Roberto De Zerbi has already made his mark on Tottenham Hotspur's training sessions after ten days working with the Spurs squad before his first match in charge
Roberto De Zerbi has reportedly overhauled training at Tottenham, with sessions now looking markedly different to those under his predecessors, Igor Tudor and Thomas Frank. Spurs have spent ten days working alongside their new head coach ahead of their Premier League clash away at Sunderland.
Despite there being three weeks between their last two fixtures owing to their exits in the Champions League and FA Cup, the Italian has refrained from scheduling double sessions during this period, restricting players to just one per day.
De Zerbi is said to have taken this approach to minimise the risk of injury. Mohammed Kudus, however, has since suffered 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 reports that De Zerbi has also extended training sessions beyond what they were under Tudor and Frank, with ball work being a constant throughout. The report further suggests that the new manager has taken an instant liking to six players, among them Kudus, whom he attempted to bring to Marseille when he was in charge at the French side.
Speaking about the Ghana international, he said: "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 highlighted were Cristian Romero, Mathys Tel, Micky van de Ven, Randal Kolo Muani 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."
Regarding the squad as a whole, De Zerbi said: "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. Van de Ven is a crucial player for me, like Romero, like [Pedro] Porro, like Solanke. I want to see again the same [Conor] 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 immediate priority on the pitch is to climb out of the relegation zone, after West Ham United's victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday evening dragged Spurs into the bottom three. Nothing less than three points at the Stadium of Light will suffice, with West Ham now sitting two points clear of Tottenham, having played a game more.