Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Wed 1 April 2026 12:45, UK

Roberto De Zerbi is generating strong interest inside the Tottenham Hotspur dressing room following his appointment.

The Italian arrives in North London with Spurs locked in a relegation battle in the Premier League, hovering above the drop zone with limited time to turn the campaign around.

Igor Tudor’s time at the club came to an end after just over a month on Sunday, with the Croatian unable to put out the fires during his short stint – failing to win a single Premier League match.

A fiery character, De Zerbi will look to spark a reaction among the group, after the squad’s mentality has been questioned throughout the season.

Former Liverpool, Brighton and Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana believes that the 46-year-old will do exactly that.

Adam Lallana reveals Tottenham questions about Roberto De Zerbi

De Zerbi’s career in England began in 2022, when he arrived at Brighton following Graham Potter’s move to Chelsea.

Making an instant impact on the South Coast, De Zerbi would fire the Seagulls into the Europa League, playing some of the best football across the division.

Having played under the Italian at the Amex, Lallana believes that Tottenham are in a strong position with the appointment, and did not hesitate when asked about their survival chances.

“Definitely. Not even a doubt in my mind,” he told TalkSPORT, before outlining that questions have been sent his way regarding working under De Zerbi.

“I was speaking to a player at Spurs who was picking my brains about him,” he said. “I just know they’re going to be in for a rollercoaster, but a great one.”

The former England international also went on to compare De Zerbi’s personality to that of Jurgen Klopp, highlighting similarities in their behaviour behind the scenes.

“I always compared him with Jurgen, actually. I think tactically they’re completely different, but in terms of love and passion for football, they’re exactly the same,” said Lallana.

“He knows he’s got to go in there and motivate a group of men. After five minutes of speaking when he joined Brighton, I was on board.”

With Tottenham out of the FA Cup and Champions League, De Zerbi now has over a week to prepare for his first fixture, as Spurs travel to the North East to face newly promoted Sunderland.

Tottenham dressing room buy-in will be the biggest factor in survival battle

As is now a well-known fact, the Spurs squad simply did not take to Tudor or his ideas, leaving the Lilywhites in an even worse position than when he took over from Thomas Frank in February.

The mentality among the group has come under fire consistently this season, particularly during the time spent under Tudor.

But now, they simply have to buy in to De Zerbi’s ideas, and fast.

As proven throughout spells at previous clubs, the 46-year-old is a fiery and combustible chatacter, who will not react all too well if there isn’t the immediate buy-in, even given the far from ideal circumstance he has walked in on.

Questions are there regarding his long-term value, given that his longest tenure of three years in a single position came at Sassuolo over half a decade ago, but he is the type of character who will want to see an immediate reaction.

Sitting a point above the drop zone, Tottenham need results quickly. The most important factor now is that the squad work with De Zerbi, and drag the club out of the mess they are in.