Roberto de Zerbi shared updates about the state of his squad as Tottenham travel to Wolves.
‘He was one of my perfect players’
Injuries have been a big factor in the failures of the club during the last two years, and the Italian head coach continues to work without several significant options in attack for the final phase of the season.
"Destiny Udogie has a problem and can't play tomorrow. I'm sorry, because he played a great first half, second half as well, but the first one was great. We have Djed Spence, Souza is also available to come with us, so it's not a big problem. I hope Destiny will be available next week at Villa Park.
“It’s a muscular injury [for Destiny], but not so important. He didn't play for a long time, and it can happen at the beginning when you start to feel something of this problem. I have a big opinion about Destiny, and he is a crucial player for us. We are lucky because we can play with Djed Spence, another important player. I think he is playing very well this season, another very good guy.
“[James Maddison] is not available yet. Especially this week, he felt pain, but not a so important problem. He will come with us on the bench because it's important if he plays or not. It doesn't matter. It's better if he plays, for sure, but also as a guy, as a leader, as a positive guy inside of my dressing room. I want to see nice people and positive people and it's important also for his team-mates.
“I'm sorry for [Dejan Kulusevski] because he was one of my perfect players. He is a very specific player for me, like Mohamed Kudus, like Cristian Romero. I hope for him that he can play in the World Cup because the World Cup for a player is a moment, is the best period of their career. I don't know the situation very well.
“[Pape Matar Sarr has] felt pain in the shoulder and this week he has not worked with the group. He is not available to play.
“[Guglielmo Vicario] is not available for tomorrow. I hope he can start with me from Monday. Antonin Kinsky is playing very well and from Monday we go to work with him. I hope Vicario can come back in the best physical condition because he is another very important player for us.”
‘I consider the attitude, the behaviour’
The fallout from the 2-2 draw with Brighton was also on the media’s radar. Georginio Rutter levelled the score for the Seagulls in North London as he profited from a Kevin Danso mistake, and the defender has been the recipient of reams of racial abuse on social media in the days that followed.
De Zerbi defends Kevin Danso against racist abuse
De Zerbi stood up for the player, and he asked other team members to step up for the fight to survive.
“I was very annoyed by the racist insults towards Kevin Danso, but he has to be calm. I am proud for him. He played a fantastic game, not a good game, a fantastic game. It was important for the result, but I don't consider one mistake so important.
“I consider the attitude, I consider the behaviour on the pitch, the quality in which he played that game, the personality while he played that game. He will be here next season because he is a good guy, he is a very good player and every one of us is lucky to work with him.
“I think Xavi Simons but also Conor Gallagher [stepped up against Brighton]. I watched the same Gallagher when he played in Chelsea. Dominic Solanke played a great game, Micky van de Ven, I don't know what the problem was, but everyone knows my opinion about him. Pedro Porro scored a goal, but he played an important game.
“Udogie, Danso maybe can improve in the confidence, not in the attitude because he is a good guy, he worked a lot in the defensive phase, especially in defensive space, but Randal Kolo Muani in the second half, the second part of the game, Mathys Tel, both can play better. Not play better because they are playing bad, but because they have big talent and I want to see all this talent on the pitch.
“It's not the best position for [Kolo Muani], right winger, and also for Mathys Tel, because Mathys Tel is more of a winger, but in the left side. For a winger, from my experience because I was a winger, it's a totally different playing the left and the right side. Both they can play and we need them in that position.
“It's not a problem about the position of the pitch, but confidence and players can change completely, performance depends on the confidence. If they feel confident from the coach, from the environment, from the fans, and they want to help them both to play following their qualities, that's just it.”Log in