A former Tottenham Hotspur captain has spoken out about the difference between Spurs now under Roberto De Zerbi than when Mauricio Pochettino was in charge at the club
Hugo Lloris believes Tottenham Hotspur are trying to give Roberto De Zerbi the best possible conditions to succeed and describes it as a different time compared to Mauricio Pochettino's time at the club.
Lloris, 39, was made Spurs captain by the Argentinian coach, and more than half of his Tottenham appearances came during their time together. However, the club's approach to the transfer market has shifted drastically since De Zerbi's appointment.
Spurs are doing their business early this summer, and at great expense. That contrasts starkly with Daniel Levy's wage caps and their penchant for delaying deals until deadline day.
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Lloris recalled on Rio Ferdinand Presents : "At the time, the club was financially focusing on the new stadium, and I think the team was growing too fast. When Pochettino arrived, after two years, we were already in the top four.
Then, after three years, we were out of the group stages in the Champions League, finishing ahead of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. We managed to get to the Champions League final.
"It was the moment to invest and refresh this group of players. We spent four or five years together building something special without really spending in the market.
"We had a good starting XI, and we played attractive football, but we probably had a lack of depth on the bench and in the squad. We had to deal with the Chelsea of [Roman] Abramovich, the Liverpool of Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City of Pep Guardiola.
"It's about details at this level, and I think we had an opportunity. It was probably easier to change the coach rather than four or five players. We never came back to that level, especially in terms of consistency.
"Now they are looking forward and are really active in the transfer market, trying to give Roberto De Zerbi the best conditions. Let's see, it's a different time."
The club's new head coach called on the club after confirming their Premier League status for next season to be busy this summer and get their business done early. De Zerbi said in his post-match press conference after their 1-0 win over Everton: "From tonight, we have to start to organise and to build a new team.
"I don't think we have now to change too many players. We have 10, 11, 12 players good enough to stay. Good enough. Like players. Especially like people.
"And then we have to complete the squad with the first level of players. First level of players, because we suffered too much ... My target is to start the pre-season with the team I have in my dream."
Spurs have already made several signings and spent well over £200million on transfer fees to acquire Jan Paul van Hecke, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka also arrived on free transfers, as has Cole Ramsey more recently.