Tottenham coach Roberto De Zerbi insists he’s ‘sure’ about the qualities of Spurs’ summer signings, including Sandro Tonali: ‘Even if they don’t play well, I can’t change my idea now.’
De Zerbi’s Tottenham are still winless in the opening three Premier League games of the season, having grabbed two losses and one draw so far.
Tomorrow, they host Everton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham made Tonali the most expensive Italian player ever last summer by paying circa €115m to secure his services from Newcastle.
The Italian, like most of his Tottenham teammates, has failed to impress so far, but De Zerbi has no doubt about his abilities.
Tottenham vs. Everton: De Zerbi’s pre-match press conference
When asked about what he expects from new signings in the upcoming matches, De Zerbi replied (via Football London): “The qualities, for sure, because I am sure about the qualities of Robertson, Senesi, Mateus Fernandes, Tonali, Savio, JP van Hecke, and Marmoush.
“I am sure. Even if they don’t play well, I can’t change my idea now. And then I would like to see one team playing with courage, with energy, to try to dominate the game, dominate the pressure with the right spirit, with the spirit I like.”
Tottenham drew their most recent game away at Nottingham Forest.
“In Nottingham we played normal Premier League games against one physical team, one team who played the second ball,” De Zerbi said.
“I think we didn’t concede a shot on our goal. We had one clear chance with Micky van de Ven on set-pieces and two big, big potentials.
“One was Tonali for Savino in the first half, and in the second half, Marmoush for Kudus and Andy Robertson. So I think it was a normal game. We can play much better, for sure. We are not happy. Pressure, no.
“Playing against Everton is the same, because Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Pickford, Dewsbury-Hall, all of them, Mykolenko, Grealish, are very good players, very physical players,” De Zerbi added.
“They know very well the Premier League, but I think we have to be focused on our qualities.
“We have to be focused on what we have to do on the pitch and play without thinking about other things in the head.”
Tonali is expected to be part of the Italy squad for the upcoming international break, with Roberto Mancini naming the Azzurri squad next week.
