Tottenham Hotspur's turbulent start to the Premier League season deepened on Saturday when they drew 0-0 at Nottingham Forest, leaving Roberto De Zerbi's side with just one point from three games and sitting 18th in the table. The result was salvaged only by a late VAR intervention that ruled out a Forest winner for handball, and De Zerbi made no attempt to hide his frustration afterwards, publicly criticising his attackers for poor decision-making and warning summer signing Omar Marmoush that he must improve. Spurs failed to register a single shot on target at the City Ground, a damning statistic for a squad that cost close to £400 million to assemble this summer.

The scale of that spending is generating its own pressure. Experts have warned the club could face a UEFA financial rules breach as a result of their extraordinary outlay, adding an off-pitch dimension to a difficult opening to the campaign. The transfer window also closed with complications, most notably Iliman Ndiaye joining Manchester City in a £65 million deadline-day move after City hijacked Tottenham's pursuit of the Everton forward. Richarlison, meanwhile, was dropped from the Premier League squad entirely after a proposed move to Trabzonspor collapsed.

Spurs do have reinforcements available, with Mykhailo Mudryk now fit and ready to make his competitive return after 21 months out. Whether he can sharpen an attack that has failed to score in three straight league games remains the central question as Tottenham prepare to host Everton on September 12.