Football London

The new Tottenham Hotspur head coach has been speaking about what he plans to do with the north London club in the weeks and years ahead

Roberto De Zerbi wants to bring back the attacking verve of Ange Postecoglou's first season to take Tottenham to the top of the Premier League after first keeping them in it.

The Italian shelved his plans to rest until the summer after leaving Marseille to get started at relegation-threatened Spurs. The north London club have seven games of the season to go and are in all kinds of trouble in 18th place in the table after West Ham's emphatic 4-0 victory against Wolves.

While Thomas Frank bewilderingly declared in his first press conference last summer that Tottenham would lose matches - and they did - De Zerbi is focused on taking Spurs to the top after first saving them from the drop.

De Zerbi's tenures at Brighton and Marseille ended after 19 months apiece but after penning a big money, five-year contract at Tottenham, the 46-year-old intends to be in it for the long-term and take the club to the other end of the Premier League.

"In my plan for sure there is the idea to stay for a long time, to try to put Tottenham, I'm not speaking about the titles because it's not the right moment now, but to put Tottenham to stay in the first position in the Premier League because there are all parts to reach that level," he said.

De Zerbi stressed that joining early was never about the money, with his deal reportedly worth £12million a year.

"No, you can find the right answer in my history, because I left a lot of money in my life, and the money never changed my focus on my work," he said. "For me, it's not a problem, this situation for Tottenham. You have to have a longer vision. The focus is on this season, these seven games, to keep in the Premier League and then we will see."

De Zerbi is Spurs' fourth head coach in nine months after Ange Postecoglou was sacked weeks after ending the club's trophy drought with the Europa League triumph last summer. The more pragmatic Frank and Igor Tudor followed but did not last.

The new man in the hot seat wants to bring more of the attacking flair that Tottenham showed in the first season of Postecoglou's reign, rather than giving up possession as they did under his successors.

"I want to keep the ball. I want to see again the Tottenham I watched with Postecoglou because in my second season in Brighton, there was Postecoglou here with a lot of these players and it was one of the best teams in terms of quality of play," said De Zerbi.

"With Pedro Porro, Udogie, Van de Ven, with Romero and I would like to see it again."

De Zerbi has had little time for anything else in his first week outside of football as he has worked to get his core beliefs across to the players, mainly the mental aspect of the game.

"I’ve had a lot of individual meetings with the players. A lot. I’ve spoken with all players. I analysed Sunderland because it is a tough game. They are playing a great season with very good players and a very good coach," said the new head coach.

"I have no time to think of other things. Just football, just meeting the players, organising, transferring and finding the best way to transfer my ideas, two or three, not too many ideas, that I want to see on the pitch from Sunday."

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Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario will not be fit yet after his hernia surgery for De Zerbi's debut in the dugout at Sunderland on Sunday. That means Antonin Kinsky will take to the pitch for the first time since being hauled off by Tudor just 17 minutes into his gaffe-strewn horror show at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

De Zerbi is not worried about a repeat against another team in red and white stripes this weekend though and while he has spoken to many of the players in the past week, he has not felt the need to put an arm around the 23-year-old Czech stopper.

"I didn't speak yet with him because I think he doesn't need to speak too much," said the Italian. "I have confidence. He has to be strong, but he is strong enough to show what he can do.

"Not more, not less. I think his qualities are enough to play at Tottenham. The other players believe in him. He has to stay calm and confident. He is playing at Tottenham, so he has to be stronger than the mistakes and move on."

De Zerbi was also asked whether he was surprised by the backlash to his comments about Mason Greenwood while he was at Marseille with the controversial former Manchester United striker.

Supporter groups Women of the Lane, Proud Lilywhites and Spurs Reach had all released statements with a 'No to De Zerbi' campaign and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust made their feelings on the 46-year-old clear. It came from him describing Greenwood as a "good guy" that had paid a "heavy price" and added: “It saddens me what happened in his life, because I know a totally different person than the one who was described."

