London Evening Standard

Roberto De Zerbi has revealed how he convinced Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali to join Tottenham this summer.

Tottenham broke their club transfer record to bring Fernandes to the club for £85m from relegated London rivals West Ham before quickly moving to trump that figure by splashing £100m on Tonali from Newcastle.

Spurs’ aggressive spending has taken the Premier League by storm, particularly given the club narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship on the final day of the season.

Fernandes and Tonali both had options elsewhere, so their decision to pick Spurs took many by surprise.

Spurs boss De Zerbi has been credited with convincing the pair to join the club, and he admitted the scale of the project at Spurs was well suited to Tonali’s ambitions.

“To want to convince one player, I have to be able to come inside their head,” De Zerbi said.

“Tonali was very young when he started to play in Brescia and was a leader, and I think Tonali needs to play in a big club with big motivation.

“For Mateus Fernandes, it is a crucial part of his career because he needs a particular style of play to show all his qualities.”

Spurs have made six summer signings, with Jan Paul Van Hecke, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka forming the backbone of a comprehensive rebuild.

On Van Hecke, who is set to join up with the rest of the Spurs squad imminently following his £55m move from Brighton, De Zerbi described the Dutch centre-half as “like a son”.

“Van Hecke is like my son because I worked with him for two seasons at Brighton. I know him very well as a character, a personality, as a leader.”

Spurs returned to pre-season training two weeks ago, and will play their first friendly of the summer when they take on MK Dons at Hotspur Way on Wednesday evening.

Mateus Fernandes scored a stunning winner mere minutes into his Tottenham debut as Roberto De Zerbi’s side opened their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 defeat of MK Dons.

Spurs have plenty of work to do this summer as they work to bed in a number of fresh faces and return to the upper echelons of the Premier League, and De Zerbi will be encouraged by his side’s first outing.

Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and Martin Dubravka all impressed as they played their first minutes in Tottenham colours behind closed doors at Hotspur Way, with Jan Paul van Hecke and Andy Robertson watching on from the sidelines.

Tottenham made a lively start to the match as they faced the newly promoted Dons, with Dominic Solanke denied an opener seconds in by Craig MacGillivray.

They would not have to wait much longer for the opener, though. With less than three minutes played, a Mathys Tel corner was punched clear as far as the debutant Fernandes, whose sweet first-time volley rattled in off the post to put Spurs one to the good.

There was plenty more to be impressed with in the opening exchanges. The midfield three of Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and Conor Gallagher worked a treat, supported by a typically composed Archie Gray performance. Manor Solomon, returning from a loan spell at Fiorentina, had plenty of joy down the right flank, as did Rio Kyrematen on the opposite flank.

MK Dons offered little going forward, but what few chances they had were defended well by Kota Takai, who missed most of last summer’s pre-season campaign with an injury, and the returning Ben Davies, playing for the first time since breaking his ankle in the spring.

Chances, on the whole, were few and far between, but there was plenty for De Zerbi to smile about as the half-time whistle blew and he lined up ten changes. Young prospects Luca Williams-Barnett, Mikey Moore and Dane Scarlett were among the fresh faces introduced, alongside veterans Richarlison and Martin Dubravka.

The direction of play swung in the Dons' favour with those adjustments made, though they could not find their way through a back line bolstered by the inspired Malachi Hardy.

Both sides had goals ruled out in the second half. Richarlison had the ball in the back of the net after a tidy dinked finish but was denied by the offside flag, while a Dons’ goal from a corner was chalked off for a foul on Dubravka.

The visitors may have been directing traffic, but Spurs had two gilt-edge chances to add a second in the late stages. Richarlison drew a routine parry from MacGillivray with a close-range shot, before Yang Min-Hyeok missed an open goal after latching onto a superb pass from Williams-Barnett.

Dubravka, debuting with a new club for the eighth time in his senior career, also managed to contribute to a positive day for Tottenham debutants, denying a pacey headed effort with a smart parry ten minutes from time.

Mateus Fernandes believes Tottenham have a point to prove as he faces up to his first season with the club.

The Portuguese joined Spurs early in the summer transfer window and marked his debut on Wednesday with a stunning volleyed goal. It proved the winner as Tottenham edged MK Dons 1-0 behind closed doors at Hotspur Way.

While goals did not flow for Spurs, there was plenty for Roberto De Zerbi to smile about as his new-look midfield, also featuring Conor Gallagher and Sandro Tonali, quickly gelled.

