We look at how Tottenham Hotspur’s new signings can boost Roberto De Zerbi’s revolution in north London<\/p>\n
Roberto De Zerbi was always going to oversee a radical summer rebuild at Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> and it hasn\u2019t taken long for the north London side to spring into action in the transfer market.<\/p>\n Spurs bolstered their backline first by signing centre-back Marcos Senesi<\/a>, left-back Andy Robertson<\/a> and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka<\/a>, following the expiration of their contracts with AFC Bournemouth<\/a>, Liverpool<\/a> and Burnley respectively and buying Jan Paul van Hecke<\/a>, another central defender, from Brighton & Hove Albion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now the revolution has now moved further up the pitch.<\/p>\n Spurs have now made their fifth and sixth signings of the summer by securing two high-profile central midfielders, acquiring Mateus Fernandes<\/a> from West Ham United and Sandro Tonali<\/a> from Newcastle United<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since De Zerbi favours a 4-2-3-1 formation, Spurs\u2019 central midfield has been revamped in one go. But why did De Zerbi need reinforcements in that area, and how do Tonali and Fernandes fit into the Italian’s wider plan?<\/p>\n How will De Zerbi use Tonali and Fernandes?<\/p>\n De Zerbi used his first seven Premier League matches as Spurs boss to stave off relegation, effectively putting his tactical overhaul on pause.<\/p>\n But history suggests he will introduce football that blends possession domination with high pressing and explosive gear changes towards direct football.<\/p>\n The defining tactical feature of De Zerbi’s\u00a0Brighton & Hove Albion<\/a> and Marseille teams was “press-baiting”: in other words, passing out from the back in neatly choreographed patterns and encouraging their opponents to pressurise them, before springing behind and galloping forward as if on the counter-attack.<\/p>\n Broadly speaking, this mix of possession control and direct football pulls Spurs away from the Thomas Frank era and back towards the more adventurous days of the Dane’s predecessor Ange Postecoglou.<\/p>\n The below graphic, from Opta, shows the similarity between De Zerbi\u2019s all-action, hard-pressing football and Postecoglou\u2019s at their respective peaks: De Zerbi’s 2022\/23 Brighton team and Postecoglou’s 2023\/24 Spurs side. Those particular teams are the second and third-furthest circles to the right of the graph.<\/p>\n As the graphic shows, both of those teams produced similar numbers for direct speed upfield (the average speed of ball movement towards an opponent’s goal) and passes per sequence (passes in a passage of play before a shot, stoppage or defensive action). This indicates an aptitude for both springing quickly into attack and playing a patient passing game.<\/p>\n That means De Zerbi needs central midfielders who possess energy and aggression. They must also be capable of both controlling possession with elegant one-touch passing under pressure (during the “press-baiting” phase) and playing urgent, direct passes through the lines when the tempo shifts.<\/p>\n At Brighton, he had Alexis Mac Allister<\/a> and Moises Caicedo<\/a>, a brilliant pair who have gone on to star for Liverpool<\/a> and Chelsea<\/a>. Fernandes and Tonali are tasked with replicating that duo’s influence in north London.<\/p>\n Why Fernandes and Tonali are ideal for De Zerbi-ball<\/p>\n Comparing Fernandes and Tonali with Spurs\u2019 most-used central midfielders in 2025\/26, it quickly becomes obvious why these two players have been targeted.<\/p>\n Charging down opponents, and pressing with great zeal, is a hallmark of De Zerbi’s tactics, hence why Conor Gallagher<\/a> played such a pivotal role as an attacking midfielder in the final stages of last season.<\/p>\n The following line graph, plotting every Premier League player in 2025\/26, tells us Tonali and Fernandes will add to that.<\/p>\n A position on the top right of the graph would show that a player is adapt at making high turnovers (winning possession in open play within 40 metres of the opposition’s goal) and ball recoveries (taking possession of a loose ball).<\/p>\n On the ball, it\u2019s just as stark. On the graph a below, a position on the top right would indicate that a player is skilled at making final-third entries (moving the ball into the final third from outside of it) and being accurate with their attempted passes.<\/p>\n Here, we can see how Tonali and Fernandes complete more passes and more “final-third entries” than most Premier League players, including Spurs’ most-used options last season, pointing to that mixture of assurance on the ball with vertical attacking intent.<\/p>\n The statistical disparity doesn\u2019t stop there. As the table below shows, Fernandes and Tonali don\u2019t just improve on Spurs\u2019 current options, they also score similarly to De Zerbi\u2019s favoured pair in his peak Brighton year of 2022\/23, Mac Allister and Caicedo.<\/p>\n Stats per 90: Tonali, Fernandes and Spurs’ central midfielders 2025\/26 v Caicedo and Mac Allister 2022\/23<\/p>\n Player Tonali Fernandes Sarr Gray Palhinha Bentancur Mac Allister Caicedo *Scroll across to see full table<\/p>\n How Spurs will use Fernandes and Tonali<\/p>\n Fernandes is a creative midfielder capable of long raking passes, smart through-balls or line-breaking dribbles.<\/p>\n See Fernandes’ impressive passing range<\/p>\n He is more akin to a No 10 than the more workmanlike midfielders Spurs already had in their ranks. His creative numbers back that up.<\/p>\n Compared: Tonali and Fernandes v Spurs’ centre midfielders, 2025\/26<\/p>\n Player Tonali Fernandes Sarr Gray Palhinha Bentancur *Scroll across to see full table<\/p>\n Given that Fernandes played in a cautious West\u00a0Ham side that were relegated, we can assume Fernandes\u2019s creativity will only increase in a front-foot De Zerbi team.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tonali, on the other hand, is more like the Caicedo figure, and should essentially function as a destroyer \u2013 like Joao Palhinha<\/a> or Rodrigo Bentancur<\/a> \u2013 but with a more proactive mindset on the ball.<\/p>\n Watch Tonali’s standout moments<\/p>\n But for all the statistics, what is perhaps most pertinent is the vibe and sensibility of the two new signings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Like De Zerbi, they represent a sense of urgency and forward thrust. They are midfielders ready and willing to grab the bull by the horns and take Spurs back towards progressive, daring football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We look at how Tottenham Hotspur’s new signings can boost Roberto De Zerbi’s revolution in north London Roberto…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105,4277],"class_list":["post-527756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports","tag-text"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nFinal-third passes completed
\nForward passes
\nOpen-play pass accuracy
\nPossession won in final third<\/p>\n
\n13.24
\n16.81
\n84.8%
\n0.53<\/p>\n
\n10.30
\n12.65
\n87.8%
\n0.51<\/p>\n
\n9.96
\n10.55
\n84.4%
\n0.32<\/p>\n
\n6.57
\n10.77
\n82.7%
\n0.12<\/p>\n
\n5.53
\n12.86
\n81.8%
\n0.20<\/p>\n
\n7.56
\n11.70
\n85.6%
\n0.33<\/p>\n
\n14.16
\n14.16
\n87.0%
\n0.90<\/p>\n
\n14.22
\n15.62
\n88.7%
\n0.57<\/p>\n
\nChances created
\nTake-ons attempted<\/p>\n
\n37
\n48<\/p>\n
\n32
\n31<\/p>\n
\n11
\n22<\/p>\n
\n8
\n16<\/p>\n
\n8
\n23<\/p>\n
\n10
\n32<\/p>\n