Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi sent a cryptic message to one of his Spurs stars in today’s pre-Sunderland press conference.
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Seven games are what stands between Tottenham and either Premier League survival or their first relegation since 1977.
De Zerbi’s debut in the Spurs dugout comes at Sunderland this Sunday, a fixture that carries the kind of urgency usually reserved for the final weekend of a season, not the second week of April.
The Black Cats arrive at this game in a comfortable mid-table position, with nothing material at stake on the league front, and are even dark horses for Europe.
For Spurs, every available point is currency.
|
Tottenham’s final seven Premier League fixtures in relegation run-in |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Sunderland (away) |
April 12 |
|
Brighton (home) |
April 18 |
|
Wolves (away) |
April 25 |
|
Aston Villa (away) |
May 2 |
|
Leeds (home) |
May 11 |
|
Chelsea (away) |
May 17 |
|
Everton (home) |
May 24 |
De Zerbi has been unequivocal in his focus heading into Sunday, dismissing talk of the fixtures to come and emphasising that his squad’s entire concentration must be directed at getting something from the Stadium of Light.
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The Italian has personally shortlisted him as a summer target.
When pressed on his broader ambitions for the club, he made one commitment clear: regardless of what division they find themselves in, he will still be in the dugout next season — a statement that carries weight given the relegation clause some had assumed would be built into a deal of this nature.
His squad, in its current shape, is one of the thinnest in the division.
Long-term absentees include Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Wilson Odobert and Ben Davies, while star winger Mohammed Kudus is confirmed to be line for surgery and will not play again this term.
Guglielmo Vicario remains unavailable, at least until potentially next week, with Antonin Kinsky set to deputise between the posts this weekend.
De Zerbi could have Mathys Tel back for Sunderland, a player who the tactician confirmed he wanted to sign while at Marseille.
What remains is a group that De Zerbi has described as having “very big players”, and one who he is making no secret of wanting significantly more from.
Roberto De Zerbi sends message to Conor Gallagher ahead of Sunderland
Conor Gallagher arrived at Spurs from Atlético Madrid in January for £35m, a signing that at the time represented one of the few genuine signs of ambition in a desperate winter window.
The midfielder brought Premier League pedigree — 136 top-flight appearances with Chelsea, including a season as club captain — and an energy that had been missing from a midfield stripped bare by injury and poor form.
Since joining, however, he has managed just a single assist in the league, and his contributions have drawn mixed assessments from supporters and observers alike.
De Zerbi knows him well.
The pair were on opposing sides repeatedly during the Italian’s time at Brighton, when Gallagher was one of Chelsea’s most influential players — a box-to-box force who covered ground relentlessly, arrived late into the area and gave opposing midfields problems with his intensity and directness.
That is the version of the player De Zerbi wants to see at Spurs.
At his first press conference, De Zerbi made the point directly, sending a subtle demand to Gallagher to improve his form and replicate his Chelsea heroics.
“I want to see again the same Gallagher I loved in Chelsea at the time,” he said.
It is simultaneously a challenge and an endorsement, an acknowledgement that the current version has not repeated what made him so effective in that period, and an indication that De Zerbi believes the gap between the two versions is closeable.
Whether Sunday provides the stage for that is open to question.
With so little margin for error left in this season, the Italian will need Gallagher to rediscover that level quickly.
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He’s enjoyed an excellent season.