Tottenham's Summer Transfer Strategy: De Zerbi's Vision for Bergvall and Sarr

Roberto De Zerbi is certain about one thing in a summer of upheaval at Tottenham: Lucas Bergvall is going nowhere.

“Lucas Bergvall, 100 per cent [he is staying],” the Italian declared.

No caveats, no room for interpretation. The 20-year-old told the club before heading to the World Cup that he wanted a fresh challenge and more minutes as a number eight. Newcastle and Nottingham Forest came calling. Spurs said no. De Zerbi then backed that stance with starts and serious pre-season minutes.

The dynamic has shifted. Bergvall, De Zerbi says, now wants to stay. “He’s a top player, a top potential player. I like that he stays but I think now he wants to stay and we have no problem.”

The same clarity does not apply to Pape Matar Sarr.

Sarr’s future in the balance

Sarr’s summer has been slower. The 23-year-old only reported back in the first week of August after staying in Senegal, and his position in a suddenly crowded midfield is far less secure.

“He’s a good player. I don’t know if he stays or not, we have to analyse the situation, but he is another very very important player,” De Zerbi admitted.

That uncertainty is hardly surprising. Tottenham have detonated their midfield this window, dropping around £185million on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. The squad sheet looks very different, and Sarr’s name is no longer guaranteed to be inked in.

Owners deliver on ‘actions not words’

The Lewis family promised “actions not words” after last season’s brush with relegation. They have delivered a statement summer.

With Manchester City attackers Savinho and Omar Marmoush expected to arrive, Tottenham’s outlay could hit £377million. It is a staggering figure, even set against the backdrop of their stadium revenue and an anticipated £213million in sales and loans.

De Zerbi, who walked into a club on its knees in March, is not complaining.

“In my experience, they kept their word, they kept what they said before I came in March,” he said.

“But what we are doing is not for the coach. It’s for the club, for the fans, for the history of the club, for the pride of the club, and for the level of the club.

“I think this moment is crucial for this club, because after two seasons like we had, we have to change the mood, completely change it, give it a boost.”

He wants this to be the heavy-lift summer. Build now, then settle.

“When we have finished in this transfer market, for a long time we don’t need many things and we can work all together in the right condition, in the right direction, to build step by step something special, or to go to compete for the top of the table.”

He will not promise instant glory, but he will not rule it out either. “Not maybe now, or maybe yes, I don’t know, but we have the squad to play in every stadium in the right way. Face to face, we know we have to improve. We have to become a team, but I think we also have all the qualities to do that.”

Big spending, bigger noise

Tottenham’s sudden financial muscle has sparked predictable outrage. Rival fans, pundits, the usual chorus. De Zerbi shrugs.

“I don’t know, you have to explain to me. For me, no pressure and it’s not a problem. I don’t know why the people don’t love if Tottenham becomes better. It’s one motivation more for us. Last season, all other clubs wanted to kill us. This is another part of football.”

He has weaponised that siege mentality. “Every week we have to remember last season,” he tells his players. The contrast is sharp in his mind: the last friendly against Hoffenheim compared to that fraught survival scrap at Everton. Same club, very different stakes.

On paper vs on the pitch

So how close is this new Tottenham to the one in De Zerbi’s head?

“On paper it’s very close. On the pitch we have to see and we have to work. I am experienced enough not to say too much. I’m very happy with the squad. We have to complete the squad but at the moment very happy.”

He keeps coming back to the same point: the pitch will decide everything.

“To be honest, everyone, we are very excited but in the end the pitch speaks, as we say in Italian. If we start now with big words, I love pressure, it’s not a problem of pressure, but if we are to be honest and correct, we have to wait for the answer from the pitch.”

For De Zerbi, football is chemistry as much as tactics.

“Football is a connection. Football is like magic. You can find sometimes the connection between players when every player thinks like the coach or we come together with an idea of football and the players who don’t start in the team are the biggest fans of the players who are playing. We have to create something on the pitch and off the pitch to compete like we want.”

Tonali, the £100m centrepiece

At the heart of that project sits Sandro Tonali, the £100million signing from Newcastle and the club’s record buy. De Zerbi knew the Italy international well before this move. Working with him daily has still been a surprise.

“Sandro Tonali is better than I thought before working with him, as a player and as a guy. I know his family, his agents, and I know they all are good people,” he said. “I’m very happy to work with him and I think he’s the right player in the right place. Especially because we want to put him inside of the project. He has the right qualities, the right personality, the right values, to stay in this place.”

Tonali is not just a signing. He is a statement about the level Tottenham want to operate at.

No guarantees, only competition

The window still has 11 days left. For some players, that means decisions. For De Zerbi, it means honesty.

“Nothing [to do]. I love speaking clearly. Today is August 21st, I think every one of those players, they already know the squad. If one of them doesn’t want to accept the competition inside the pitch, inside the dressing room, they can leave.”

He will not pretend everyone can be kept happy.

“I try to be honest and to decide the better decision I can on the pitch to find the best first XI, but the players have to accept why because if we want to become better, if we want to compete for the top of the table, 11 players are not enough, 15 players are not enough.

If you analyse the teams – Liverpool two years ago, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Milan – the squad there has a big competition inside the dressing room.”

That is the standard he is chasing.

Pathways and promises for the kids

Amid the star names, the academy still matters. Mikey Moore, 19, is in line to feature against Brentford in the Premier League opener, even as a loan to Bundesliga side Koln is discussed.

“Now is not the right moment to speak about the last 10 days of transfer market. I think it’s not finished yet I said. I’m very happy with Mikey Moore, he’s working well, he’s a good player, I don’t know if he goes or not on loan.”

Moore is not alone.

“I think he has a big potential for the club and we try to find the best solution for every player we have, also for Luca Williams-Barnett or Malachi [Hardy], two potential big players. Proud that they come from our academy. We have to manage them the best way we can.”

Rediscovering Tottenham’s soul

De Zerbi knows he has walked into a club with a fractured recent history but a deep past. To bridge that gap, he invited a large group of former players – Glenn Hoddle, Gary Mabbutt, Steve Perryman and others – to speak to his squad.

“The players and especially the foreign players, they have to understand the level of this club. Even if we finish two seasons in a row in 17th position, nothing changes and the level of the club can’t change because in the last two seasons it was not great,” he said.

“The legends, I think they can explain better than me or better than you what Tottenham has been [before] in the Premier League and in Europe.”

One name was missing from that roll call, and De Zerbi did not hide his disappointment.

“I’m sorry I didn’t see Chris Waddle,” he admitted. “Chris Waddle was one of my favourite players when I was a kid and he played in Marseille. In Marseille I said the same like this and Waddle would have been good for Kudus, for Kulusevski, for Xavi Simons, for Mathys [Tel] because he was a great player.”

A squad rebuilt, a club reconnecting with its past, a manager demanding that the dressing room embrace brutal competition. Eleven days of the window remain. When it finally slams shut, Tottenham will discover whether all this noise can turn into something that truly speaks on the pitch.