Tottenham Hotspur have left the managerial search almost entirely in the hands of Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham, and the two have zeroed in on Roberto De Zerbi as their preferred manager target. In fact, he has been their clear No. 1 long term plan since he left Marseille, and they have done everything possible to convince him of the project.
Spurs initially were met with resistance from the Italian manager about joining immediately to replace Igor Tudor, whom Spurs parted ways with over the weekend. But De Zerbi has come around to the idea of immediately coaching Tottenham out of this Premier League relegation fight, which only got more complicated after the 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest the previous weekend.
Money certainly helps change minds, and now Fabrizio Romano reports that Tottenham Hotspur and Roberto De Zerbi are very close to getting the official "Here We Go" on a deal being completed. Now that in and of itself is really no surprise to any Spurs fan who has been paying close attention to the news cycle, as every credible reporter, including Fab beforehand, was saying that a deal is close. It's just now even closer.
Tottenham are fans of Roberto De Zerbi's attitude
But what's really interesting is Romano also reporting that what makes Tottenham sold on De Zerbi is the fact that they rate his connection with the players, his tactical quality, and his attitude. While the praise of his tactical quality is not surprising given De Zerbi was an innovator at Sassuolo, outperformed expectations at Shakhtar Donetsk, and had a good run at Brighton for a bit, the rest of the praise is more puzzling.
De Zerbi seems to connect very closely with some players but had falling outs with others. Though there are former players who praise his influence on their careers, there are also uncomfortable accounts of him blowing up in the dressing room with highly inappropriate remarks that do not project an image of stability that Spurs need.
Furthermore, the attitude praise is even stranger. De Zerbi had very public falling outs with multiple clubs he used to coach, including Brighton and Marseille, both of whom ended up being very glad to see the back side of him. His tenure at Marseille ended abruptly with nothing accomplished and a whole lot of acrimony after his defense of players with serious allegiations whom he brought into the club, as well as the sorts of dressing room dust ups and shenanigans above. That doesn't sound like the attitude of a coach Spurs brass should be liking, but judging by the Thomas Frank appointment, Vinai and Lange aren't exactly the best judges either.