Roberto De Zerbi's Premier League Start at Tottenham: Van de Ven Out

Roberto De Zerbi will kick off his Premier League reign at Tottenham without one of his key defenders.

Micky van de Ven has been ruled out of Spurs’ opener against Brentford at the G-Tech Stadium on Saturday evening, with the Dutchman still feeling the effects of a problem picked up during the club’s pre-season tour of Australia.

Van de Ven has not played a single minute over the summer and has barely been seen in training. De Zerbi confirmed in his pre-match press conference that the centre-back will not make the squad, and he will be joined on the sidelines by Pedro Porro.

“Injury-wise, Micky is not on the list tomorrow like Pedro Porro,” De Zerbi said. “James Maddison is inside, Solanke inside, Udogie, Fernandes also. Sarr not because he felt some pain, but nothing big.”

Porro has only just returned to training after lifting the World Cup with Spain and is not yet ready to be thrown straight back into competitive action.

Van de Ven, though, is edging closer. De Zerbi stressed that the issue is minor and that the defender has rejoined the group.

“Today he worked with us, with the group and he is going very well,” the Italian explained. “He suffered a problem during the pre-season of Australia, I don’t know if it was the flight, but not a big problem.

“We have Senesi, we have Ben Davies and in the right condition to play the game tomorrow.”

That leaves Marcos Senesi and Ben Davies as the primary options to anchor the defence in west London, with De Zerbi insisting he has enough cover to cope with Van de Ven’s absence for the opener.

There is better news further up the pitch. Maddison, Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie and Mateus Fernandes are all in contention after being named “inside” the squad by De Zerbi. Pape Matar Sarr misses out after feeling pain, though the manager was quick to stress the issue is not serious.

While fitness dominates the immediate build-up, De Zerbi’s gaze is also fixed firmly on the transfer market. Tottenham have already reshaped their squad with a flurry of signings: Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Martin Dubravka have all arrived.

And they are not done.

Linked heavily with Manchester City winger Savinho, Spurs are closing in on another major addition. A fee of £75 million plus £10 million in add-ons has been reported as agreed between the clubs, with the Brazilian expected to undergo a medical before signing a long-term contract.

De Zerbi refused to be drawn on Savinho by name, but his satisfaction with the club’s work so far was clear.

“It’s not right to speak about players until they are official. Just to say I’m very happy,” he said. “We have not finished in the transfer market. It’s an important part.

“So far we have brought in some great players, great spirit and great personality. You know better than me you don’t win the games with big names and big players, you have to deserve to win the game. To do that we have to reach the level in character, intention and value and style of play.”

The message is blunt. The squad might be getting stronger on paper, but De Zerbi wants steel, not just stardust, as Tottenham walk into a new season with expectation rising and a patched-up defence for opening night.