De Zerbi has already found Spurs their own Kroupi & Savinho in pre-season

Six games, five wins, one draw and no defeats. It’s safe to say this summer has been a pretty good one for Tottenham Hotspur.

They will waltz into the new Premier League season with huge confidence. Unbeaten in pre-season and with a new £100m signing in tow, Roberto De Zerbi’s side look ready to take the top-flight by storm.

A third consecutive 17th place finish is surely not on the cards. Instead, it is widely expected that the Lilywhites will be competing for a Champions League berth.

That is a credit to the work done this summer but there is a sense they still lack an elite forward. Plenty have been linked with a move to Spurs this summer, perhaps most notably Victor Osimhen and Eli Junior Kroupi. Out wide, the likes of Cody Gakpo and Savinho continue to be linked.

However, in pre-season, perhaps De Zerbi has already found his own version of a few of those targets.

How Spurs have unearthed their own Savinho

The most likely signing for Tottenham between now and September’s transfer deadline is the Manchester City winger. Potentially valued as highly as £85m, it is not going to be a cheap deal.

Would the Brazilian be worth it? Well, if De Zerbi is looking for more goals, not really. Savinho only scored four times for City last term.

Yet, he is creative and he is mightily progressive. He ranked among the finest 1% of wide players in Europe’s top five leagues in 2025/26 for progressive carries. Essentially, a carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least ten yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.

That said, Spurs may well have already found their answer to the 22-year-old in a certain Mathys Tel.

At the back end of last season, if you had told supporters that Tel would have a crucial role to play in the forthcoming campaign, they would have rolled their eyes.

REUTERS/Hollie Adams

After all, like Savinho, he scored only four times as Tottenham just about survived relegation. Yet in pre-season, he has demonstrated that he is arguably in the form of his life. It is certainly the best form Tel has showcased since arriving from Bayern Munich.

The best moment of his pre-season campaign came when he scored a delightful free-kick against Sydney but it is the winger’s creativity and ability to get past a player that has stood out so much.

All three of the assists Tel has provided in his five outings this summer have been brilliant. Against Auckland, it was a daring mazy Savinho-esque run that saw him set up Richarlison’s goal.

Against Hoffenheim on Saturday, Tel popped up with two more assists. Both were phenomenal again as he supplied Mikey Moore on two occasions.

For the first, he skipped beyond two Hoffenheim defenders before laying the ball on a plate for Moore. For his second, he darted down the left again before picking out a delightful pass between two players that teed up his mate to make it 3-0.

Creative, progressive and a nightmare for defenders, Tel very much looks cut from the same cloth as Savinho right now.

How Spurs have discovered their answer to Kroupi

After the arrivals of Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, Tottenham wanted to go big again in the transfer window.

They had earmarked a move for Bournemouth wonderkid Kroupi and were set to launch a bid. That was until the young French superstar was ruled out for four months with an ankle problem.

While it is likely they will return with a bid in the winter or even next summer, for now, De Zerbi has had to pursue other options, including Nicolas Jackson.

However, it may well be that in the aforementioned Moore, the head coach already has his answer to Kroupi.

Reuters/Matthew Childs

Now, the 19-year-old is due to be loaned out this month but the young Englishman delivered a timely statement to his manager on Saturday that he is more than capable of delivering for the first-team, and out of position too.

Like the Bournemouth forward, Moore is capable of playing out on the left flank or through the middle as a central striker. It was on the left where he played 21 times for Rangers last term. As a striker, he has played eight times for the U18s and U21s, scoring 11 times. As a second striker, he has featured on 12 occasions, netting seven.

Already compared to Neymar by James Maddison, the future looks bright for the teenager and all he needs is a chance in the Premier League, something that Kroupi got last season.

Two of the finest young attacking talents in English football right now, there is so much to like about Moore and his performance on Saturday showcased why. His first goal was an instinctive finish at the near post and his second was even better.

Tel did brilliantly but his colleague on the opposing flank still had plenty to do. He took one touch to steady himself and then rolled the ball beyond the goalkeeper.

If Savinho and Gakpo sign this summer, do not expect Moore to be seen for Spurs this season. However, he has proven to De Zerbi what he can do. The future is still incredibly bright for one of Tottenham’s most exciting academy graduates.