Roberto De Zerbi has a 'clause in his contract', Tottenham could pay 'settlement'
Roberto De Zerbi likely has a clause in his contract that will allow Tottenham Hotspur to relieve him of his duties without paying out the entirety of his five-year deal.
That is according to former senior Tottenham scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
The 47-year-old arrived in March and initially did his job by keeping the Lilywhites in the Premier League, but progress has been hard to come by.
Tottenham have kicked off the new Premier League season without a win in four, and they are yet to score a single goal.
Issues off the pitch have begun to spiral, too, with De Zerbi seen in heated conversation with Mathys Tel after his team drew 0-0 with Everton on Saturday, and the situation involving Richarlison continuing to grow in toxicity.
Tottenham's next games do not make for a sigh of relief - Liverpool away in the Carabao Cup and Aston Villa in the Premier League - but De Zerbi will hope that one strong result is all that's needed for a turnaround.
'Tottenham have the best ground but the worst team'
Given the way things have gone for De Zerbi at both Marseille and Brighton, it always felt a bold decision to offer him such a long contract.
Should the Italian fall out with the board or his players, Tottenham will be left in an incredibly difficult position.
A contract clause does help if that situation does arise, and it is likely how decision-makers have protected themselves.
"I think managers today can be brought in and sacked. I feel that there must be a clause in that contract where, if things went pear-shaped, that there would be a settlement for the amount of time he's been at the football club," King told Football Insider.
"And the way he's going, if we don't start pulling it around, he'll be gone in a year or a lot quicker."
He added: "I don't think it was the right decision. I don't think he's the right manager for the football club. I hope I'm proved wrong because I like Tottenham.
"I was going to see Tottenham matches from 1958, 59, 60 when I was a young kid. And it's a great football club. I mean, at the moment, they've got the best ground in the country but the worst team in the country."
What Roberto De Zerbi has said
One thing is for sure - given the length of the contract Tottenham gave De Zerbi and the money spent this summer, he clearly has huge backing above him.
"Now I explained, I'm sorry for the results, but it's not immediate. Not the improvement, not immediately to make a team," he said after Saturday's draw with Everton.
"Today we played as a team. We didn't score, we didn't win, but today and Nottingham I think we played as a team. I can't say nothing as an attitude, as a behaviour of the players, no.
"I said to stay calm, maybe to not lose the confidence because we are not scoring, we are not winning. Stay calm, improve, work hard and individually try to understand where is the improvement."