Ex-Manchester United forward Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling and coercive behaviour and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm over allegations relating to a young women after images and videos were posted online. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in February 2023 due to a "combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses" and "no realistic prospect of conviction".

Speaking in Italian on Friday to ensure he could make himself clear, De Zerbi said: "I wasn’t surprised [by the backlash]. I was a bit sad and sorry it happened, because I’m sorry if somebody took offence. I must repeat what I said the other time [in his club interview]. This topic is very close to me, I’m very sensitive about this topic, because of the person I am and because I have a daughter.

"And so I must repeat what I said the other time. I have always been against – always – any type of violence, especially against women. But not only violence – even just sexist jokes or other sexist behaviour. I have a daughter and I’m directly affected by it. I know who I am, I know the type of person I am, so I wasn’t annoyed by the questions – I’m just sad about them."

He added: "Yes [I hope the fans will accept the apology], also because I’m not going to go back over this topic. I spoke about it in my first interview, I spoke about it today, and it wouldn't be right to go back over this topic again."

De Zerbi explained why he believes he can save Tottenham from the drop.

"The qualities of the players. The guys know the situation is very difficult, but if you watch them against Liverpool and also Atletico Madrid in Madrid, they showed their qualities, they showed sometimes the right spirit. We have to show this for 90 minutes and we have to believe in ourselves," he said.

"The most important part in football is the mental part. You are used to speaking too much about the style of play, the tactical disposition, blah, blah, blah. But in the end, the mental part is crucial in every work, especially in football, especially in this moment in Tottenham."

On his players he added: "They are working very, very well. I’m not surprised, but it’s not normal after we didn’t win too many games in 2025 and we haven’t won any game so far in 2026.

"So you imagine the atmosphere inside of the dressing room, of the training ground, but it's not like this. I saw the players with energy, with the passion when in the meeting room and we are speaking about football, about two or three principles. They were on with the right focus, so I’m positive for that."

Here's every single word the new Tottenham Hotspur head coach said in his first press conference ahead of his debut against Sunderland

Roberto De Zerbi has held his first press conference as Tottenham boss ahead of his opening game in the dugout at Sunderland on Sunday.

The Italian is looking to lead Spurs to their first Premier League win in 2026 and then keep the north London club in the Premier League at the end of their final seven matches of the campaign. Ahead of that De Zerbi took his place in the press conference room at Hotspur Way on Friday afternoon to speak to reporters about what lies ahead.

He spoke about the latest injury news, particularly that setback for Mohammed Kudus, as well as the players who will be key to him in his time at the club.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to De Zerbi. Here's the full transcript from the Italian's first press conference at Hotspur Way.

Have you enjoyed your first week at Tottenham Hotspur?

Yes, first of all, I'm proud and happy to be here. I have to say thanks to Vinai and Johan, because they showed me a big, big confidence. Now I have to work. Now we have to make points. I'm sure about the level of the players, because many players in the past I was very, very close to bring them in my former teams. They are working very well. I think I'm not better than Thomas Frank or Igor Tudor, because I consider them very good coaches. I try to bring my style, myself, my character, my personality, my passion, to help the players first of all to show their qualities, because they have a lot of qualities. And then to achieve our target, because the most important part now is our target.

Are you confident that you can keep this club in the Premier League?

Yes, yes. I knew before to work with them. I understood that they are good guys. The fans have to be happy, because all players are good guys. They are suffering for this difficult situation. I want to see (what they are like) in the game, because during the week it's easier. But I think the voice inside of the pitch has changed. I observed them at the beginning of my time last week, and now I'm more positive for sure.

If fans are still having concerns, what is your message to them?

I have not any message because also in the last game against Nottingham Forest, they were fantastic before the game. The message for my staff and for my players is we have to deserve their support because the fans are suffering like us, like the players, but the fans there is just one club and just one team. The players can change team and club, but the fans, it is unique their club and so we have to make happy our fans. Play well, with the right spirit, with the right attitude, with the right behaviour on the pitch and then it is easier to make points.

The big question for most is why now? Why take this job now?

