Spurs

LONDON: Tottenham were booed off after their goalless start to the Premier League season stretched to a fourth match following Saturday’s dismal 0-0 draw against Everton.

Roberto De Zerbi’s expensively assembled side have made a wretched opening to the new campaign and they were easily held by Everton in north London.

Tottenham have taken two points from their first four matches, with their only goals this season coming against second tier Charlton in the League Cup.

Their search for a goal takes them to Liverpool in the League Cup third round on Tuesday before they host Aston Villa in the top-flight next weekend.

David Moyes’s Everton remain unbeaten after three draws and a win.

Despite spending more than £300 million ($406 million) on 10 signings since the end of last term, Tottenham’s crisis is mounting after a remarkably bad start.

Defeats against Brentford and Newcastle and a draw against Nottingham Forest left them languishing in the relegation zone ahead of this weekend’s action.

With the spectre of another relegation battle looming after last season’s final-day escape, De Zerbi desperately needed a morale-boosting victory.

Tottenham, who finished 17th for the last two seasons, climbed out of the bottom three after this draw, but it was hardly any reason for celebration.

They had secured their top-flight survival with a win against Everton in north London.

De Zerbi’s men rarely looked like recreating that success, with Savio shooting just wide from Sandro Tonali’s delivery.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored a stunner to salvage a draw against Manchester United last weekend, but the Everton midfielder was off-target from the edge of the area this time.

Mateus Fernandes, one of Tottenham’s expensive recruits, fired over from a good position.

Omar Marmoush made a hash of another decent chance, triggering groans of frustration from the disgruntled Tottenham fans.

Everton went close to snatching the lead just before half-time when James Garner’s free-kick was clawed away by Antonin Kinsky.

When Fernandes forced a routine save from Jordan Pickford, Tottenham supporters responded with ironic cheers to mark their team’s first shot on target.

Thierno Barry should have added to the fans’ angst after Tyrique George’s cross picked him out but the Everton striker’s header was parried by Kinsky.

De Zerbi had seen enough of Tottenham’s lethargic performance and sent on Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel and Lucas Bergvall.

Kinsky gifted Everton a golden opportunity when his attempt to find Tonali instead rolled to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, but the midfielder took too long to shoot and the chance was gone.

Picked out by Dewsbury-Hall, former Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson blazed over with the goal at his mercy to let his old club off the hook.

Bergvall was denied by Pickford in the closing minutes but it was not long before jeers were cascading down from the stands.

Richarlison is one of three players who De Zerbi says have asked to leave Tottenham.

He, Kevin Danso and Pape Matar Sarr have all been linked with moves away from Spurs and none were included in De Zerbi’s match squad as Tottenham lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle on Saturday.

Asked about their status after the loss, De Zerbi said: “Richarlison, I don’t know. He said too many times he wants to leave.

“Danso came to me two days ago and he said wants to leave and Pape Sarr the same, but he suffered a small injury, but he is almost ready to train.

“I have very good relationships but if they want to leave, they have to bring the solution, the economic solution, to the club, and they can go.”

Spurs have spent more than £300m this summer in an effort to restore their competitive edge following back-to-back 17th-place Premier League finishes.

But Tottenham are bottom of the table, having lost their first two games to Brentford and Newcastle and failing to score a goal.

With 11 goals, Richarlison was Tottenham’s top scorer last season and a key figure during their struggle for Premier League survival, which was secured on the final day.

Earlier in August, De Zerbi said that the Brazilian was uncertain about his future, noting that “it’s not easy to find another striker like Richarlison”.

Last week, Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush joined Spurs on loan and he replaced Richarlison in De Zerbi’s starting XI against Newcastle.

Danso’s first-team opportunities may be limited this season as Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke arrive to challenge for his place in central defence, where Micky van de Ven’s spot was secured by the signing of a new contract and the award of the captaincy.

Sunderland made an offer to take Danso, who has 36 Austria caps, on a season-long loan – but Spurs rejected it.

In midfield, Sarr’s chance to play has been impacted by the arrivals of Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali early in the window, as Tottenham kicked off their a statement summer of transfers by breaking their club record fee twice in one week.

The Senegal international, 23, has attracted interest from a number of clubs, including several in the Premier League and Turkish side Besiktas.

However, Juventus are understood to be confident of winning the race for his signature on a loan deal that includes a conditional obligation to buy.