Roberto De Zerbi Sets Clear Standards for Tottenham Players
Roberto De Zerbi is not in the business of begging players to stay. Not even the ones he clearly adores.
Lucas Bergvall started his first match of Tottenham’s friendly tour on Wednesday, a 20-year-old Sweden international handed a platform in a penalty shootout win over Sydney FC. His future, though, is anything but settled.
Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest have already been rebuffed in their approaches, yet the question lingers: will Bergvall commit fully to Spurs, or look elsewhere for minutes and responsibility?
De Zerbi has made his stance brutally clear.
“I would like that he stays with us – I think he's a potential top, top, top player, but in the end I don't want to convince anyone to stay,” he said, repeating a message he has been hammering home since arriving in north London.
This is not a manager pleading for loyalty. It is a manager setting terms.
No passengers at Tottenham
De Zerbi framed the debate around standards, not sentiment. Tottenham, he stressed, must be a place for players who are all-in.
“I think Tottenham is already, without me, a top club, and we are not to convince anyone to stay,” he said. “I think he can find the space because the competition between the players will be very strong. We are Tottenham and we have to build a strong squad, not just 11 players.”
That last line is the crux. Tottenham’s last two or three seasons have been scarred by injuries and thin depth. De Zerbi sees where the game is heading: relentless calendars, expanded competitions, and the need for a squad that stretches well beyond the starting XI.
“Football is going in a clear direction: to compete for the [highest] place on the table, you have to manage 22, 23, 24 players.”
Bergvall, in that vision, is not a luxury. He is part of the core. But only if he wants it.
A long courtship, a clearer picture
This is not a coach judging a player off a handful of training sessions in July. De Zerbi has been tracking Bergvall’s mentality and game for months.
“I'm speaking with him before the end of the last season, during the World Cup two times, now we are speaking better now [face to face] without competition in this moment,” he explained.
Last season, with matches coming thick and fast, De Zerbi’s work with the squad skewed towards mentality, preparation, and coping with pressure rather than embedding every nuance of his style. Now, in preseason, he can finally shape players in his image.
“Now I started to work [with him] like I know, like my style. In the last season, when we prepared the games, we worked on the head, on the mentality, more than the style of play.”
The more time he has had with Bergvall, the more convinced he has become about the midfielder’s role.
“I think his position is very clear for me now also because I needed time to understand the characteristic of the players, but I would like that he stays with us. He's a very young, very good player, good guy, and it's not so easy and so fast to find a young player of that level.”
The message is layered. De Zerbi has identified where Bergvall fits. He rates him highly. He believes he can carve out minutes despite fierce competition. But the final step – the commitment – must come from the player.
Tonali, the “precious diamond”
While Bergvall’s situation hangs in the air, De Zerbi has already turned a protective arm around another key piece of Tottenham’s future: Sandro Tonali.
The Italy international has arrived from Newcastle in a record-breaking move, a marquee signing and a clear statement of intent. De Zerbi’s description of him was striking.
“A precious diamond.”
That was the phrase he chose, and he doubled down on the responsibility that comes with it.
“But we have to manage him like a precious diamond. We have to help him to improve in the last decision, as [well] as physical work. He has to work hard to become stronger because this diamond footballer needs to be strong and to give space when there is the right moment.”
Tonali is not being presented as the finished article. He is being framed as a high-value asset who must be polished, protected, and pushed. De Zerbi wants his decision-making sharper, his body stronger, his influence timed to perfection.
This is the pattern of his work with young players. Time, trust, and high demands.
“I usually give time to all my young players I work with in my career, and with his potential, he is a special player.”
A clear standard for a new era
Between Bergvall’s uncertainty and Tonali’s arrival, De Zerbi has drawn a clear line for Tottenham’s next phase.
Talent alone is not enough. Commitment is non-negotiable. The squad must be deep, hungry, and durable if Spurs are to fight at the top of the Premier League table.
Bergvall has been told exactly where he stands and how highly he is valued. Tonali has been cast as a diamond to be hardened for the battles ahead.
The question now is simple: who is ready to grow with De Zerbi, and who will step away from a project that is being built with no room for half-measures?
