Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi saved the club from relegation, and, in the process, he got some key players to believe in themselves again and play some great football. Here are the three most improved players on Spurs since the hiring of the Italian manager from Marseille.
GK Antonin Kinsky
Antonin Kinsky's Tottenham career looked like it was going to be over before he even got a real shake in goal for the Lilywhites, as he had a nightmare of a night against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, slipping and sliding all over the notorious Atleti home turf before being subbed out as the sacrifical lamby by Igor Tudor.
That actually ended up being the moment that doomed Tudor more than anything else, because after Guglielmo Vicario needed hernia surgery, the No. 1 goalkeeper spot briefly became Kinsky's. Then, it was his permanently under De Zerbi, as Kinsky saved Spurs from relegation and ended up being one of the best keepers in the Premier League.
CB Micky van de Ven
Likewise, Micky van de Ven's career with Spurs looked done, albeit for a different reason. Though Van de Ven was admittedly playing well below his top class standard, the Dutchman's biggest risk of a departure was being disgruntled himself by the direction of the club under the lifeless and cowardly Thomas Frank.
Almost immediately after Roberto De Zerbi was hired, Van de Ven was back to being one of the top center backs in the Premier League, helping Spurs shut down shop and stay alive in the relegation fight.
RB Pedro Porro
The best right back of the 2026 World Cup, Pedro Porro defended at an elite level one on one, progressed the ball, created chances with accurate crosses, and even scored timely goals for the Spanish national team as they won it all. And to think, Luis de la Fuente was starting the overrated Marcos Llorente on Matchday 1.
Porro's World Cup, though, was merely a continuation of his brilliant performances under De Zerbi, and he was as important as anyone to securing Premier League safety when you look back at the games down the stretch. A world class right back on his day, De Zerbi has been believing one thousands percent in Porro, who signed a lucrative extension with the Lilywhites to help ward off the major interest Real Madrid and Manchester City both had in poaching him away.
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