Roberto De Zerbi has revealed that he believes only "10 to 12 players" at Tottenham are good enough to represent the club next season. Spurs narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League on the final day of the campaign, securing a 1-0 victory over Everton to finish 17th for the second consecutive year.
Survival Secured
Joao Palhinha's scrappy goal was enough to keep Tottenham up and condemn West Ham to the Championship. De Zerbi arrived with seven games remaining after the unsuccessful tenures of Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, managing to steer the club to safety with 11 points from his seven matches in charge.
Clear-Out Planned
Despite the relief of survival, De Zerbi is already planning a major overhaul of the squad this summer. "From tonight we have to start to organise and to build a new team," he said in his post-match press conference. "I don't think we have now to change too many players. We have 10, 11, 12 players good enough to stay. Good enough. Like players. Especially like people. And then we have to complete the squad with the first level of players."
De Zerbi emphasised the need for higher quality after a season of suffering. "First level of players because we suffered too much. I suffered a lot but I think the fans, the club, the board, the players. They suffered too much. We are Tottenham and we can't suffer like this until the last second of the last game to stay up."
Key Players Praised
When asked which players had been crucial to survival, De Zerbi singled out several individuals. "[Radu] Dragusin. Dragusin was top because he didn't play, but he was always positive inside the dressing room. Inside the pitch. [Rodrigo] Bentancur. Because Bentancur, when he came back from the injury, he wanted to play. He came to me to say, 'hey, I want to play. I'm ready to play.'"
He also praised Joao Palhinha, Ben Davies, Djed Spence, Micky van de Ven, Richarlison, and Archie Gray. "Djed Spence. Before the Chelsea game he came in my office. Another one to say 'I want to play.' He said, 'You always speak about the personality, the courage. I'm here, if you want to play with one player,' and he was fantastic, I love it."
De Zerbi concluded: "Micky van de Ven. Great guy, sensitive guy. I spent a lot of time with him, because I consider him the best centre-back, left-centre-back in the Premier League, with Levi Colwill, because he was my former player and I can't forget him. But a lot of other players. Richarlison, Archie Gray, I can't say one."
With the season now over, De Zerbi's focus shifts to building a team capable of competing higher up the table, starting with a significant squad rebuild this summer.
