Roberto De Zerbi has made a big change from Igor Tudor and Thomas Frank at Tottenham as he prepares to begin his reign and bid to keep Spurs up
Roberto De Zerbi reportedly has made changes to Tottenham players' training, with sessions now very different to what they were under previous bosses Igor Tudor and Thomas Frank.
Spurs have spent ten days working with their new head coach ahead of their Premier League match away to Sunderland. However, despite there being three weeks between their last two games due to their exits in the Champions League and FA Cup, the Italian is said to have not scheduled double sessions during this time, limiting them to one per day.
De Zerbi will have done so in the hope of avoiding any injuries. Mohammed Kudus, though, has since sustained a setback.
Spurs confirmed in an injury update on Thursday that "he had returned to team training during the past week, however, will now require further specialist review and, potentially, surgery."
The Daily Mail claims that De Zerbi has also made training sessions longer than they were under Tudor and Frank and always with the ball. The report also states that the new boss has taken an immediate shine to six players, including Kudus, whom he tried to sign for Marseille.
He said of the Ghana international: "I started not with too big luck, but yes, Kudus was in my head a crucial player, especially for the position, but we have to look forward anyway."
The other five players he singled out were Kolo Muani, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Mathys Tel and Richarlison. The Italian added: "I think we have a lot of very good attackers, and we have to help them, to put them in the best condition to show their qualities.
"Because Kolo Muani, I know he's not playing a great season, but he's a good player. I know him, like Mathys Tel. I wanted him in Marseille when I was in Marseille.
"Xavi Simons is a big talent. Richarlison, [Dominic] Solanke, you know maybe better than me. We have to put them in the best condition we can."
On the squad overall, De Zerbi continued: "In the last period, I watched a lot of games, especially of Tottenham. Yes, one thing is to watch the game at home, and a different thing is to work with them on the pitch.
"We have very big players, young players, [Lucas] Bergvall, Archie Gray, Mathys Tel, Xavi Simons. We have older players that are very important.
"[Micky] van de Ven is a crucial player for me, like [Cristian] Romero, like [Pedro] Porro, like Solanke. I want to see again the same Gallagher I loved at Chelsea.
"I think I'm lucky because I have a big confidence in my players, in their qualities. My target is to help them to play well, to enjoy with the ball, because their characteristics are very clear for me."
The target on the pitch is now to get out of the relegation zone after West Ham United beating Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday night dropped Spurs into the bottom three. Only a win at the Stadium of Light will do, with West Ham moving two points ahead of Tottenham having played before them this weekend.