There is just over a week left until the end of Roberto de Zerbi’s tenure at Tottenham Hotspur, with the Lilywhites’ last win in the Premier League coming against Sunderland in December.
Desperate times seemed to call for desperate measures amidst talk of the surprise swoop of free agent Sean Dyche, but the ENIC regime is instead putting its faith in the maverick De Zerbi.
The 46-year-old former Brighton & Hove Albion player has had a checkered tenure at Marseille which has been largely positive, leading the Seagulls to sixth and 11th place in his two seasons in charge.
While he won’t be able to repeat his five-game winless streak during his early days at the Amex, that stint on the south coast showed why he could be the perfect coach for Spurs’ young stars.
Why Brighton’s spell showed De Zerbi could be the perfect Spurs coach
De Zerbi has not been quite as good as his two years in N17, and in fact De Zerbi is emerging as an exciting, young backbone similar to Mauricio Pochettino’s impressive reign.
At Brighton, the former Sassuolo manager has nurtured a number of new stars and propelled the team to superstar status, with Joao Pedro scoring 20 goals in his lone season with the Reds in 2023-24.
De Zerbi was also the man who oversaw the rise of fellow striker Evan Ferguson, during which the Irishman scored 15 goals in 60 games, and also helped take young Moises Caicedo to the next level in 2022/23.
Caicedo had only made eight Premier League appearances that season after a loan spell with Belgium, but he quickly established himself as one of the division’s leading midfielders under De Zerbi.
A mainstay in the Seagulls’ midfield, the Ecuadorian ranked sixth in the league in passing accuracy that season, and second in tackles and interceptions.
Caicedo – 22/23 PL Stats | |
|---|---|
Statistics (*per game) | record |
game | 37 |
the goal | 1 |
assist | 1 |
Pass rate* | 89% |
Key pass* | 1.2 |
Intercept* | 1.5 |
Tackle* | 2.7 |
Total Win Duels* | 58% |
Dribbling breakthrough* | 0.8 |
A big opportunity has arisen | 3 |
In De Zerbi’s eyes, Caicedo, who has played 37 times in the Premier League, is a player who can play anywhere, being able to play at right-back or even at right-sided centre-back.
Now a £115m star at Chelsea, the 25-year-old Italian’s first real breakthrough was a precursor to De Zerbi’s big impact in north London.
Spurs have already signed De Zerbi’s successor, Caicedo.
As mentioned above, there is a core of young players that could form a formidable team in the N17 over the next few years, whether it’s Matthijs Tell and Xavi Simons in the attack, or Lukas Bergvall and Archie Gray in the midfield.
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In what has been a season of uncertainty at Spurs, Gray has undoubtedly stood out from the crowd at such a young age, even being named as the ‘future Tottenham captain’ by a man named Harry Redknapp.
It may be a bold claim, but the 20-year-old looked particularly confident in the recent 3-2 Champions League win over Atletico Madrid, after which he was hailed as a “young Declan Rice” by Duncan Alexander of The Athletic.
Rice, along with Caicedo, are currently the two biggest midfielders in the division, but Gray could develop similarly under De Zerbi’s tutelage.
Eyebrows were raised when Leeds United paid around £40m to sign the English player in 2024, but the investment now looks like something of a coup d’état, with analyst Ben Mattinson hinting he would be a “future £100m” player.
Like Caicedo, the 20-year-old has the talent to bounce between right-back and central midfield positions, but his place seems to be in the latter position, including his ability to cover ground in the style of Rice and Caicedo.
That was evident against Atleti before the international break, when he pounced on a loose pass to set up Xavi Simmons’ incredible goal in the second half.
Overall in the Champions League, he averaged 2.1 tackles per game in seven starts and boasted an incredible passing accuracy of 90%.
2026 feels like Gray’s year, especially with the arrival of De Zerbi, a young talent whose talent has long been evident since burst onto the scene at Elland Road aged just 17.
A notable and memorable performance from his time at Leeds was, ironically, in the 2024 FA Cup match against Chelsea, with journalist Dan Kilpatrick pointing out at the time that both Caicedo and his midfield partner Enzo Fernandes were “outdone” by the lesser-known Gray.
His ceiling is clearly sky-high, and Gray is the new Caicedo-style figure De Zerbi needs to build this team around.
The £27m Spurs star will be furious that ENIC hired De Zerbi.
The arrival of Roberto De Zerbi could have an impact on the current Spurs squad.
