At 00:30 Beijing Time (CEST) on August 30, Tottenham Hotspur will host Newcastle United in the second round of the Premier League. After the media embargo ended, excerpts from Tottenham Hotspur manager De Zerbi's pre-match press conference were released. This article is the first part of that content.

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Regarding this summer's transfer activity, I want to bring the conversation back to Sandro Tonali. Clearly, he will soon face Newcastle United. Tottenham has never spent £100 million on a single player before, which is significant and has drawn attention and admiration from around the football world. Why does he deserve such a high transfer fee?

Do you want to talk about Tottenham, or do you want to talk about the strong teams and big clubs in the Premier League? Because we could broaden the discussion, since everyone's focus is on whether Premier League transfer market prices make sense or not. I think the answer is that the Premier League is a completely different transfer market. Player values in the Premier League are vastly different from other European markets.

And the reason Sandro Tonali has this price is because he is one of the best and most important midfielders in the Premier League. He received two attractive offers from two other big clubs in the Premier League—I don't think it's appropriate to mention the names of those two clubs directly, but they are indeed two big clubs. They competed hard with us to sign him, but he wanted to come here, and I hear the fans are very pleased with this signing.

We have to accept this, like the players we sell. I think some players are sold at high prices, and we also bring in players at high prices. Tonali is only 26 now, not 30. If you analyze the Premier League transfer market, you'll find that the transfer fees for 30-year-old players are similar to Sandro's price. So what's the truth? What's the answer? I don't know. But I think in this transfer market, in this country, in this league, in 2026, his value as one of the Premier League's best midfielders is a reasonable price.

In the last two seasons, the club's final league position has fallen short of expectations. In this situation, how important have these significant transfer moves been in the window?

Specifically, it's not exactly like that. What really determines it is the owner's attitude and ambition. Because these players didn't come here just because of me, or only because I need them. Tottenham is... I rely on the club, yes, I'm an employee of the club, I'm not the owner. But there's no doubt that the owner's ambition has brought about fundamental change. Because the owner has been very committed to completing these signings, the owner's ambition is truly very great, isn't it? This ambition is communicated to all of us—the players, the board, the staff, and myself—motivating us to do better.

At the same time, we must not forget that we are Tottenham. Tottenham, in terms of history, stadium, and supporters, deserves to compete at the top. I don't know if we can fully achieve that right from now, but our plan is to reach that level.

What qualities will he bring to the team's midfield to change the team? What mindset will he have facing his former club so early in the season?

Honestly, he's much better than I imagined before working with him. I've said it many times, he's an intelligent man, an intelligent player, very clean and tidy in his ball control. Some people might think he's a player focused on running and tackling with average technical detail, but that's not true. He's a very complete midfielder, capable of playing as both a number 6 and a number 8. He has the intensity required to play in the Premier League, and we're very satisfied with him.

Looking at the front line, after Omar Marmoush joined, you now have seven starting-level attacking options. Given that the team has no European competition this season, wouldn't it be too many if you add one more, reaching eight attacking players?

Usually, to build a squad capable of handling 40, 45, or 50 matches in one season, you need two players for each position. If you look at the squad when I arrived last season, if you also count the number 10 position, there were actually more than eight attacking players in the front line; now there are seven. Who are they? Kudus, Savio, Marmoush, Richarlison, Solanke, Tel, and Odbert. Odbert suffered a serious injury and will be absent for a long time; he won't be able to play until February or March next year. Moreover, one of these players might leave before the transfer window closes, and I don't think we have too many players.

And if you look back at last season, not just Tottenham, all teams and clubs in the Premier League suffered numerous injuries, right? I hope Kudus can return successfully after six months out with injury. I would be very, very happy to see Kulusevski return in the squad list. I want to include Kulusevski because he works very hard and performs very well. He's a great young man, and he's a different type of player. Also, Xavi Simons won't be ready until March or April, so I think we need this number of players.

I was just about to ask about Kulusevski, and you've almost answered the question, but will you definitely include him in the Premier League squad list?

If he continues to feel as good as he does now, then yes, I would be very happy to include him. Yes, he's improving every day, and it's a pleasure to watch him perform in training. And he deserves it, because in his career, at his age, and as a person—not just as a player—he has endured too much suffering. I speak as a person: he deserves to be in the squad.

Can you tell us where you had dinner? Which restaurant?

An Italian restaurant, and I paid the bill, right? So please don't write anything about me being in conflict with the club during the preseason in Australia, because that's wrong, not true. We went to an Italian restaurant and had dinner very, very happily.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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