Tottenham players are already falling in love with new manager Roberto De Zerbi, and one change has proved to be the most popular in the Spurs squad.
De Zerbi’s appointment represents Tottenham’s third managerial change of the season, and the most significant by some distance.
Thomas Frank came and went, Igor Tudor stayed for 44 days, and now the Italian who turned Brighton into one of the most watched teams in English football has signed a five-year contract at Hotspur Way – making him one of the highest paid managers in the country.
The difference in ambition between this appointment and its predecessors is not subtle.
Tottenham, speaking frankly, made De Zerbi the third highest paid manager in the Premier League, behind only Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola (GiveMeSport) – a financial commitment that shows both the seriousness of the long-term project and the desperation of the short-term situation.
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Spurs have been given a ‘significant’ boost in talks.
Spurs go into Sunday’s trip to Sunderland sitting in 17th place, one point above the relegation zone, with six games to play behind them.
What matters right now, however, is what has been happening on the training ground, and the early signs are worth paying attention to.
What Tottenham players like about Roberto De Zerbi’s training sessions
Alasdair Gold of London has repeatedly reported that the situation at Hotspur Way has changed.
The players went home describing the first day’s work in positive terms, and one senior told his friends that it was one of the best training sessions he had ever received.
Pictures released by the team on social media gave the public a glimpse of how De Zerbi works, working directly with Lucas Bergvall, Mathys Tel and Archie Gray in particular.
But it is the way Golide explained that stands out.
Instead of coming up with a rigid system and tough players agreeing to it, the Italian has taken a completely different starting point. He has been spending dedicated time with individual players, identifying what each of them can do and working to develop those specific qualities.
The focus, according to Gold’s sources, is on making each individual a better football player – not just a better cog in a predetermined machine, and the players are believed to have responded with great enthusiasm.
Most managers arrive at clubs with a clear tactical identity and players slotted into pre-assigned roles, but De Zerbi seems to be doing something different: starting with the people in front of him and building outwards from there.
De Zerbi also has a say in identifying the club’s next sporting director, adding influence on the pitch to continue his work there, after the former Sassuolo boss signed a ‘Mikel Arteta-like’ deal that gives him more control.
The rebuilding structure, in other words, goes deeper than training sessions.
Whether any of this translates into points for Sunderland remains to be seen, but the start was at least more promising than the exit that followed.
De Zerbi will give the Tottenham youngster a chance to ‘impress’ in one important situation
The whole team started again under Italy.
