Will De Zerbi change formation to solve the problem?

Not wholesale — expect modest tweaks to create a clearer central striker role or a false nine, plus adjustments to full-back involvement and half-space overloads.

Does Tottenham need to sign a striker in January?

Yes, a clinical No.9 is the most direct remedy; if the club cannot buy one, reassign responsibilities and focus on finishing coaching instead.

Can training alone fix the low conversion rate?

Training and data-led shooting work can quickly improve conversion, but combined with a tactical focal point and recruitment the effect will be far more sustainable.

De Zerbi’s Remedy: How to Turn Spurs’ Chances into Goals

Tottenham’s problem is simple and stubborn: the chances keep coming, the goals do not. Since Harry Kane’s departure the team has maintained De Zerbi’s high-possession, positional patterns but suffered from an alarming conversion gap — high xG, low actual returns. That mismatch is not luck; it is a structural fault that a coach with De Zerbi’s ideas can diagnose and mend.

Tactically, the answer begins with role clarity rather than wholesale philosophy change. De Zerbi must create a reliable focal point — whether a mobile false nine or a dedicated striker — and reconfigure short combinations so Son and Maddison operate with clearer hierarchies in the final third. Full-backs should be encouraged to provide rhythmic crosses and overloads into the half-spaces, while the team tightens its pressing triggers to force higher-quality transition chances.

Beyond shape, the fix is psychological and technical: finishing routines, dedicated striker coaching, and smarter set-piece profiles. Spurs need one roster upgrade — a clinical No.9 who converts medium-quality chances into goals — or a decisive internal redefinition of finishing responsibilities (penalties, late runs, near-post flicks). Data must guide recruitment and training; marginal gains in shot selection and composure inside the box will show up immediately on the scoresheet.

The Guru’s prediction is blunt: De Zerbi will not abandon his principles, but he will sharpen them — a slight formation tweak, a finishing coach, and a January target if available. Expect goals per game to rise within six to eight weeks if the club commits to a clinical forward and prioritises finishing drills over cosmetic signings. My recommendation: buy or promote a reliable No.9 and reassign set-piece duties; that practical austerity solves what flair alone cannot.