Tottenham's Ruthless Rebuild: Solomon Departs as De Zerbi Reshapes Squad

James Maddison says goodbye again. Another teammate gone, another sign of how ruthless this Tottenham rebuild under Roberto De Zerbi has become.

The latest departure is Manor Solomon, who has left Spurs to join Championship side West Ham United on a permanent deal, three years after first arriving in North London.

De Zerbi’s clear-out gathers pace

Since walking through the door, De Zerbi has wasted no time reshaping this squad in his image. Big names have come in: Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson. Serious business, serious intent.

To make room, there has been an equally firm push in the other direction. Will Lankshear, Luka Vuskovic and Radu Dragusin have already been moved on, and more exits were always inevitable. For a club not involved in European competition, the squad had simply swollen beyond what domestic football demands.

If Spurs were juggling midweek nights on the continent, the numbers might make sense. They aren’t. So another door closes.

This time, it’s Solomon walking through it.

Solomon leaves, but not unnoticed

Solomon’s time in a Spurs shirt never really caught fire. Just six senior appearances, flashes rather than a full picture. Yet he clearly left a mark inside the dressing room.

James Maddison made that clear with a heartfelt message on his Instagram stories on 10 August, as the move was confirmed.

“Wish you the best of luck, mate! One of the nicest chaps I've ever come across, and helluva player as well! SSG King!” he wrote.

For a player with so few minutes in white, that kind of tribute says plenty about the person behind the footballer.

On the pitch, Solomon’s standout spell since joining Spurs actually came away from North London. During the 2024-25 season on loan at Leeds United, he delivered 10 goals and 13 assists in 41 games, a return that reminded everyone why he was so highly rated.

Now he drops back into the Championship again, this time with West Ham. A big club, a big stage at that level, and another chance to prove himself. Despite the limited impact at Tottenham, the affection pouring in for the Israel international underlines how well he carried himself during a stop-start spell.

Maddison’s own race against time

While Maddison waves off a friend, his own situation hangs over Spurs’ preparations.

The 29-year-old playmaker made it back onto the pitch towards the end of the 2025-26 campaign, but he has been conspicuously absent during pre-season under De Zerbi. The manager has confirmed that Maddison suffered a small setback and has not been risked on the club’s tour.

That caution is understandable, but it leaves a question mark ahead of the new Premier League season.

Tottenham open against Brentford on Saturday, 22 August. The mood around the club is buoyant after an unbeaten pre-season, yet the injury list bites hard in the most creative areas. Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus are all still sidelined. The team needs invention, guile, someone to thread passes and unlock defences.

Maddison is usually that man.

For now, De Zerbi will lean on new arrivals Tonali and Fernandes, both of whom carry a genuine goal threat from midfield and do not shy away from responsibility in the final third. They offer aggression and end product, tools that can mask the absence of a pure creator for a while.

But only for a while.

Spurs may cope without Maddison in the short term. They may even start fast. Yet if this remodelled squad is going to turn promise into something more tangible across a long, unforgiving season, they will want their “one of the Premier League’s most influential players” back pulling the strings as soon as he is ready.