Djed Spence's Future Under Roberto de Zerbi at Tottenham

Roberto de Zerbi has spent the summer ripping up Tottenham’s squad, but there is one player he is determined not to lose.

Djed Spence.

The England defender, 25, sits right on the fault line between the club’s past struggles and its expensively rebuilt future. Inter Milan and Everton are circling, his long-term deal suddenly looking less like security and more like leverage, yet De Zerbi is making his stance clear: he wants Spence to stay – on the manager’s terms.

“I would like you to stay if you want to stay. If you don't want to stay, if you want to leave, then you have to leave,” De Zerbi said, repeating the message he has already delivered privately to Spence and to Lucas Bergvall, the Sweden midfielder drawing heavy interest of his own.

It is blunt. It is also entirely in keeping with the way De Zerbi has gone about reshaping a club that only just escaped relegation on the final day of last season.

Spence at a crossroads

Spence started 23 of his 30 Premier League appearances last season as Spurs limped to 17th for the second year running. He was one of the few constants in a chaotic campaign, a regular presence in a side that never quite worked.

Now even that security is under threat.

Spain’s World Cup winner Pedro Porro owns the right-back slot De Zerbi’s system prizes so highly, and the Italian has gone as far as calling Porro the best in the world in that role. That is the standard. That is the competition.

For Spence, the question is simple: fight for a place in a squad suddenly dripping with new signings, or walk into a different project where he is closer to guaranteed minutes. For De Zerbi, the calculation is different. He sees a player who can still be an important part of his plans – provided the hunger matches the ambition.

A ruthless rebuild

Tottenham have already spent a club-record £237m this summer, an aggressive response to back-to-back brushes with the drop. This is not tinkering. It is demolition and reconstruction.

The club smashed their transfer record twice in 48 hours earlier this month. First came Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85m, then Sandro Tonali from Newcastle for £100m, a midfield pairing that screams control and personality. Jan Paul van Hecke arrived from Brighton for £52m to bolster the defence, while Marcos Senesi, Andrew Robertson and Martin Dubravka joined on free transfers to add hardened experience across the back line and in goal.

De Zerbi has not just changed faces; he has changed the power dynamic inside the dressing room. Players who were once untouchable now look expendable. Some have already told him so.

“At the beginning of my time in April I had, I don't know, one million individual meetings,” he said. “And the players told me if they are here or not.

“I said: ‘Yes, help me to stay up, and then I help you to leave. If you don't help me to stay up, you stay underwater with me.’”

The message: loyalty is a two-way street, but standards are non-negotiable.

Romero and Vicario heading for the exit

That stance is being tested with captain Cristian Romero, one of several high-profile names likely to leave. The defender was criticised for flying back to Argentina while injured before the final game of last season, even though he did ultimately return to play.

De Zerbi refused to join the pile-on.

He described Romero’s conduct during his tenure as “unbelievable behaviour”, but accepted that it is “his will” to move on. The manager will not beg him to stay. Help delivered survival; now the door is open.

Italian goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is in a similar position. He lost his place to Antonin Kinsky and is now expected to depart, another casualty of a summer in which sentiment has been pushed firmly to the side.

One ‘bomba’ still to come

For all the churn, De Zerbi insists Tottenham are only around 60% of the way through their project. The defence has been rebuilt, the midfield reinforced. The attack is next.

Speaking in Sydney, he teased what comes next.

“The transfer market is not finished for sure, but we have completed 60% of our project. Now we have another ‘bomba’,” he said.

Savinho, the Manchester City winger, is in advanced talks over a move to north London, and he is not the only forward on the list. Spurs are also pursuing another attacking target whose name remains under wraps.

Asked if he was talking about a winger or a striker, De Zerbi’s answer was telling.

“Attackers.”

“I don't love working with plan A, plan B, plan C. It is plan A, full stop, because all players are not the same.

“We have to increase the number of goals.”

This is not a manager hedging his bets. He knows exactly what he wants and is prepared to be relentless to get it. He even described himself as a “shark” in the market this summer, circling, waiting, then striking when the moment is right.

The question now is whether Djed Spence chooses to swim with him.