There’s simply over per week to go till Roberto De Zerbi‘s Tottenham Hotspur tenure will get underway away at Sunderland, with the Lilywhites having final gained a Premier League sport again in December.
Determined instances appeared set to name for determined measures, amid speak of a shock swoop free of charge agent, Sean Dyche, though the ENIC regime have put their religion within the maverick De Zerbi as a substitute.
A turbulent tenure at Marseille had come following a largely optimistic spell for the 46-year-old at Brighton and Hove Albion, having steered the Seagulls to a sixth and eleventh place end in his two seasons on the helm.
A run of 5 league video games and not using a win at first of his time on the Amex merely cannot be repeated, but that stint on the south coast showcased why he might be the proper coach for this youthful crop of Spurs stars.
Why Brighton spell reveals De Zerbi will be the proper Spurs coach
It is not been a optimistic two years or so at N17, removed from it, but there’s something of an thrilling, younger backbone rising for De Zerbi to work with, in an analogous vein to Mauricio Pochettino’s beforehand spectacular reign.
At Brighton, the ex-Sassuolo boss nurtured a raft of rising stars and helped propel them to superstardom, with Joao Pedro notably scoring 20 objectives of their solitary season working collectively in 2023/24.
De Zerbi was additionally the person who oversaw the ascent of fellow striker Evan Ferguson, with the Irishman scoring 15 objectives in 60 video games in that point, whereas serving to to take a younger Moises Caicedo to the following degree in 2022/23.
Caicedo had solely made eight Premier League appearances earlier than that marketing campaign, after time on mortgage in Belgium, but instantly cemented his place as one of many division’s main midfielders beneath De Zerbi’s watch.
The centre-piece of the Seagulls’ midfield, the Ecuadorian notably ranked sixth within the league for correct passes that season, whereas ending second for tackles made and for interceptions.
|
Caicedo – 22/23 PL stats |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat (*per sport) |
Report |
|
Video games |
37 |
|
Objectives |
1 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Move price* |
89% |
|
Key passes* |
1.2 |
|
Interceptions* |
1.5 |
|
Tackles* |
2.7 |
|
Complete duels gained* |
58% |
|
Dribbled previous* |
0.8 |
|
Large possibilities created |
3 |
Within the eyes of De Zerbi, Caicedo – who made 37 Premier League appearances in complete that marketing campaign – was somebody who might “play in every single place“, flitting in at right-back and even right-sided centre-back now and again.
Now a £115m star at Chelsea, it was beneath the Italian that the 25-year-old first really blossomed, boding effectively for the affect De Zerbi could make in north London.
Spurs have already got De Zerbi’s subsequent Caicedo
As famous above, there’s a core of children who might vogue a fearsome aspect at N17 within the years to return, be it Mathys Tel and Xavi Simons in assault, or Lucas Bergvall and Archie Grey in midfield.
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Amid a season of rife inconsistency at Spurs, it’s Grey who has arguably been head and shoulders above the remaining, even regardless of his youth, having even been earmarked as a “future Tottenham captain” by a sure Harry Redknapp.
A daring declare which may be, though the 20-year-old appeared significantly commanding within the latest 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid within the Champions League, subsequently hailed as a “younger Declan Rice” by The Athletic’s Duncan Alexander.
Rice, alongside Caicedo, are the 2 foremost midfielders within the division proper now, but Grey might doubtlessly get pleasure from an analogous rise beneath De Zerbi’s steerage shifting ahead.
Eyebrows have been raised when a determine of round £40m was dished out in 2024 to prise the Englishman from Leeds United, but that funding now seems one thing of a coup, having been tipped to be a “future £100m” participant by analyst Ben Mattinson.
Like Caicedo, the 20-year-old has that knack for having the ability to flit between a right-back or central midfield berth, though it’s in that latter berth the place he seemingly belongs, such is his potential to cowl floor in a Rice or Caicedo-style.
That was evident towards Atleti previous to the worldwide break, as he pounced on a unfastened cross to tee up Xavi Simons’ second-half stunner.
Within the Champions League usually, he averaged 2.1 tackles per sport from his seven begins, whereas boasting a stellar 90% cross accuracy.
2026 appears like Grey’s yr, not least with De Zerbi now on board, though the teenager’s expertise has been evident for an prolonged interval now, after first bursting onto the scene as a mere 17-year-old at Elland Street.
A notable, memorable outing in his Leeds days paradoxically got here towards Chelsea within the FA Cup in 2024, with journalist Dan Kilpatrick noting on the time that each Caicedo and midfielder companion Enzo Fernandez had been ‘outshone’ by the lesser-known Grey.
His ceiling is evidently sky excessive, with Grey the brand new Caicedo-style determine that De Zerbi must construct this workforce round.
£27m Spurs star ought to be livid that ENIC have employed De Zerbi
The arrival of Roberto De Zerbi might have repercussions for the present Spurs squad.