Why now? Because you cannot consider your angle or how you look at the situation, from my perspective, it was a big opportunity because Tottenham is one of the most important clubs in Premier League and Premier League is best league in world. I know the qualities of the players. We have a lot of specific players for my style and then there was a crucial part that there was 12 days before first game. For me it was important to have not too much time, but 10 days, more than one week and I thought it could be important to understand the problems. I don’t want to give too many principles and too many instructions on the pitch if we are talking about just football, but organisation with the ball, without the ball, I hope in one week, 10 days, to reach this target for me.

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What is the nature of Mohammed Kudus’ injury and is he ruled out of this season and the World Cup?

Yes, I started not with too big luck! Yes, Kudus was in my head a crucial player, especially for the position, but we have to look forward anyway. 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 is not playing a great season, but he is a good player. I know him. Like I know Mathys Tel, I wanted him in Marseille when I was at Marseille, Xavi Simons is a big talent, Richarlison and Solanke you maybe know better than me but we have to put them in the best condition we can.

How is Guglielmo Vicario doing? Can any other players come back?

No, Vicario is not ready for this game. I hope he can come back earlier next week, but I don't know yet. Bentancur is working with us but not completely, but we have enough to fight to play, to make points.

You must be confident about keeping Spurs up as there is no relegation clause in your contract?

I believe to keep the Premier League, first of all. It has to be clear to everyone. I want to work in the Premier League and I believe I deserve to work in the Premier League. But the main sense of my work is more than the league. If I sign my contract in April I have to be ready to stay, no matter what, in the next season. I want to stay focused on Sunderland and the other six games. But my idea is very clear.

How do you convince players who might be wanting to leave this summer?

It’s not important for me now. Now we have to push altogether, all players and staff in the training and all fans inside the stadium, to achieve our goal. And then we will see. For sure I don’t want players if they don’t want to stay. I have my contract for five years - for sure I want to say my opinion on the transfer market because I am a coach, but I want to see the players happy to work in this club.

You mentioned your style quite a few times. It was good to watch at Brighton and Spurs fans like a certain style, going back to the 70s with Glenn Hoddle and Ossie Ardiles, your style and Spurs, are they the ideal marriage, the ideal fit?

Listen, my style is one part, about the style of play and one part about the character, the personality. I have no time enough to work in the principle or in build-up so much, or in the last 20 metres. I want to give organisation with the ball and without the ball. Two principles without the ball, three principles, four more. Something more in possession, in offensive phase and that's it.

What I want to do, what I want to achieve immediately is the character, is the right spirit, the right courage to play, to attack. Because the DNA of this club, of this squad is to find the goal, to score. In this part I can be able to transfer, not in too much time, my principle.

You know a lot of these players from the outside, are there any in the last week of training that surprised you when you've seen them up close, maybe younger players like Archie Gray or Lucas Bergvall?

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, Bergvall, Archie Gray, Mathys Tel, Xavi Simons, but anyway we have older players that are very important. Van der Ven is a crucial player for me, like Romero, like Porro, like Solanke. I want to see again the same Gallagher I loved in Chelsea at the time.

I think I'm lucky because I have a big confidence in my players, their qualities and for me my target is to help them to play well, to enjoy with the ball because their characteristics are very clear for me.

You've only brought in two coaches with you that you've worked with in the past. You normally bring at least six or seven that you know with you. Does that make it any more difficult to get your ideas across quickly?

It's totally different this situation because we have no time to work like in Brighton or Marseille or in other places I've been and I don't want to put confusion inside of the players. They have to be with a clear plan of the game and not too much instruction, not too much thinking.

They have to run where is the ball, they have to play with courage, with personality and they have to fight. That's it. For me, my demand is to show the right spirit I want to see.

You've signed a long contract, normally you spend a certain amount of time at clubs, maybe not long term. What makes you think Tottenham is the one that maybe you will settle down at for longer?

I stayed three years in Sassuolo and then I left from Ukraine when the war started. In Brighton I left for different problems and in Marseille maybe the same. I would like to stay four or five, for a long time. I don't know how many years but in Marseille like this because in Marseille my idea was to stay for a long time.

