Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi could green light a marquee summer sale before the end of the window in order to seal another ‘statement’ signing, with the club having spent in excess of £200 million already this window.

Spurs have already recruited Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United, Mateus Fernandes from West Ham and Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton for significant fees. Meanwhile, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka have arrived for free, but will weigh down the wage bill.

The North London outfit are known to be in an enviable position this summer with the backing to spend and more marquee signings are expected. However, GIVEMESPORT senior correspondent Ben Jacobs has named one player who could be moving the other way.

Roberto De Zerbi willing to sell Tottenham striker

via Reuters

When it comes to attacking reinforcements, Roberto De Zerbi’s attention is on the flanks. According to Jacobs, speaking on the latest episode of GIVEMESPORT’s Market Madness podcast, the Italian is a big fan of Dominic Solanke and the 28-year-old is expected to lead the line next season.

Jacobs said: “Regarding an out-and-out number nine, yes, it [a sale] could happen. Roberto De Zerbi really likes Dom Solanke, so I’m expecting him to stay as it stands.

“Richarlison is the one with a question mark over his future, and if he departs, Tottenham might be in the market for an out-and-out number nine as well. So they are going to continue to make signings between now and the end of the window, statement signings. If they can start, particularly over on that left-hand side.

“This is again an indication of a different approach from Tottenham’s ownership and Tottenham’s leadership, to try and go from basically nearly zero and relegation to hero and give Roberto De Zerbi a squad that instantly heading into next season is capable of challenging for Champions League football.”

Richarlison enters final year of Tottenham contract

Tottenham paid £60 million to sign Richarlison from Everton in 2022, the Brazilian arriving on a five-year deal. That contract is set to expire in 2027, and Spurs will not want to see the forward leave the club for free in 12 months.

The 29-year-old has scored 32 goals since arriving at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but never found enough consistency to prove that he can be trusted as the leading talisman.

Richarlison scored 11 top flight goals last season, including two in his last four outings, but is likely to play second fiddle to Solanke.

There are suggestions from Italy that Juventus could be interested in signing the forward, should their long-term pursuit of Crystal Palace star Jean-Philippe Mateta fail. Everton were also linked with a move for their former striker in January.

Spurs are also believed to have received an official offer for the striker from a Turkish side earlier this month, but the fee and whether Richarlison would consider a move to Turkey remain to be known.

It will forever be one of the most iconic moments in World Cup history. In the 110th minute of the 2006 final, with France and Italy level at 1-1, Zinedine Zidane is sent off for a head-but on Marco Materazzi.

Things has started well enough for the French, with their talisman Zidane scoring from the penalty spot in the 7th minute. Materazzi would level for the Italian’s just 12 minutes later, heading home from Andrea Pirlo’s corner.

Nothing would seperate the teams as they went to extra-time. This is where a remarkable clash saw Zidane headbutt Materazzi and consequently sent off. France clung on with ten men to take the game to penalties, but David Trezeguet would miss from 12 yards, allowing Fabio Grosso to win the game and the World Cup for Italy, who scored all five of their spot-kicks.

Zidane’s actions remain one of the most talked about events in the history of sport. Speaking to Gazzetta about the event 20 years on, referee Horacio Elizondo has revealed what went down when he reached for that infamous red card.

Referee and his Linesman Did Not See Zidane’s Headbutt

While Elizondo was the man who dismissed Zidane, he didn’t actually see the whole incident. Indeed, the Argentine official was watching play further up the field, when the Frenchman clashed with Materazzi off the ball. The moment was actually spotted by fourth official Medina Cantalejo.

In the days without VAR, Elizondo had to put total faith in his team to come to the final verdict. He explained what went down:

He then revealed that he was actually pretending to chat with his assistant about the call, even though they both hadn’t seen the headbutt, but were going to send Zidane off after the fourth official’s recommendation: “I started talking to the assistant, pretending that he knew something. I wanted to make this ‘acting’ to make people understand [we were making a decision]. I told him: ‘Ten minutes to go, remain focused.’ Then I turned and gave the red card to Zidane.”

Elizondo understood that he had made a huge decision and probably expected a very strong response from Zidane. However, the Frenchman was at peace with the call, making little fuss as he left the pitch, but was keen to note that he had been provoked by Materazzi. The referee recalled their conversation:

Zidane appeared to be talking about Materazzi’s actions when he asked the referee, ‘didn’t you hear or see what happened before?’’ The Italian later claimed that he had made a comment about his opponent’s sister, stating:

“That episode should never have happened. In the tension of that final in Berlin, amidst the bickering and insults, Zidane offered me his shirt, and I said no, that I preferred his sister.”

Zidane later apologised for his actions, although did not regret what he did: “I want to ask for forgiveness from all the children who watched that. There was no excuse for it. I want to be open and honest about it. I do apologise but I don’t regret my behaviour because regretting it would mean he was right to say what he said.”

This would be the last game of Zidane’s career, exiting the game with a bang.

Kobbie Mainoo has endured a frustrating World Cup. The Manchester United midfielder didn’t feature in any of England’s seven matches before the Three Lions came up short to Argentina in the semi-finals.

According to David Ornstein, Mainoo’s disappointment has been visible for all to see, with the 21-year-old often spotted leaving stadiums before his teammates, headphones on and alone.

There had been genuine hope of Mainoo being involved, with him training in midfield alongside Elliot Anderson ahead of the group game against Ghana, only for Thomas Tuchel to reportedly not like what he saw from the player in that session.

Now, with England set to play in Saturday’s third-place play-off against France, Nicky Butt has offered a strong opinion on what Mainoo should do next.

Butt Tells Mainoo to Fake Injury Rather Than Play

The Manchester United legend was blunt in his words when discussing Mainoo’s situation. Per The Sun, he said: “I do not know what is going on there, there’s something not quite right with it.”

Many fans and pundits believe a third-place playoff is totally meaningless. Whichever sides play in the fixture saw their World Cup fall short, just one step away from the biggest game in football, so to think a further fixture then has to be played, purely to determine who finishes third, is hardly a reward.

For that reason, many nations who find themselves in this position turn to some of their lesser-used players to feature, such as Mainoo, giving their first-choice names a well-earned rest and settling the nerves of their club managers in the process.

Butt Calls for Tuchel to be Sacked After Semi-Final Exit

Dylan Martinez via Reuters

Butt didn’t stop at Mainoo’s treatment, also demanding Tuchel’s dismissal following England’s negative approach in their semi-final defeat to Argentina.

He’s not a Sir Bobby Robson or Kevin Keegan, someone that the nation loves. You’re talking about a manager that’s come in and played negative football, crazy negative football, in the semi-final against a beatable Argentina team. And it shouldn’t really matter, but people will go against him because he’s German as well, so he’s going to have a nightmare.”

Butt believes Tuchel himself will be ready to walk away regardless of what the FA decides. “He’s an unbelievable club manager, so just let him go,” he added. “He won’t want to stay. He might say he does, but deep down he’ll be thinking, ‘pay up, I’m out of here’. If we were nine months down the line, I’d definitely be going for Pep Guardiola. But Pep can’t leave Man City a month ago, saying he needs a rest from football, and then go straight back in. He can’t do that.”

Butt instead pointed to Eddie Howe and Mauricio Pochettino as the standout alternatives, but both would need to be prized away from their current roles with Newcastle and the United States respectively.