De Zerbi swayed by Spurs ‘ambition’ as new manager appointed | OneFootball

Roberto De Zerbi says he believes in Spurs’ ambition to achieve success after being appointed as the club’s third manager of the season. 

The Italian has been parachuted in on a five-year deal after Igor Tudor vacated his role this week. Tudor had replaced Thomas Frank on a deal that was meant to run until the end of the season, but he suffered five defeats in seven games.

Tottenham sporting director Johan Lange confirmed that De Zerbi was their number on target to take up the position on a permanent basis in the summer, but have moved to hire him now with the club teetering above the relegation zone.

The 46-year-old has previously managed in the Premier League with Brighton, who he guided to their best ever top-flight finish and European football in his first season in charge.

De Zerbi swayed by Spurs ‘ambition’ as new manager appointed

In a statement published on Tuesday, De Zerbi said: “I am delighted to be joining this fantastic football club, which is one of the biggest and most prestigious in the world.

“In all my discussions with the Club’s leadership, their ambition for the future has been clear – to build a team capable of reaching great achievements, and to do that playing a style of football that excites and inspires our supporters. I am here because I believe in that ambition and have signed a long-term contract to give everything to deliver it.

“Our short-term priority is to climb the Premier League table, which will be the complete focus until the final whistle of the last game of the season. I’m looking forward to getting out on the training pitch and working with these players to achieve that.”

De Zerbi’s appointment has received backlash from many Spurs fans following his controversial statements on Mason Greenwood, who he managed at Marseille.

“All I can see is that Mason seems a good lad, he paid in a strong way for what happened, and he has probably here found the right environment for him, which gave him affection, and held out its hand to him.

“He has behaved well since being here. He has an introverted, rather closed character, but I met his family and they are good people.

“When I look at him as a person, I don’t see… I feel sad for what happened in his life, without getting into the details. Because the person I know here is very different to the one that has been described, especially in England.”

Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 on suspicion of rape, assault, sexual assault and threats to kill. The charges were dropped in April 2022 when the accuser requested police drop the investigation.

Read – Chelsea midfielder Fernandez fuels Real Madrid transfer talk

See Also – The five favourites to sign Sandro Tonali from Newcastle

Follow the Football Faithful on Social Media:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok