Roberto De Zerbi Impressed By Spurs Youngsters And New Signings On Tour

De Zerbi 'happy' with Tottenham after unbeaten pre-season tour

De Zerbi hails Tottenham's pre-season after win over Chelsea. 10-Man Tottenham beat Chelsea 2-1.

Roberto De Zerbi left 'happy' with Tottenham pre-season preparations after Chelsea win...

Roberto De Zerbi said he was “happy for a lot of things” after Tottenham beat Chelsea 2-1 in Sydney to finish their pre-season tour unbeaten in three games and head back to London.

The Italian boss spent over a week in New Zealand and Australia with the squad as he prepares for the new Premier League season, with Spurs looking to improve on last year’s 17th-place finish.

Spurs return home after three tour results: a 2-0 win over Auckland FC, a shootout victory following a 1-1 draw with Sydney FC, and a gritty 2-1 win against Chelsea on Saturday while playing most of the second half down to 10 men.

“I'm happy for a lot of things. First of all, because we have spent a very important 10 days together. We worked very well,” he said.

“I'm happy to work with these players. I'm looking forward to work with the other players who are in London - Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr, Marcos Senesi, Mohammed Kudus.”

Bentancur, Sarr and Senesi were all involved at the World Cup, while Kudus is still recovering from injury.

The tour also let De Zerbi hand minutes to several promising youngsters, plus new arrivals Sandro Tonali, Andy Robertson and Marco Palestra.

He pointed to Tonali, Archie Gray, Ben Davies, Robertson and Lucas Bergvall as key contributors in the win over Chelsea, which was clinched by Richarlison’s 90th-minute goal.

 

But the Italian manager also singled out a few of the club’s young prospects.

“I am so happy for the young players because Malachi (Hardy), Rio (Kyerematen), Tye (Hall), Kota (Takai), they have been in this period very important for us, very good players.”

De Zerbi was especially impressed with how Spurs stayed composed after Kevin Danso was sent off for a reckless challenge just three minutes into the second half against Chelsea.

He’s hoping to see that same resilience when Spurs open their Premier League season against Brentford on August 22.

🎙️ Roberto De Zerbi on why he named Archie Gray captain for the Sydney Super Cup::

“Because I am the coach.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/MPpxrrHNXz

— SpursOTM (@SpurOTM) August 2, 2026

“It's important to change the habits, because our habits in the last two seasons have been not good in terms of results,” he said.

“It's important for us to win the game, to win the duels, to win the second ball and to play well in every position of the pitch. But yes, a very good 10 days.”

Tottenham will host Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim for two friendlies at home before the Premier League season kicks off.