Roberto de Zerbi's Tottenham: A New Era of Motivation and Competition

Roberto de Zerbi has been at Tottenham for only a few months, but the message is already unforgivingly clear: if you don’t burn for the badge, you don’t stay.

On the eve of Spurs’ pre-season friendly against Auckland FC in New Zealand, the Italian drew a hard line over the future of Lucas Bergvall and any other unsettled player in his squad.

“I said, who doesn't want to stay in Tottenham? Who is not happy, is not proud to stay here, has to leave,” De Zerbi declared. No ambiguity. No safety net.

Bergvall at a crossroads

The timing is no coincidence. Nottingham Forest have already tested Tottenham’s resolve with a £38m bid for Bergvall, swiftly rejected, and are preparing to return with an offer closer to £45m for the Sweden midfielder.

Bergvall arrived from Djurgarden in 2024 as one of Europe’s more intriguing young talents. Under De Zerbi, though, his first taste of Premier League life has been fleeting. He started the Italian’s debut game in charge – a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland – then slipped to the fringes, restricted to four substitute appearances as Spurs scrambled away from relegation.

Now the landscape has shifted again. The midfield that once looked like a pathway is rapidly becoming a traffic jam.

Tottenham have thrown huge money at the centre of the pitch this summer: Sandro Tonali for £100m from Newcastle United, Mateus Fernandes for £85m from West Ham. Two heavyweight arrivals, both expecting to start, both signed to shape the new Spurs.

“There will be a big competition to play because at the end, I think we will be two players for each position,” De Zerbi said. The implication is obvious. A 20-year-old still learning the league must decide whether to fight his way through that congestion or step aside.

“I have not spoken with Lucas yet. I will in the next days and we will make the best decision for the club, for Lucas, for me, for every one of us, without problems. Lucas is a big, big talent.

“If he wants to stay, I will be happy. Otherwise, we have to find a new solution with Johan Lange, with Vinai Venkatesham. It's not my business after the decision to leave.”

For Bergvall, part of the travelling squad in New Zealand, this tour is no gentle warm-up. It feels like an audition.

Building a different Spurs

De Zerbi walked into a club staring at the trapdoor last season and dragged them away from the edge. This summer, he is reshaping the spine.

The recruitment drive has been aggressive. Alongside Tonali and Fernandes, Spurs have moved decisively in defence, bringing in Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi. Experience, bite, and a clear attempt to harden a side that has too often folded when the pressure rose.

Now De Zerbi wants the final piece of the puzzle.

“First of all, I think it's not finished yet, our transfer market window,” he said. “We have to finish, we have to bring another couple of, maybe more, maybe not less, but a couple of players.”

The priority is the top end of the pitch. He admitted the “target is to complete the attacking positions”, a hint that the front line will not look the same by the time the Premier League kicks off.

This is not a manager quietly tinkering. This is a reset.

And at the heart of it sits that word he kept returning to: motivation.

“I want the players to be proud and happy to stay here, to go on the pitch in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with big motivation. Because now in football, if you think also in the World Cup, the motivation makes the difference.

The motivation is to be happy to stay in one team.”

In De Zerbi’s Tottenham, talent alone is not enough. You have to want it.

Kudus and Kulusevski: the long road back

While the transfer market churns, two of Spurs’ most dangerous wide players are still stuck in rehab.

Mohammed Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski have not travelled to New Zealand as they continue their recoveries from long-term injuries. Their absences last season stripped Spurs of creativity and directness; their returns could transform the attack without a single new signing.

“Kudus is very close. I think when we come back to London he will be available to start working with us,” De Zerbi said. “It's a great thing for us. Kudus is another important player.”

Kulusevski’s situation is more delicate. A full season written off, no competitive minutes, and a knee that Spurs cannot afford to rush.

“Kulusevski, we have to see in the next couple of weeks. He's another important player. After one season, one complete season, without a game, we have to analyse better and better, don't take risks, first of all for him and then for us.”

For a manager demanding intensity and emotional buy-in, the return of two players who have already shown they can carry the shirt could be as significant as any blockbuster signing.

Xavi Simons and the brutal side of the game

If De Zerbi’s words laid bare the ruthlessness of elite football, Xavi Simons offered the other side: the human cost.

The Dutch attacking midfielder is still working his way back from the anterior cruciate ligament injury that shattered his season in April and robbed him of a place at the 2026 World Cup. He did not sugar-coat the experience.

“The first four days were the worst days of my life,” he said in an interview with the club’s website.

“I couldn't sleep, I didn't eat for one week. I was in a lot of pain. I was vomiting and felt dizzy, it was everything. That pain, I don't wish no-one to go through that pain.

“I don't know what it's like for other players but, for me, it was like my whole body was saying like 'what happened?'

“This is what it is. I'm happy and in a good place now.”

His words cut through the usual pre-season optimism. Behind every transfer, every tactical tweak, there is a player fighting his own battle just to get back on the grass.

Simons’ return, when it comes, will add another creative option to an attacking unit already being rebuilt. For a club that has lurched between false dawns and false promises, the idea of a fully fit Simons feeding a refreshed forward line is a tantalising one.

For now, though, De Zerbi’s Tottenham stands at a junction. Big money spent. Big decisions looming. A young talent like Bergvall weighing his future. Senior stars racing the clock to return.

The manager has drawn his line. Who is truly ready to step over it?