Then you have to speak with the club and when you have a different view of football or other things you have to leave money and you have to leave. But in my plan for sure there is the idea to stay for a long time, to try to put Tottenham, I'm not speaking about the titles because it's not the right moment now, but to put Tottenham to stay in the first position in the Premier League because there are all parts to reach that level.

Tottenham defender Luka Vuskovic will not be available to feature for Hamburg this weekend in their Bundesliga clash at Stuttgart

Hamburg boss Merlin Polzin has confirmed Tottenham loanee Luka Vuskovic has picked up a knee issue.

The Croatia international has been a key figure for HSV since moving on loan to Germany at the start of the season.

However, he is set to sit out of this weekend's trip to Stuttgart due to what's been described as 'knee contusion'.

There is good news for Spurs though as the problem is not though to be serious and there's hope he could be ready to return against Werder Bremen on April 18.

Polzin said during a press conference on Friday: "Luka has a bruised knee and will therefore miss the upcoming match.

"He's doing everything he can to take care of himself and be ready to play. But he's not available, so it's about preparing the other guys well and giving them the confidence they need to perform well."

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Vuskovic is set for a well-earned rest after also featuring twice for Croatia during their recent international friendlies in the United States against Colombia and Brazil.

The 19-year-old centre-back scored in the 2-1 triumph over Colombia and is now pushing to secure a starting berth for his country at this summer's World Cup finals.

Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic has already confirmed Vuskovic will be part of his squad while Tottenham are expected to make a decision on the player's future following the tournament.

The teenager recently confirmed he expects to head back to Spurs this summer for pre-season despite widespread transfer interest in his signature.

He told German media: "After this season, I’ll be a Tottenham player again. I have a contract there until 2030."

Barcelona are monitoring Vuskovic, though you would expect new Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi to cast an eye over the Croat during pre-season given he has excelled in the Bundesliga with HSV this season.

Vuskovic has already said on record that he'd be interested in returning to Hamburg on loan for another season if the Europa League winners cannot provide him with assurances over minutes.

His brother Mario is due to return from a doping ban later in the year and re-signing on loan would offer Vuskovic the chance to play alongside his sibling at club level.

Roberto De Zerbi is speaking to the media for the first time as Tottenham boss on Friday afternoon ahead of his debut in the dugout at Sunderland this weekend.

The Italian will take charge of his Spurs team for the first time on Sunday afternoon when the north London side make the trip to the Stadium of Light with the hope of recording their first Premier League win in 2026. The new boss wants to keep Tottenham in the Premier League at the end of their final seven matches of the campaign.

First De Zerbi will take his seat in the press conference room at Hotspur Way on Friday, speaking to the media about what lies ahead, including the latest injury news, particularly that setback for Mohammed Kudus. football.london will be bringing you a live blog from the press conference below, then a full transcript afterwards with everything the 46-year-old said in the main broadcast section and also later on what he said in the embargoed section for the daily newspapers.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to De Zerbi. Scroll down for the latest updates from the Italian's first press conference at Hotspur Way.

Tottenham Hotspur will have to make significant cuts if they're relegated from the Premier League, and Roberto De Zerbi is under pressure to deliver top-flight status.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has claimed Tottenham Hotspur will need to make £130million in savings if they're relegated from the Premier League. The Lilywhites are in grave danger of falling into the Championship, with just a point, and a sizeable goal difference, separating them from West Ham in the bottom three.

In fact, the Hammers could leapfrog Spurs when they face Wolves on Friday night. If Nuno Espirito Santo's side leave Molineux with three points, Tottenham won't have the chance to climb out of the drop zone until Sunday afternoon, when they take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

With hundreds of millions on the line, Roberto De Zerbi has been tasked with keeping the Lilywhites in the English top-flight. According to Maguire, Tottenham could lose as much as £275million if they're relegated from the Premier League.

