MY ACCOUNT
Tottenham are capable of winning the Premier League, according to Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi.
The Italian faces compatriot Antonio Conte’s side on Saturday in his first home game since taking over from Graham Potter at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton could leapfrog Spurs into third with a win, with the Seagulls currently sitting fourth in the Premier League table, three points and three goals behind the north London club having played a game fewer.
After losing at rivals Arsenal last Sunday, Spurs are four points off the Gunners at the summit, but speaking at a press conference on Friday, De Zerbi thinks Conte’s men can still challenge.
“I think Tottenham are in the right condition to win the Premier League,” he said. “It’s not easy, because there’s [Manchester] City, Liverpool, Chelsea, but in the transfer market they bought very good players and after one year to work with Antonio, I think they are able to win the Premier League.
“The squad is better than one or two years ago. If he doesn’t play [Dejan] Kulusevski, he plays Richarlison, if he doesn’t play [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg or [Rodrigo] Bentancur, he can play [former Brighton midfielder, Yves] Bissouma.
“Tottenham are a good team, not only the first 11 – but 20 or 22 players.”
De Zerbi’s reign at Brighton got underway with an impressive 3-3 draw at Liverpool last Saturday, with Leandro Trossard scoring a hat-trick at Anfield.
“I never speak about the result, but my teams always play with courage and braveness,” De Zerbi said. “I want my team playing to make the game with personality and the right mentality to build the right condition to win the game.”
The former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach also said it could take time for his influence on the team to be seen, but conceded he does not intend to change much from Potter’s successful time at the club before the Englishman left for Chelsea.
“It is a difficult moment for a lot of things, for the language, for the new staff, the new team, for the new ideas,” he said. “I would like to put more ideas in… I don’t want to change that much, but of course I want to put my hand [on the squad].
“If [owner] Tony Bloom and [chief executive] Paul Barber have chosen me, it means they want to see the team playing with my idea of football.
“At the same time you have to deal with not changing too much, but also how to put my ideas on top.”
Tributes will be paid at Saturday’s game to Tottenham’s fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, who died earlier this week at the age of 61 after being diagnosed with leukaemia.
“We are very sad for this loss,” De Zerbi said. “Some of my assistant staff knew Gian Piero. We are sorry for him, for Antonio and his staff and for the family.
“It was very bad news for Tottenham, but also for people who work in our football world.”
