Next De Zerbi transfer obsession emerges as Liverpool target gives Neville ‘not pleasant’ flashbacks | OneFootball

Deniz Undav once recalled the “hard” conversation he had with Roberto De Zerbi which “made it click in my head” and produced “a different” version of himself.

“I knew what he wanted from me then and I was building more confidence than I had in the beginning and that’s credit to him,” the former Brighton forward said of the harsh truths De Zerbi delivered after an underwhelming cameo in the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United three years ago.

“He’s a gaffer who will tell you the truth, he will not speak left or right, he will tell it to your face,” Undav added in quotes almost certainly butchered in translation.

That period under De Zerbi, as for many a Brighton player and supporter, must have been enlightening. It was even more fleeting for Undav than most, the Italian sanctioning a loan to Stuttgart “with regret” in the summer of 2023 before adding: “We look forward to welcoming him back at the end of the season.”

Neither man was with the Seagulls 12 months later. Undav joined Stuttgart permanently after having a stalling career jump-started, while De Zerbi left Brighton by mutual consent over a difference in transfer strategy.

Spurs, if anything, are acquiescing to those infamous market demands almost too well. And if De Zerbi affords himself a quick peek into the World Cup shop window while courting Sandro Tonali, then he might quite fancy a reunion with one of the tournament’s most impactful players too.

No player has scored or assisted more goals as a substitute at a single World Cup than Undav, whose second cameo sent Germany into the knockout stage for the first time since they lifted the gold in 2014. With two finishes of unerring confidence and quality, this game was turned on its head.

Ivory Coast can be proud of their efforts. An uncomfortable second best before the first Hydration Break, their response after the restart was immediate and impressive. Yan Diomande burst down the left, drilled in a cross and Franck Kessie eventually forced the ball over the line.

“He’s one of the most experienced right-backs in the world, and he’s toiling in this first half,” Gary Neville said of Joshua Kimmich at half time.

“He looks afraid. I’ve been there as an ageing right-back when you’ve got a young kid who’s fearless, and it’s not pleasant,” the pundit added, wincing at the thought of facing Matt Etherington and Jerome Thomas again.

Watching Kimmich’s shirt become gradually less tucked with each attack was enjoyable but he just about got a handle on that particular battle, although only when it became less individual and more of a team-based effort to shut the Liverpool target down. Doubling up on Diomande is already close to a necessity at even the highest level.

The problem was that Ivory Coast failed to take advantage of that platform before Germany’s reinforcements came. A minute after Antonio Rudiger had their first shot of the second half from 40 yards around the hour mark, Julian Nagelsmann’s triple substitution changed the course of the game.

Undav was introduced along with Jamie Leweling and Nadiem Amiri, the latter of whom delivered a sumptuous cross for the centre-forward to equalise.

Emerse Fae responded with three changes of his own soon after, including the arrival of Simon Adingra.

It was he who not every former Brighton player is infallible when he inexplicably controlled a Nicolas Pepe pass and cut inside into a defender when unmarked, 15 or so yards out and at the perfect angle to curl a first-time effort past Manuel Neuer into the far corner.

Six minutes later, Undav showed Adingra the way. Felix Nmecha’s threaded pass was sublime, matched in glorious execution by a decisive turn and finish from one of the players and stories of the tournament so far to seal a comeback win.

Rhythm is a dancer, Undav is the answer – “a different” version of the striker no longer finding solution just for Sebastian Hoeness and Stuttgart, but against all odds, Germany too.