Roberto De Zerbi under fire at Tottenham for 'bizarre' Mateus Fernandes comment - is it justified?

Roberto De Zerbi has been taking the heat following Tottenham's Carabao Cup exit to Liverpool.

The Lilywhites have started the season in poor form, with just one win - against Charlton Athletic - from six competitive games.

De Zerbi was handed a significant summer mandate in order to push the N17 side back up the table.

Midfielder Mateus Fernandes is one of the marquee new faces at Tottenham this season.

The Portuguese, though, has had a tough time in North London, with sporadic starts.

Now, former Tottenham man Danny Murphy has been left scratching his head over the treatment of Fernandes.

What Danny Murphy can't understand about Mateus Fernandes at Tottenham

As the aftermath of Tottenham's loss to Liverpool settles in, many are looking at the manager for answers.

The Lilywhites need to turn things around, and the Italian is under pressure to do so.

De Zerbi cannot say he has not been given the tools for the job, as the signing of Fernandes is just one part of the larger proof to suggest he has.

The Portuguese international has played six times competitively for Spurs, but only has three starts.

Additionally, he has only played 60 per cent of the available minutes on offer so far.

Those statistics are beginning to resonate with a few, though, with former Spurs man Murphy bringing up Fernandes' involvement live on air.

Speaking on talkSPORT on 16 September, Murphy said: "More concerning for me was after the Forest game.

"He spoke about picking Conor Gallagher ahead of Fernandes and saying, 'it's a more English game'. I thought Conor Gallagher would be more in this game, a proper English game, you know, a tough game type thing.

"And I'm thinking, you've spent £85m on a player. And he can't play English football. But actually, the last two times he'd played away at Forest with West Ham, he'd scored and won.

"And the other thing with Fernandes is that one of his attributes is his physicality. That was a bizarre thing to say."

Is De Zerbi's Fernandes stance justified?

De Zerbi will undoubtedly feel he has made the right choices, as he is a stubborn manager by heart.

But, as per Sofascore, Fernandes is by far the most creative option for De Zerbi to utilise.

He has completed the most key passes (five) and has created the most big chances (two) this season so far.

And that is all by playing fewer than many would have expected.

Tottenham are struggling to score, even if they did find the net against Liverpool.

De Zerbi needs to play his most creative outlets, as his decision not to has little justification.