If West Ham are not concerned about relegation rivals Spurs appointing Roberto De Zerbi, then they should be.
That’s if comments from the last man to employ him are anything to go by.
West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur are locked in a fight for Premier League survival heading into the last seven games of the season.
One point separates the Hammers and Spurs and Nuno Espirito Santo’s side know victory over Wolves next Friday night will see them climb out of the drop zone, dumping their rivals into it at the same time.
President’s claim about De Zerbi impact raises concern for West Ham
Given his dismal record, it was in West Ham’s interests that Igor Tudor continued as Tottenham manager for the run-in.
After his departure, the Hammers will clearly have more than one eye on his replacement, which is now expected to be fiery tactician Roberto De Zerbi.
How worried should we be about De Zerbi joining Tottenham? 😟
The appointment has divided opinion, even among Hammers fans with some feeling the combustible Italian could prove to be a flop, therefore helping their bid for survival.
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Another train of thought at West Ham is that De Zerbi will get Tottenham working hard and capable of picking up the wins needed to stay in the Premier League at their expense.
So a club president’s claim on new Spurs boss De Zerbi will raise serious concern for West Ham.
Marseille chief Pablo Longoria was the last man to employ De Zerbi until his departure by mutual consent earlier this season.
What Longoria said about De Zerbi will be gravely concerning for the Hammers and music to the ears of Spurs.
Because he says De Zerbi made an immediate and astonishing impact at his club.
New Spurs boss De Zerbi made immediate and unprecedented impact says last man to employ him
“In the summer I congratulated him, because I’ve never seen a club and a team completely change on the pitch in so little time,” Longoria said.
Somewhat ironically, De Zerbi was on West Ham’s shortlist to replace David Moyes.
This team stays up ahead of Spurs 😎
Only debate is Dinos or Todibo….
But he ended up joining Marseille instead for a tumultuous spell in charge.
Those comments will understandably ring alarm bells in the West Ham boardroom given Spurs were the team they had pinned their hopes on finishing above.
There will also be worries over the whopping £10m bonus De Zerbi will receive to keep Spurs up.
Obviously every club and their circumstances are different, so looking at De Zerbi’s record in his first seven games at previous clubs has limited value.
It does however give an idea of the type of impact he makes.
Much has been made of the fact he struggled initially for results at Brighton, with Lewis Dunk admitting the first few weeks were ‘carnage’.
But what of De Zerbi’s record in his first seven games of his last job?
Those statistics also don’t make great reading for the Hammers – and very much the opposite for Tottenham, who will be comfortably safe if he pulls off a repeat.
Because De Zerbi won four, drew two and lost just one of his first seven games as Marseille manager.
Do the same at Tottenham and they will end up on 44 points.
West Ham will clearly focus on what they can control – which is beating Wolves at home next time out in the Premier League.
Do that and De Zerbi will feel the pressure instantly with Spurs in the bottom three ahead of a difficult-looking trip to Sunderland two days later.
Relegation run-in remaining fixtures: