Screened as a club-record £100million signing from Newcastle, Sandro Tonali is trying to calm the mood at Tottenham after a start that has left them bottom of the Premier League. Spurs have 0 wins, 2 draws and 3 defeats from five games, and Tonali is pushing back against the sense that the season has already drifted into crisis. "We're not in the doldrums; we're alive and well, and we're positive."

Tonali's message on the results

Tonali's line is direct. Speaking to Standard, he said: "I would classify our current situation as a club as negative in terms of results but positive for football."

He also said: "We're having fun and creating chances. If you don't score in football, you lose. We're not in the doldrums; we're alive and well, and we're positive."

That is the heart of the debate around Tottenham's start. The table is ugly, but Tonali is arguing that the football has not been as bad as the results suggest. Tottenham are 20th, and the gap between those two readings is where the pressure sits.

De Zerbi's backing of Tonali

Roberto De Zerbi is backing his midfielder through the noise. Speaking to Standard, he said: "He’s a good guy, he’s working very hard and I’m happy to have Sandro."

De Zerbi added: "We are lucky to have Sandro with us." He also pointed to the adjustment period after a move, saying: "The adaptation has not been so fast but it can happen, also in Milan in the first season, ok he was younger, but it is not so easy to change city, to change everything for the players. Sometimes the adaptation is immediate, sometimes you need more time."

The numbers show Tonali has been involved throughout the opening stretch. He has played in all five Premier League matches, logged 429 minutes and averaged 6.69 so far. He also has 0 goals and 0 assists, which keeps the focus on control and chance creation rather than end product.

The message from Tonali and De Zerbi is the same: the start has been poor, but there is no point pretending the whole thing has unravelled. Tottenham return to league action with the bottom-of-the-table issue still staring them in the face, and Tonali's next task is to back up the talk with a result.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →