Tottenham Is Building A Very Good Team – De Zerbi

Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi has said that the club’s summer rebuild is not finished yet. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.

Admitting that he intends to shape a squad capable of competing at the top of the EPL, De Zerbi noted that further arrivals and departures are expected as part of a wider overhaul.

The Italian coach added that the recruitment of new players has focused as much on character as quality.

His words, “I think we are building a very good team, with some very important new players, and we are starting the project in another part of the history of the club.

Now we are inside the project, we are excited with the idea to build a very strong team. Now we have to finish, it’s not finished yet — our transfer market, in and out — but at the moment I’m very happy, very proud and very positive.

We are all together to fight to reach the result. Of course, Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Senesi, Robertson, JP van Hecke — all of them are very important as qualities of the players, but first of all as a quality and level of the person.

When I want to convince one player I have to be able to come inside of their head. Tonali was very young when he started to play in Brescia and was a leader — I think Tonali needs to play in a big club with big motivation.

For Mateus Fernandes, this is a crucial part of his career because he needs a particular style of play to show all his qualities. JP van Hecke is like my son because I worked with him for two seasons at Brighton — I know him very well as a character, as a personality, as a leader.

Robertson can give us personality and the habits to win, to fight for the highest level, and Senesi, with his experience in the Premier League and his human qualities, can be very important for us.

It was totally different because the seven games at the end of the season you have no time. It’s not the right way to push too much the principles of play.

Now we have time, we have everything in the right way, right place and the right position to work and to become better and better in the quality of play.

I have never been in Australia. It’s very nice to go for the first time for me but we are going to work and to prepare for our best. It’s important we go to play in front of our fans because Tottenham have fans everywhere in the world.

I feel a big responsibility because they loved me at the beginning in my time at Tottenham and now for me it is a pleasure to be Tottenham coach. At the same time, I feel responsibility to give results, to give pride when we are on the pitch and to build a great Tottenham.

Football in my head is democratic and every one of them has the chance to show me if they are good enough to play, if they are good enough to stay in this big club — name and surname don’t matter when there is a ball on the pitch.

Last season I think we reached the target of showing character, showing the right spirit.

Now we have to push in the style of play, the quality of the play and the organisation — this is an important part because now we are building our journey.

To build a new team with the qualities for sure but with soul, with patience, with all the values we have — because football now is not just on the pitch, it’s not just with the ball, it’s before, it’s in private life. They have to be happy and proud to stay in Tottenham.”