As one of three teams yet to score in the 2026/27 Premier League campaign, alongside Aston Villa and Coventry City, Tottenham could fail to score in their opening four league matches for the first time ever this weekend as they face Everton.

Spurs have had a disastrous start to the season under manager Roberto De Zerbi, who is yet to bring life to a Tottenham side that reportedly invested a stunning £308 million this summer.

The likes of Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Savio, Jan Paul van Hecke, Tosin Adarabioyo and other names have arrived in north London but have fallen flat so far under De Zerbi's guidance.

Speaking exclusively to Tribal Football via Jackpot City Casino, Friedel opened up on the failures at the club as they seek their first three points against the Toffees on Saturday afternoon.

Why aren't Tottenham's summer signings making an impact?

Will De Zerbi be under pressure, or will the board allow him more time to work things out, do you think?

"I'm pleased to see Spurs spending. I think they overspent on transfer fees and some wages, but the players they've brought in have obviously helped the squad. 

"I think the poor start to the season won't be a reflection on how the actual season goes in its entirety. I think if they don't finish in European places, the board will be upset. 

"I'm sure the manager will come under some pressure because of the amount of money they've spent. They're over the £300 million mark, so when you spend that amount of money, and I'm sure De Zerbi had a lot of say in the background on the players coming in, of course if results aren't coming, he's going to be under pressure, but he knows that. 

"I think he's a proven manager. I think he knows what he wants from his system. Sometimes when you make a lot of player changes, it takes a little while for them to click. Other times it happens quite quickly, but I think you increase the risk of it taking just that little while longer."

Tottenham’s new signings are yet to make an impact; how worried should the club be?

"I wouldn't be seeing too many alarm bells as of yet and I'm sure they still have a couple of things off the field in the changing room they probably want to fix as well, because what's happened over the last 24 months, you can't fix in just one window. 

"One of the things Tottenham has a hard time with, and they've had it all the way back from when I was there, is competing financially on a big stage with the top clubs.

"But when push comes to shove, most of the players still would rather go to Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, or Chelsea. So what would tip the scales most of the time is paying a bigger pay packet. 

"That's fine if the player is 100% committed to the cause, but you run into this conundrum: is the player only coming here for the money? And don't get me wrong, players wherever they go, are going to want a good pay packet. 

"But if you're overpaying, are you getting the right attitude in the changing room? That's one of the conundrums they've had for a long time. 

"They had an incredible amount of success under Daniel Levy by recruiting the likes of Kyle Walker as he was building, Luka Modric as he was building his career, Gareth Bale as he was building his career, and Harry Kane as he was building his career, getting them to their peak and then selling for top dollar. 

"It's a lot different when you're going into the market and competing against PSG, Bayern Munich, the top Italian clubs, the top German clubs, and then the other top Premier League clubs for the same player. Now you get into a completely different type of negotiation. So sometimes you're not always going to get the player for the right reasons when you do that.

"That's the predicament that they're finding themselves in. I still think they'll be fine. I still think they'll be on the cusp of whether it's the Champions League places, on that last spot, or the Europa League or Europa Conference. 

"I still think they'll be there or thereabouts with De Zerbi's track record, but I don't think it's ultimately as easy to recruit players as people think just because you have the cash."

Could Tottenham score their first goal this weekend?

Interestingly, Tottenham went four Premier League matches without scoring almost exactly 20 years ago during the 2006-07 campaign, a sequence that included a 2-0 home defeat to this weekend's opponents Everton.

Spurs are the favourites to beat Everton and in fact beat their opponents home and away last season, keeping clean sheets in each win.

Friedel was asked about their poor form in front of goal and the impact of missing out on European football, something he says the board won't be too pleased about after massive investment and faith in De Zerbi.

Tottenham are yet to score in the league this season after massive summer spending. Why do you think that is?

"I think what De Zerbi did, and I don't know if this was calculated, but I'm assuming it was, they went from the back forward when they were signing players. I also know just from personal experience that signing players up front is more difficult, and it gets into some real sums of money. 

"I believe Arsenal were after Osimhen as well, and I saw some rumours that Tottenham may have been. He's at Galatasaray now; I was at Besiktas as sporting director there, so I know what he was earning. It's an enormous amount of money, so that gets into a completely different level of conversation. 

"I think De Zerbi wanted to build the backbone of his team. He likes to build out from the back and likes his centre-backs to be able to drive into midfield if he needs them to, so he likes them to be comfortable. 

"I think he was trying to sort out the relationship between his back four and the midfield before he went up front, unless they were trying for strikers and just couldn't get the deals over the line. 

"But that is an area of concern at any time through the season. If you go three, four, or five games without scoring a goal, it's something you need to address. I'm sure they are trying to address it in training and building confidence in the players they are going to put up front."

After such a huge spend, how devastating would it be for Tottenham if they don’t reach Europe this season?

"There's a whole host of reasons you don't want two years away from Europe. Over the years, people have come up with comments like the Europa League and Europa Conference are a nuisance. I've always disagreed with that. 

"I think you always want to be in European competition. Sometimes your squad gets a little bit thin; look at Crystal Palace, who have actually had great success in Europe recently, but you could have a much thinner squad than, let's say, Man City going into these competitions. 

"But there are only a couple of ways that you can increase your revenue streams as a Premier League club; European competition is one of them, and matchday revenue is another.

"The thought of not being in Europe for X amount of years, let's just say three, four, or five, that'll affect Tottenham's ability to buy more players in the future and invest more into the club, because when you get into the Champions League especially, it's an incredible financial resource to be able to invest back into the club. 

"Also, regarding the type of player that you recruit when they expect to be playing in European competition, you are recruiting winners, players that are used to winning, expect to win, and know how to conduct themselves to win.

"So I think missing out on Europe for another season would not necessarily be a disaster, but I don't think it would be welcome from the board, put it that way."

Tottenham have finished 17th, one place above the relegation zone for two seasons on the trot. Ahead of the clash with Everton, Tottenham sit 17th once more in what is looking like another tricky, nail-biting campaign.