Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has totally changed the culture at the club this summer transfer window, getting Spurs to actually compete and win against other top European clubs for prime transfer targets rated among the most coveted in their positions.
Those two big swoops were in the same position, as Tottenham overhauled the base of their midfield with a double swoop for established Premier League starters Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United and Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United.
The decision to spend 185 million pounds on these two players combined says a lot not only about De Zerbi's ambitions in the Tottenham dugout, but also about what he is emphasizing and how he wants to play.
Roberto De Zerbi wants control
Tottenham have spent more money on the two new starting midfielders than anyone else, by far, and that means these are the players Roberto De Zerbi believes are the most important to how he plays. Before De Zerbi, Spurs were not placing much of an emphasis on signing top players in the middle of the park in these positions, as they were content with a rotation of Rodrigo Bentancur, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Joao Palhinha, and Pape Matar Sarr.
But aside from Gray, none of them could actually control the ball or bravely break lines into the final third. Tottenham Hotspur have now spent big on two players who can do those things as passers and dribblers and maintain possession and control of the pitch, which is not at all how Spurs wanted to play under either Ange Postecoglou or Thomas Frank - but for very different reasons, of course.
De Zerbi insisted heavily on Tottenham signing both Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, and he was going to stop at nothing until these two stars were in his clutches. And that tells you how badly De Zerbi wants to be on the front foot and in control of games.
Tottenham used their center backs a lot in build up, and that was to their detriment. Sure, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero were among the best ball playing center backs in the world, but even the best ball playing center back is still a lot worse than a good progressive Premier League midfielder.
Spurs now have two of those midfielders on their hands, with Fernandes having the upside to be even better - and even Tonali having upside by virtue of finally playing with a manager who knows what to do with him.
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