Speaking after the friendly, Fernandes said he was ready to kick on and help his new club get back to its best following back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the Premier League.

Asked what aspects of his game he wanted to improve upon, he responded: “Individually, I want to do better, do a better season than last. I need to score more goals, give more assists, be more consistent.

“Now I am playing for Tottenham, maybe the pressure can be even more, so I need to be better in many aspects. This is the reason I am here.

“I know Mr De Zerbi will improve me, improve the team, and now it is just us against the world.”

He continued, explaining how Spurs could get back to the top end of the table: “It is not just about the midfield. It is about all things, the main thing is the gaffer. Mr De Zerbi - he is the guy.

“We just need to do what he says, what we are doing in training sessions, control the games, know the timings to pass, to control the game, and to attack the box.

“This was our first game and now we need to be on the right level. We are looking forward to playing again.”

Tottenham will now travel halfway around the world to continue their pre-season campaign, facing Auckland FC in New Zealand before meeting Sydney FC and Chelsea in Australia.

Fernandes, previously of Southampton and West Ham, hopes his goal against MK Dons of League One is not his last in Tottenham colours.

“It was my favourite goal of my career,” he said of Thursday’s strike. “I need to do this more and more times, to score goals, to shoot outside of the box. I know I can do it.

“I am so happy to be here. I know that I am playing for a massive club. We are playing for the top of Premier League and the level needs to be big. We need to train hard and play well.”

Standard Sport understands that while a deal is not easy to do, Middlesbrough would prefer a permanent move, but are also open to a loan for the 21-year-old.

Middlesbrough have already completed the signing of Spurs striker Will Lankshear for a fee that could rise to £20m if add-ons are met, and they are keen to raid the north London club again to sign Phillips.

Phillips has established himself as one of the brightest young centre-backs in the Football League, having made more than 100 Championship appearances across loan spells with Stoke City, Plymouth Argyle and Blackburn Rovers.

The England youth international made 40 appearances in all competitions for Stoke last season and captained the side in their 3-3 draw with Ipswich Town in March.

Standard Sport understands that Spurs want to drive greater productivity from the club’s academy, whether through first team progression or player sales.

They have already raised up to £34m from the permanent departures of Lankshear, Alfie Devine and Tynan Thompson, while teenage defender Luka Vuskovic joined Brighton for £50m despite not making a single competitive appearance for Spurs.

There is also an acceptance that overall Spurs need to improve at maximising player sales. After an aggressive summer of spending, in which they have paid in excess of £200m for six new players, academy sales may increase as the club looks to generate funds.

Standard Sport understands that Middlesbrough will pay £10m up front, with a further £10m potentially due in add-ons for the 21-year-old.

Spurs also retain a 20 per cent sell-on clause and matching rights for Lankshear, who joins Middlesbrough in search of regular first-team minutes.

Lankshear is highly regarded internally at Spurs, but acknowledged they could not offer him the game time he needed to develop.

Standard Sport understands that Spurs are keen to drive greater productivity from their academy, whether through progression to the first team or generating funds that can be invested into Roberto De Zerbi’s squad.

Spurs have already sanctioned the departures of academy players Alfie Devine and Tynan Thompson to Preston and Manchester United, respectively, for a combined fee of around £14m.

Devine enjoyed an excellent season on loan at Preston last term, while Thompson, who is highly regarded in academy circles, was keen to relocate due to family circumstances.

After an aggressive summer of spending, in which they have spent in excess of £200m on new players, Spurs are also determined to become a better selling club and have identified a number of academy players with strong sell-on value.

In negotiating a sell-on clause and matching rights in deals for Lankshear, Thompson and Vuskovic, Spurs believe they have protected themselves on three high-potential players, while generating immediate funds to help finance their rebuild under De Zerbi this summer.

Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes are both in line to make first appearances for Tottenham

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Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

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After finishing 17th in successive Premier League campaigns, Spurs are looking to kick on under Roberto De Zerbi and today is the first step towards achieving that target.

Tottenham’s players who were not involved at this summer’s World Cup have been put through their paces in training at Hotspur Way for the last two weeks and now De Zerbi gets a chance to see how his team is shaping up.

Summer signings Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali are expected to play some part against MK Dons, though supporters may have to wait for a first glimpse of Andy Robertson in a Spurs shirt having had just one training session since joining on a free transfer.

Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert, Dejan Kulusevski and Mohammed Kudus are all absent through injury, but the likes of Mikey Moore and Jamie Donley are set to be handed an opportunity to impress De Zerbi.

MK Dons, meanwhile, are gearing up for a season in League One following their promotion and are hopeful of an improvement from last Friday’s 2-1 loss to NK Istra in their first pre-season friendly of the summer.

This will be the third friendly meeting between Spurs and MK Dons - the first in five years - and both sides have one win apiece.

Elijah Upson has explained his decision to leave Tottenham and join Arsenal after completing a move across north London.

The 18-year-old, who is the son of former Arsenal defender Matthew Upson, was offered a professional contract by Spurs but turned that down to consider his options elsewhere.

The centre-back revealed that the pathway into Arsenal's first team and the quality of the defenders in the squad to learn from persuaded him that this was the right club.

"That was one of the big reasons for my decision - obviously great exposure to some of these great players that have had a great season here and some real top quality," Upson said.

"I'm excited to hopefully be around and work with these people.

"I think definitely the centre-back partnership in the first team that there is between [William] Saliba and Gabriel, they're a good inspiration and really experienced, high-quality players.

"They've had a great season, definitely two players that I'm really keen to learn from and expose myself to hopefully."

Asked about how he wants to develop in his first season at the club, Upson revealed he wanted "some exposure to the first team", but that the focus would be a "good foundation of games in the [Under-]21s".

Upson has been given the No57 shirt and will now settle in at the training ground for pre-season.

While Spurs were keen for him to remain at the club, Upson opted to leave when his scholarship terms expired at the end of the season.

"It's a great feeling, really proud to be here," he said.

"When I met the guys here recently and met all the team and staff, it just seemed like a really nice environment.

New signings hoping to impress Roberto De Zerbi as Spurs play first pre-season friendly

Sam Tabuteau

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Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Sam Tabuteau

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Tottenham kick-start their pre-season preparations with a behind-closed-doors friendly against MK Dons this evening.

Spurs have been back in training at Hotspur Way for the last two weeks and will now play their first friendly as Roberto De Zerbi gets to see how his team is shaping up ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

Tottenham have been busy in the summer transfer window, spending in excess of £200million on six new players, and both Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali are in line to play some part against MK Dons.

Tonali may potentially see his minutes limited, though, as he joined pre-season training late due to work permit issues.

Fellow new signing Martin Dubravka has also been part of training, but those who were involved at the World Cup this summer have not yet joined up with the rest of the squad.

Scotland left-back Andy Robertson was, however, in attendance at Hotspur Way on Tuesday for his first day as Spurs player since signing on a free transfer from Liverpool.

Pedro Porro, who started for Spain on Sunday as they beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time, Cristian Romero and Marcos Senesi will also take extended breaks following the World Cup final.

Debuts loading: Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes could both feature for Tottenham against MK Dons

Tottenham Hotspur

Djed Spence enjoyed an impressive World Cup as England finished third, and he too will be absent against MK Dons.

There are a number of players on the comeback trail following injury, with Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert still some way from returning from their respective anterior cruciate ligament issues despite being pictured at the training ground.

Mohammed Kudus has also been spotted at Hotspur Way, but he too is following a separate rehabilitation plan as he works his way back to fitness after a serious quad injury.

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The same applies to Dejan Kulusevski, who did not play a single minute of football last season due to a troublesome knee injury.

Mikey Moore has been involved with the first-team squad and could get minutes against MK Dons as De Zerbi assesses him ahead of the new season.

Moore remains highly coveted after an impressive loan spell at Rangers.

De Zerbi has yet to decide whether Moore has a first-team future at Spurs and could use Wednesday’s game as an indicator of his suitability.

Academy player Jamie Donley has been involved with the first team and is said to have impressed De Zerbi in the last couple of weeks.

De Zerbi is likely to make plenty of changes against MK Dons so every player can get some minutes under their belt.

Heavy rotation is expected, but Standard Sport still had a go at predicting the starting lineup for Spurs’ first pre-season friendly.

Predicted Tottenham XI: Kinsky, Takai, Phillips, Davies, Udogie, Fernandes, Tonali, Yang, Donley, Tel, Solanke

Time and date: 5pm BST on Wednesday July 22, 2026

Venue: Hotspur Way (behind closed doors)

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