adminJamie O’Hara has called on Tottenham Hotspur to consider selling Jan Paul van Hecke following his disappointing display against Aston Villa, while manager Roberto De Zerbi also expressed his frustration with Mateus Fernandes and Dominic Solanke.
Tottenham’s difficult beginning to the new Premier League campaign continued on Saturday when they suffered a 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa.
De Zerbi’s team found themselves three goals behind at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Villa leading 3-0 after 79 minutes. Spurs managed to produce a late response by scoring twice, but their comeback ultimately fell short.
The result means Tottenham have collected just two points from their opening five Premier League fixtures.
Former Tottenham midfielder and talkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara was watching the match and was clearly unhappy with what he saw from the home side.
One of the players to come under particularly strong criticism from O’Hara was Van Hecke, who Tottenham signed from Brighton and Hove Albion during the summer for a reported £52 million.
Despite the Netherlands international getting on the scoresheet for Spurs, O’Hara was far from convinced by his overall contribution and even suggested that Tottenham should already look at moving him on.
Van Hecke struggled defensively throughout the contest, with O’Hara particularly unhappy with what he saw from the centre-back during Villa’s attacks. The defender was criticised for failing to show enough aggression and was also involved in the build-up to Villa’s second goal.
In a video posted on his X account during the match, O’Hara vented his frustration.
“Van Hecke is in cement, cement.
“Get rid of him.
“Get rid of him.
“Solanke – waste of space.
“Savio thinks he is playing Under-21s football.
“He’s absolutely guff.
“Tonali – a £100m – turning his back, turning his back.
“It is a joke.
“I hate this football club.
“I hate it.
“I hate it.”
De Zerbi Demands More From Fernandes And Solanke
O’Hara was not the only figure unhappy with Tottenham’s performance, with De Zerbi also admitting that he expected more from some of his players.
Mateus Fernandes was substituted at half-time after struggling to make the desired impact in midfield. The midfielder arrived from West Ham United during the summer in a deal reportedly worth £85 million.
De Zerbi was careful not to completely condemn Fernandes, insisting that he still has confidence in the player, but admitted that the midfielder’s display against Villa fell below his expectations.
Speaking about Fernandes, De Zerbi said: “Mateus is different than Kudus.
“I have big confidence in Mateus but I didn’t like his performance today.
“It’s not an attack on him because I love him.
“I just want more from him, even in that position.”
The Tottenham boss also challenged Dominic Solanke to raise his level after another difficult outing for the striker.
Solanke struggled to influence proceedings for long periods and was unable to provide the attacking threat Tottenham needed as Villa established a commanding advantage.
However, De Zerbi made it clear that he remains behind the forward and believes several aspects of his game and condition can improve.
“We need more from him for sure but he’s one of my players,” De Zerbi said.
“I like Domi as a player and I stay with him until the end.
“He needs to feel better.
“His physical condition is not good enough.
“Maybe he is not good enough in the confidence at this moment but many, many things can be better than this moment.”
With Tottenham still searching for their first convincing run of form under De Zerbi, the pressure will increase if results and performances fail to improve in the coming weeks.
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