come to an end, with reports in his homeland claiming the 29 year-old has said “yes” to Inter.

Indeed, L’Interista report the shot-stopper has agreed a four-year deal worth €3.5m (£3m) per year, and all that is left is for the clubs to finalise a transfer fee.

Vicario has played 117 times for Tottenham, conceding 170 goals and keeping 29 clean sheets.