The huge new challenge facing Roberto De Zerbi as Tottenham usher in new era | OneFootball

Italian triumphed in dodging relegation - now he must deliver on the faith the club has invested in him

The new Premier League season seems to come around earlier each year. But for Tottenham’s supporters, the wait has been agonising as they look forward to what promises to be a new era under Roberto De Zerbi.

After hurtling headfirst into the transfer market, Spurs got the bulk of their business done early, with Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke all through the door by the first week of July.

Add to that the free signings of Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka, and expectations have been allowed to simmer away all summer, with talk of a European push very much on the cards.

De Zerbi has overseen a remarkable change in the mood around the club. Spurs, after all, only secured their Premier League survival on the final day of last season.

The work the Italian has put in to foster a feel-good atmosphere is paying dividends. But having connected on a personal level with a previously disjointed squad, he now needs to relate to his players on a tactical level as he tries to implement his style and personality on the team.

Roberto De Zerbi has had plenty of time on the training ground to bed in his ‘intricate’ tactics

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De Zerbi’s tactics are intricate and can take time to bed in, so he gives great attention to ensuring he makes the details digestible for his players. There is a reason behind every decision, and Spurs’ squad will have been talked through the whys and why-nots of every action they take.

That consideration also extends to the transfer market, where De Zerbi has been heavily involved in hand-picking each target. Whether it’s Fernandes’ composure under pressure, Van Hecke’s line-breaking passes or Robertson’s leadership, it is clear what role each player will have within the squad.

Manchester City duo Savinho and Omar Marmoush are also expected to come in to bolster Spurs’ attacking options.

A busy but well-executed transfer window has seen Spurs address a myriad of issues across the squad, and they head into Saturday’s Premier League curtain-raiser away to Brentford with plenty of optimism.

Mateus Fernandes has impressed in the early days of his Tottenham career

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One issue that continues to frustrate De Zerbi, however, is his side’s injury problems. Where Spurs have been aggressive in the transfer market, they have been far more cautious in the medical department.

This means they will be without their newly announced captain, Micky van de Ven, and his second in command, Pedro Porro, against Brentford.

Both players returned late from the World Cup, and De Zerbi revealed in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon that Van de Ven has been struggling with an issue suffered during the club’s pre-season tour.

“He suffered a problem during the pre-season (tour) of Australia,” De Zerbi said.

Micky van de Ven starts the new campaign where he spent much of the previous one - on the treatment table

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“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 (against Brentford).”

Porro, meanwhile, has only recently returned to training after lifting the World Cup with Spain over the summer.

De Zerbi is well within his rights to be cautious. He is not prepared to take risks with the fitness of any of his players, having been scarred by the injury situation he inherited when he took over the job at the end of March.

Lessons are seemingly being learned after successive 17th-place finishes in the Premier League. But the proof will ultimately be on the pitch, and with Savinho and Marmoush not yet registered, Spurs still look light in attack heading into the weekend.

Brentford are a team with European aspirations of their own and look physically prepared for the new season after an intensive week-long training camp in Portugal last month.

Keith Andrews’ side have a midfield gem of their own in club-record signing Mamadou Sangare, and the Malian international will be chomping at the bit to get to grips with £185million worth of new midfield talent in the Spurs ranks.

Spurs, who have won just one of their five trips to Brentford in the Premier League era, could not ask for a trickier opening examination than travelling to the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday evening.

De Zerbi, though, will see this as the first opportunity to deliver on his promise of a new dawn for the club.