Speaking recently on The Sports Agents podcast, the football accountancy expert said: "I reckon it’s going to be somewhere in the region of £250million to £275million compared to the current season.

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"That's taking into consideration the fact that Spurs have the second highest yield in terms of how much they extract per fan, per match. It's a very sophisticated operation they have… Then, of course, there won’t be the participation in Europe next season."

Even if Tottenham were to cut spending on wages by a third, they'd still boast a record wage bill in the Championship. Maguire continued: "Spurs have already got a very high wage bill by the standards, even of the Premier League.

"It's well over £200 million. And if that was reduced by a third, it would still be by far the record wage bill for the Championship."

In order to balance the books, Maguire reckons Tottenham would need to make £130million in savings. He added: "Spurs this season, even if they finish in the bottom three, are likely to be in receipt of £120million to £130million pounds of broadcast income.

"They've also been in the Champions League. I think you can add £50million pounds to that, so that's £175million. Next season, that's going to drop to around about £45million. So, somewhere the club has got to make £130million worth of savings."

Last week, De Zerbi outlined his plan to keep Spurs in the Premier League. In an interview with club media, the Italian said: "I'm very happy and very proud to be here. I consider Tottenham one of the most important clubs in the world, so I'm very happy.

"I have a big responsibility, it's a big challenge and I'm looking forward to start and to work with the players and to win some games. I watched a lot of games, especially in the last period. I know very well the players.

"I love football, so I watch many, many games per week. I know everything. I know it's a tough moment for Tottenham, I know very well it's a tough moment. It's a difficult moment for everyone at Tottenham.

"I think we have the right qualities to come out from this moment. I believe in the players. I think we have to remember who we are and who the players are, because we have very big players and we have to work on their confidence and the qualities of them.

"They have to show what they are and what they are used to playing."

Turning his attention to the clash in the North East, the Spurs gaffer said: "I think we have to be focused just on the Sunderland game. I don't want to listen to people speaking about the schedule or the Brighton game or the Wolverhampton game.

"Game by game, we have to prepare the players to win the game and to be focused just on the game. We have to play with courage. We have to play with the qualities of the players, because if I accepted this challenge, it's because I have a big confidence in the players and the history of Tottenham football is a very clear style of play.

"We are lucky, I am lucky, because I have big players with big talent and my work is to help the players to show their qualities."

Roberto De Zerbi has signed a long-term contract with Tottenham Hotspur as he looks to steer the club from the grips of relegation and will lean on the club's current captain to do so

Roberto De Zerbi believes that Cristian Romero could be "the most important player" in his squad, as he wastes no time in building a bond with Tottenham Hotspur.

The Italian signed a long-term contract with the Lilywhites last month as a replacement to Igor Tudor - who lasted just 44 days at the helm at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Croatian was unable to pick up the pieces left in the wake of Thomas Frank's sacking in February, as Spurs stare down the barrel of a relegation battle in the latter stages of the season.

At the time of writing, the club are 17th in the Premier League standings, just one point clear of the drop zone with seven games to go.

Fans in north London will hope that De Zerbi will be able to inspire his first-team to avoid Championship football for 2026/27, but has very limited time to do so.

However, the 46-year-old has wasted very little time in outlining the players who will be instrumental to his plans over the next couple of months - starting with club captain, Romero.

Speaking with NBC Sports, De Zerbi said of the centre-half: "I think Cuti is crucial for us, crucial for Tottenham as a club. He is the captain, he is maybe the most important player in our squad, and to achieve our goal, we need the best of Romero."

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Elsewhere, the head coach also hinted that Richarlison will be a major part of Spurs late fightback in the English top flight. He added: "Richarlison can play in different positions.

"He’s a good guy, he’s a clean guy, he’s a honest guy. I like him, as a player, as a mentality, as an attitude. In the same position, we can play with different players, but I think, to achieve our target, we need Richarlison in the best way possible."

A seasoned manager who knows the trials and tribulations of the Premier League, De Zerbi enjoyed a largely successful coaching spell with Brighton between 2022 and 2024 before moving on to Marseille.

