In truth, new Tottenham Hotspur defensive midfielder Sandro Tonali has not at all looked like a 100 million pound signing and has been a regular starter in a team that remains winless in the Premier League after five fixtures to start the season.
But Spurs do play better than Tonali with him than they do without him, and since getting run roughshod by Brentford and his former employers Newcastle United on Matchday 2, he has been above average in the center of midfield, particularly defensively.
Tonali had another strong day as a ball winner, though he was mediocre on the ball itself, against Aston Villa in a tough 3-2 loss, and his work on the defensive end is giving Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham optimism that the qualit is there overall; he just has to get it to click in his new team and then he will explode on the ball, too, perhaps even after this September international break.
Sandro Tonali brings scheme flexibility
Before Tottenham battled Aston Villa in the Premier League, Roberto De Zerbi acknowledged that he sees Sandro Tonali potentially fulfilling multiple roles in his scheme, stating that he can play as a box to box midfielder or a more deep lying playmaker at the base of his double pivot.
De Zerbi told reporters, via Arabic Spurs, "He can play both. He has the physical attributes to play box to box. But he started his career as a playmaker [late], He's good enough with the ball and without it."
What Tottenham Hotspur need to do is fine the best system and team within how De Zerbi wants to play, because they cannot keep dropping points like this. Spurs have only two points in five games and honestly look even worse than they were last season in the relegation fight before they splurged nearly 400 million pounds on new players.
The good news is that Tonali gives them flexibility on how they play in the middle of the park and who they play around him. Plus, with Mateus Fernandes being that same flexible kind of hybrid No. 6 and No. 8 player, that makes the new Tottenham duo mesh better, given they can interchange roles in protecting the back four or coming up to carry the rock and playmake further up the pitch.
Tonali, on paper, is a potential world class player in both roles, and De Zerbi having that quality at his disposal in either direction is something he can start taking advantage of after the September break.
Add us as a preferred source on Google