It did not take long at all for Roberto De Zerbi to turn things around at Tottenham Hotspur, sparing their Premier League relegation blushes by getting several key players to improve their performances drastically within weeks. As part of the terms stipulating his surprise hiring, De Zerbi has a lot of power behind the scenes on the transfer market, and he has exercised it thus far, most prominently with the 60 million euro addition of his former player Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton.
De Zerbi now has designs on two bigger blockbuster signings in Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, a former star central defender for Liverpool, is a huge fan of both the Tonali fit for RDZ and Spurs and the overall business that De Zerbi is doing for Tottenham in the early portion of the summer 2026 transfer window.
Carragher said of the Italian manager, via Chris Cowlin, "I think Tonali to Spurs will probably be good for both parties. You can see straight away with De Zerbi, they want to get things done quickly, but he wants his players there as soon as possible, and pre-season starts soon. They've made a lot of signings early on. He's not messing about. He did a really good job when he came in, kept them up, but he's not at Tottenham to be in the middle of the table. He wants to be getting Tottenham back, challenging for those Champions League positions. He's a top coach, and it looks like he's attracting some top players. I think Tonali is that."
Sandro Tonali has Roberto De Zerbi's mentality
Tottenham Hotspur supporters would wholheartedly nod in agreement to a few assertions Jamie Carragher has made there, which actually isn't unusual since the former Liverpool man has been talking quite a bit of sense around Spurs these last few months, including when delivering harsh truths.
But this time, he has kinder words for the club, which shows how the overall vibe has improved markedly under Roberto De Zerbi. Because Sandro Tonali is indeed a top player and an even better fit for the new Spurs manager, and he fits that ethos De Zerbi has of getting this team back to the top. Remember, Tonali was crucial to AC Milan turning it around and winning the Scudetto again, and, well, the Rossoneri have not been back at the summit since his departure to Newcastle United under controversial circumstances.
De Zerbi has done a great job so far, and beyond the results, the players he is bringing to Tottenham are turning heads. It isn't just those around North London who are impressed; even the Scousers are taking note.
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