He left the Ligue 1 giants via mutual consent in February following an exit from the Champions League, as he now looks for a fresh start in the capital.

His first test will see him travel with the Lilywhites to the Stadium of Light to take on a tough-to-break-down Sunderland AFC.

The new Tottenham boss is set to take charge of his first game and one of his former players have been raving about his coaching

One of new Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi's former players has hailed him as "one of the best coaches in the world" and claims he dazzled him with his methods.

The Italian will hold his first press conference as Spurs boss on Friday afternoon ahead of his debut in the dugout for the north London club at Sunderland on Sunday. The Tottenham players have already been impressed by his methods and one of his former players during his spell at Shakhtar Donetsk, midfielder Artem Bondarenko, said De Zerbi will be perfect for the Premier League outfit.

"He was a maestro for me. I had just arrived in the first team and, I must admit, if he didn't teach me everything, he taught me almost everything! I am convinced that even now that he is at Tottenham, he will do very well, for me, he is one of the best coaches in the world," he told Flashscore.

"He taught me many things, he showed me, first and foremost, how to hit the ball with my left foot and, every time, he made me learn something new. I was dazzled by his methods, not only by the way he approached me. He was wonderful. He taught me so much."

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So did the 25-year-old Ukrainian pick up any Italian words from the head coach? "Tutto bene! The other phrases or expressions, however, I cannot say. They are all swear words!" he said with a laugh.

Tottenham Hotspur have provided an update on midfielder Mohammed Kudus who has been out injured since January

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that Mohammed Kudus has suffered a setback in his return from injury. The midfielder has been out of action since January after injuring his calf during Spurs' 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland.

It was hoped that the extended break would have given Kudus more time to get closer to a return after so long out. But he was not in the background of photos or footage from Roberto de Zerbi's first session as Tottenham Hotspur head coach - leading to fears that he had suffered a setback.

And those concerns have been realised after Spurs confirmed on Thursday evening that the former Ajax star faces a further period out, with no time frame for his return.

A club statement said: "We can confirm that Mohammed Kudus has suffered a setback in his return from injury.

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"The Ghana international forward suffered a significant quad injury during our Premier League fixture against Sunderland in January.

"He had returned to team training during the past week, however he will now require further specialist review and, potentially, surgery. We will provide any relevant further updates in due course."

Spurs' former interim head coach Igor Tudor had provided a positive update on the attacker before his departure.

The 47-year-old said: "So we have this big three weeks after the game on Sunday. He will probably do some part of the things with the squad maybe 10 days [after the break].

"I don’t know I’m not sure. We need to check but he is progressing very well. Already a little bit with the ball."

The 25-year-old had provided nine goal involvements in 24 Premier League and Champions League matches for Spurs before his injury.

However, news of his injury setback is another blow to Tottenham as they look to avoid a disastrous relegation from the Premier League. De Zerbi's team currently sit 17th in the top-flight table - just a point clear of the bottom three.

And Spurs could find themselves in the relegation zone by the time they kick off at Sunderland on Sunday, with the team directly below them, West Ham, kicking off at home to bottom-of-the-table Wolves on Friday night.

The new Tottenham head coach will be speaking to the media on Friday and he will have plenty of topics to discuss after his appointment

Roberto De Zerbi will hold his first press conference as Tottenham Hotspur head coach on Friday afternoon and he will face plenty of questions.

The Italian will step into the dugout on Sunday for the first time as Spurs boss when the north London side make the trip to Sunderland with the aim of recording their first Premier League victory in 2026. First though the 46-year-old must take a different seat in the press conference room at Hotspur Way on Friday afternoon before he sets out on the task of keeping the club in the Premier League through their final seven matches of the campaign.

De Zerbi will be speaking to the media at 1.30pm on Friday and football.london will be bringing you a live blog from the press conference, a full transcript afterwards with everything the new man said in the main broadcast section and also what he said in the embargoed section for the daily newspapers.

Here are five main topics that will likely form the core of the questions put to the Italian at Tottenham's Enfield-based training complex.

