Tottenham Hotspur are working on “another bomba” transfer, according to head coach Roberto De Zerbi, who says he is “like a shark” when he wants a player in the transfer market.
Spurs have made six signings this summer, breaking their transfer record twice, first for Mateus Fernandes (£85million) from West Ham United, followed by a deal worth up to £100m for Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United. They are now focusing on attacking reinforcements to bolster a forward line weakened by long-term knee injuries to Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski, and De Zerbi has suggested their big business is far from done.
“No, at the moment, no,” De Zerbi replied when asked whether there are any players on his list of targets that Spurs have not been able to sign. “But the transfer market, it’s not finished for sure. We have completed 60 per cent of our project in the transfer market. Now we have another bomba.”
When asked whether the “bomba” deal was close, De Zerbi said, “I hope, but it’s not finished, for sure.”
Manchester City winger Savinho is a long-term target, and Tottenham are confident that they can complete a deal for the 22-year-old Brazil international in the coming weeks. The “bomba” signing is expected to be separate to the pursuit of Savinho, and relates to another major attacking addition.
“In the transfer market, when I want one player, I become like a shark,” De Zerbi added. “No chance to say no.
“I love working in the transfer market. It’s not pressure; it’s one of the nicest parts of my work, my job.”
Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson were identified as free agent additions before De Zerbi joined the club, while Tottenham were also working on a deal to bring Jan Paul van Hecke before De Zerbi’s arrival.
“The list of the players for the transfer market was born before I joined Tottenham, he added. “Because after Marseille, I spoke with Vinai (Venkatesham, CEO), with Johan Lange (sporting director), but I didn’t want to come before, because I suffered on my way out from Marseille.
“But with Johan, we were working on the plan, so a lot of players you are watching now on the pitch started from March, mid-March. And then, normally, when you work with the players, you can change your opinion, maybe for the human quality, for the character, for the quality as a player also, because a lot of players are different than I thought.”
Robertson has joined Destiny Udogie, Souza and Ben Davies as options from the left, while Djed Spence, who impressed for England under Thomas Tuchel this summer, may serve as a back-up to World Cup winner Pedro Porro, whom De Zerbi rates as the “best right back in the world”.
“We have four, at the moment, great full-backs,” De Zerbi said. “Maybe the four most important full-backs in the world — because I think Pedro Porro is the best right back in the world — with Udogie, Robertson, and Djed Spence can play right and left.”
There are several expected outgoings this summer, including Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario, following the departure of Luka Vuskovic, who joined Brighton & Hove Albion for a club-record fixed fee of £46m, plus add-ons.
Antonin Kinsky won the No 1 shirt from Vicario last term, impressing in De Zerbi’s seven matches while Vicario was sidelined after undergoing hernia surgery and helping Tottenham avoid relegation.
“At the beginning of my time, in April I had, I don’t know, one million individual meetings, and they told me their idea,” he told reporters, when asked whether any players had come to him and asked him to leave during that period. “I said: Yes, help me to stay up, and then I help you to leave. If you don’t help me to stay up, you stay underwater with me.”