Roberto De Zerbi: Tottenham in talks with ex-Brighton boss about taking over as head coach

Roberto De Zerbi: Tottenham in talks with ex-Brighton boss about taking over as head coach

Roberto De Zerbi is now open to taking the Spurs job after previously indicating he wanted to wait until the summer to consider his options after leaving Marseille; Spurs are pushing hard to persuade him – with discussions taking place on Monday – and want a permanent appointment

Tottenham are in talks with Roberto De Zerbi about becoming their next head coach.

Relegation-threatened Spurs, who sit one point above the bottom three with seven games to go, want the former Brighton boss to take over permanently after Igor Tudor’s exit on Sunday and have offered him a five-year contract.

De Zerbi is now open to taking the job after previously indicating he wanted to wait until the summer to consider his options. Spurs are pushing hard to persuade him – with discussions taking place on Monday.

Spurs are hopeful of confirming their third managerial appointment of the season this week before the players return from international duty. Their preference is for a permanent appointment after Tudor’s disastrous seven games and 44 days in charge.

Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood, who has repeatedly put his name in the frame to take over, has told Sky Sports FC that De Zerbi is the perfect candidate – but only if he can keep Spurs in the Premier League.

“I love his personality and the way his teams play,” said the Sky Sports pundit. “But they can be open and can get hammered in some games – you can’t get hammered between now and the end of the season.

“[De Zerbi] wanted to have a break after Marseille in February, but why didn’t [Spurs] bring him in then? Why didn’t they bring him in before Igor Tudor? You’d have given him another seven games to go at, then I would’ve had total confidence that he would keep them in the league.”

Several Spurs fan groups have urged the club to rethink any potential De Zerbi appointment over his backing of Mason Greenwood when he was Marseille boss.

‘De Zerbi far from a safe pair of hands’

“I like him, I really do. I like his personality. I said many months ago that he would be the man to come into Tottenham.

“I would’ve picked him over Mauricio Pochettino for the long term because he plays that style that Tottenham fans want to play. He opens up the pitch, but not now. That style is not needed now, what they need now is a safe pair of hands. This is far from a safe pair of hands.

“I still like him. I love his personality and the way his teams play. But they can be open and can get hammered in some games – you can’t get hammered between now and the end of the season.

“We saw his Marseille team play against Liverpool with an open style. He opens up the pitch, it’s expansive the way he plays.

“We know how stubborn this man is. This man is hard to deal with, but I like him for that because he’s got his own mind and does it his way, so that’s my only reservation.

“I think if he can get them over the line, I think he’s a perfect manager for Tottenham to have taking them forward.

“The main priority is just to keep them in the league. He would not be that firefighter-type manager who comes in for this seven-game period.

“He wanted to have a break after Marseille in February, but why didn’t they bring him in then? Why didn’t they bring him in before Igor Tudor? You’d have given him another seven games to go at, then I would’ve had total confidence that he would keep them in the league.

“They obviously didn’t want him then. He was available, but they didn’t want him.”

Analysis: Maverick De Zerbi offers hope that Spurs need

It is the final roll of the dice. De Zerbi or bust for Tottenham. To dare is to do. Is this combustible character the galvanising motivator that this situation demands? Perhaps not. But it is an appointment that intrigues, excites and – importantly – offers hope.

Igor Tudor was a pragmatist on paper who proved anything but on the pitch. De Zerbi at least brings Premier League experience and the prospect of transforming the club’s fortunes in the short and long term. If he can keep Spurs up, it could be a turning point.

For good and for bad, his reputation precedes him. An innovator in terms of how the game is played, his name was the most frequently mentioned when this journalist was working on a project about the future of football tactics a couple of summers ago.

Coach after coach who was consulted for that project cited De Zerbi as an inspiration. “He is producing something that is maybe unique in football right now,” said one. “He has probably given Pep Guardiola his biggest headache,” added another.

Why? “The distances, the positions, the body shape, the intentions that each player has in possession.” These ideas still feel progressive. “How you control the rhythm and progress through space will be big in the future.” His teams tend to be at the vanguard.

And yet, while Marseille are a hugely supported club with a proud history, there is a reason why De Zerbi did not land a bigger job after leaving Brighton. While his predecessor was handed the keys to Chelsea, something held Europe’s giants back.

A brand of football not necessarily proven to deliver the top trophies was one aspect but De Zerbi’s nature – the ability to manage up and down – was the more significant factor. Could he fit in? Nothing that he did at Marseille will have assuaged those concerns.

There were the intermittent threats to quit, accusing his players of humiliating him with their performance as early as November of his first season. By April, there were reports that he had refused to train the team with the players going above him to complain.

Players were scrapping in training in August – Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe both being moved on. Marseille is a difficult club for anyone to manage but De Zerbi, 46, was often perceived to have inflamed things rather than being a calming influence.

Will Spurs fans be worried by any of this? Not really. They are desperate for anyone who can provide the club with a lift. It is in their hands, of course. And yet, they are vulnerable. Should West Ham go on any kind of run, it could prove too much for them.

If that is the case, a summer of recriminations awaits. Some supporters would have preferred De Zerbi last summer and many more will lament that they had to endure seven games of Tudor before turning to him now. This final roll of the dice has to work.

Is De Zerbi a good mid-season appointment?

Tottenham, who currently sit one point above the relegation zone, are in need of a head coach who can deliver instant results with just seven games left to secure their survival.

De Zerbi has established himself as a coach that instils a possession-based philosophy, creating teams that are praised for their attractive style of football.

However, the Italian’s start at Brighton when he took over mid-season in 2022 following Graham Potter’s departure would suggest he might struggle to have the required impact.

De Zerbi failed to win any of his first five Permier League games in charge of Brighton, drawing twice and losing three games, albeit facing a tough schedule.

When taking over at Serie A newcomers Benevento mid-season in 2017, De Zerbi’s side were praised for the football they played, but were relegated from Italy’s top flight.

De Zerbi failed to win any of his first nine games in charge of Benevento.

The Italian also struggled when taking over Palermo mid-season in 2016, winning just one of his 13 games before being sacked less than three months into the job.

Why Spurs fan groups are against De Zerbi appointment

Three Tottenham fan groups have previously urged the club to rethink any potential appointment of De Zerbi due to his past backing of Marseille forward Mason Greenwood.

Fan groups Proud Lilywhites, Women of the Lane and Spurs Reach all expressed their concerns about the Italian after he worked with Greenwood at Marseille.

Ex-Manchester United forward Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling and coercive behaviour and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online.

The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in February 2023 owing to a “combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses” and due to “no realistic prospect of conviction”. Greenwood has since resumed his career and joined Marseille in 2024.

In November, De Zerbi described Greenwood as a “good guy” who had paid a “heavy price” and added: “It saddens me what happened in his life, because I know a totally different person than the one who was described.”

Spurs’ LGBTQI+ fan group Proud Lilywhites said: “We’ve seen the reports linking Roberto De Zerbi with the Tottenham job and honestly, it doesn’t sit right.