Kudus and injuries

One of the key foundations for De Zerbi's chances of succeeding in the coming seven games could be to get some of the club's big players back in action again after months spent in the treatment room.

Spurs still have nine players out injured, if we're including Pape Matar Sarr, who picked up a shoulder injury on international duty with Senegal.

Before his exit, Igor Tudor had indicated that Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur and James Maddison were all closing in on returns to full training with the squad during or just after the long three-week break between Premier League fixtures for the north London outfit.

However, football.london reported on Thursday that Kudus has had a setback just as he was about to return from his quad tendon injury suffered in January. The extent is unknown but there have been suggestions of surgery being required and that could rule the Ghana star out of the remainder of the season and the World Cup this summer.

De Zerbi will be asked about Kudus, the progress of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario after his hernia surgery last month as well as Bentancur and Maddison. There's no point asking the new man yet exactly why Tottenham get so many injuries and re-injuries but that will be question no doubt as the months go on.

Coaching staff

There was something a little different about the announcement of De Zerbi's backroom staff this week in that only two members of his normal group joined him on this occasion. Usually at least seven of his trusted coaches follow him from club to club but on this occasion only Marcattilio Marcattilii and Marcello Quinto have joined as fitness coach and senior professional development phase coach respectively.

Bruno Saltor and Andreas Georgson remain at Spurs as De Zerbi's assistant coaches, Cameron Campbell as individual development coach and Fabian Otte as the goalkeeping coach. They will all continue to be supported by Stuart Lewis and Dean Brill as the link for the young academy players stepping up to the first team.

De Zerbi will be asked why so few of his usual coaches have joined him and whether more are likely to arrive in the summer during a bigger coaching shake-up.

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Mason Greenwood and the Spurs fans

This is a subject that will be broached at the press conference because De Zerbi's defence of controversial footballer Mason Greenwood during their time together at Marseille caused a number of Spurs fan groups to rally against his appointment.

Supporter groups Women of the Lane, Proud Lilywhites and Spurs Reach all released statements with a 'No to De Zerbi' campaign and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust made their feelings on the 46-year-old clear. It came from him describing Greenwood as a "good guy" that had paid a "heavy price" and added: “It saddens me what happened in his life, because I know a totally different person than the one who was described."

Ex-Manchester United forward Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling and coercive behaviour and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm over allegations relating to a young women after images and videos were posted online. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in February 2023 owing to a “combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses” and due to “no realistic prospect of conviction”.

De Zerbi was asked about the subject in his club interview last week and said: "I have never wanted to downplay the issue of violence against women or violence against anyone more broadly. In my life, I have always stood up for those who are more vulnerable (people from underserved communities/protected characteristics), more fragile, I’ve consistently fought and taken a stand to be on the side of those who are most at risk.

"Those of you who know me well, will know that I am not the kind of person who makes compromises to win more games or to win an extra title. I am sorry if I offended anyone's feeling with this subject matter – I have a daughter and I’m very sensitive to these things, and I always have been. I hope that over time people will get to know me better and will understand that at that moment I didn’t mean to take a stance at that time."

Will he compromise his tactics?

As with most Tottenham managerial appointments, the new head coach brings a very different style to their predecessor and that means De Zerbi has just seven matches to implement his ways before it's too late for the relegation-threatened club.

"I think it is not the right moment to speak about my philosophy for football. I am here now at the end of the season because we have to win the games. In football, the style of play and the tactical disposition are important. There is a mentality and I would like to help the player to reach the best mentality we can show," said the Italian.

"I signed five years of contract because for me it is a big challenge and I will be the coach of Tottenham next season, no matter what.

"I love keeping the ball, I love possession, I love to create chances to score. But at the same time, I love having 11 defenders when we don't have the ball, because in this time of football, we have to attack with 11 players, with the goalkeeper as well. We have to defend with 11 players when the ball is not for us.

"I think in this moment, we have no time to work too much on more principles, but we have to know what we have to do on the pitch. We have to have a good organisation on the pitch, with the ball, without the ball. We have to consider the qualities of the players. We are lucky, I am lucky because I have big players with big talent and my work is to help the players to show their qualities."

Like Tudor before him, De Zerbi appeared to be initially saying that the main thing is results right now rather than the style of football but footage of his training sessions suggest he's trying to get the Spurs stars playing his way, including baiting the press and getting defenders to play the ball out from the back.

The new boss is likely to be quizzed on whether he will need to compromise his style for now before bringing his full methods in for next season.

Why now and will he stick around?

Another question to be asked is what made De Zerbi change his mind of waiting until the summer rather than taking on this huge situation right now with just seven games to go and Spurs potentially in the bottom three when he takes his first game on Sunday afternoon?

Was it just the mega money as one of the Premier League's top earning managers or did he get more guarantees about his power within the club going forward? Or did he simply believe he can keep Tottenham up and use this is a pre-season of sorts to hit the ground running next season?

Another question is the five-year contract for a man who spends on average around 18 months at clubs. Does De Zerbi truly believe that he will be in charge of Tottenham for years to come? We'll find out his thoughts on that and plenty more at Friday's press conference at Hotspur Way.

The Tottenham sporting director based an entire transfer window reasoning on something that has not come to pass for the north London club

Mohammed Kudus' injury setback appears to be another damning indictment of Tottenham's January transfer window business and sporting director Johan Lange's defence of the lack of arrivals.

Spurs are now on their fourth head coach in nine months with the arrival of Roberto De Zerbi and the Italian will have walked through the Hotspur Way doors to find a club with nine players currently at different stages of injury rehabilitation. His predecessors Igor Tudor, Thomas Frank and Ange Postecoglou all faced double figure absences for prolonged periods during their tenures.

Postecoglou in particular bemoaned the amount of re-injuries during his time at the club during games and training, and despite changes at the top of the medical department and sports science staff that still appears to be happening with football.london reporting on Thursday that Kudus had suffered a setback in the quad injury that has kept the Ghanaian out since January.

Spurs had the chance to reinforce their squad in the January transfer window, despite the difficulties involved in that market, but only brought through the door a midfielder in Conor Gallagher and 19-year-old left-back Souza, while selling last season's top scorer Brennan Johnson just days before Kudus first suffered his serious quad injury.

Tottenham captain Cristian Romero hit out publicly at the tiny and tired first team squad the club were working with but Lange maintained after the window closed that not reinforcing the numbers would be offset by players returning from injury.

"Of course, when we go into January, we didn't anticipate that we'll have seven injuries during the month of January. So, that of course changes things during the course of the window," said the Dane in his club interview.

"It's very important, even though that is highly frustrating with all the injuries, to remain disciplined because, A, the players are coming back and, B, if you then, can you say, go in and make a stress purchase of any football players, then yes, the immediate feeling gives you is nice, but there's no point in signing players that have not helped us in the short term, in the medium term, or even in the long term.

"So, even though that is highly frustrating with all the injuries, the majority of the players will return this season here, hopefully a few very soon. It is important as a club to remain disciplined and make sure to do our best, our ability only to sign players that can generally help the team now or in the future."

He added: "Again, it's for a number of reasons. First, a lot of our injured players, they will return in this season here, hopefully a number of them quite shortly."

Unfortunately, of the long-term players out when Lange made those comments ahead of the trip to face Manchester United in early February, Kudus, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ben Davies all remain side-lined two months later and were added to a week after by Wilson Odobert. The young Frenchman suffered an ACL injury while Yves Bissouma has been in and out of availability with muscle problems.

First choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario also put off having hernia surgery for months, playing through the pain before finally needing to have the operation last month.

De Zerbi will take charge of his first Tottenham match on Sunday afternoon at Sunderland. The 46-year-old will attempt to keep the club in the top flight over the coming seven matches with a squad that has rarely been fit for purpose at a club that declared last summer that it must compete in all competitions. Spurs will be fortunate if they are even able to compete in the Premier League next season.