"In the transfer market, we're not finished yet." Roberto De Zerbi used that line to frame Tottenham's summer, but he also pushed the conversation beyond fees and squad lists. Sandro Tonali is being presented as more than a marquee addition, with the manager saying he can lead a side still trying to recover from last season's mess.

Tottenham's unfinished summer

The backdrop is not subtle. Tottenham were guided to safety on the final day of last season after successive 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League, and they ended on 41 points. That is why the rebuild is being judged on more than who arrives next. De Zerbi said Tottenham still need the right soul, passion, spirit and mentality, not just another round of recruitment.

He has already got plenty of new faces to work with. Tottenham have recruited Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Cole Ramsey and Martin Dubravka. De Zerbi's point, though, was that the overhaul is still active. He also said Tottenham had to drag themselves out of the relegation zone in the final weeks of the campaign.

The football part matters too. De Zerbi said he organised a training retreat at Marseille so the group was sharing lives, not just football, and he compared the spirit he wants to the Argentina side at the World Cup. That is his lens for Tottenham's next phase, and the club's opener away to Brentford on 22 August will give the first real read on whether the dressing-room message has landed.

Tonali's role in the rebuild

Tonali sits at the centre of that idea. De Zerbi said he has always seen him as a leader and that, in a team going through reconstruction, he can play an important role. He added that he was already watching him at Brescia and that at 18 he looked like a veteran.

The price tag will only add pressure. De Zerbi said Tonali cost over €115m from Newcastle, and that is a fee that comes with expectations even before a ball is kicked in anger. Tonali's recent best match in the supplied figures was a 7.9 rating, and he also has five recent World Cup appearances in that set, which fits the image of a player trusted in bigger games.

De Zerbi is right to make the conversation about mentality as well as spending. Tottenham have done the shopping, but the harder part is building a side that does not need a monthly reset. Brentford away on 22 August is the first checkpoint, and Tonali will be one of the clearest tests of whether the new dressing room has taken shape.

FAQ

Is Tottenham's rebuild finished after this summer's signings?

De Zerbi says it is not finished yet. He said Tottenham have already recruited Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Cole Ramsey and Martin Dubravka, but he still wants more. Tottenham also open their Premier League campaign against Brentford on 22 August.

Why is Sandro Tonali being talked up as a Tottenham leader?

De Zerbi said Tonali has always been a leader in every squad he played in and that he can have an important role in Tottenham's reconstruction. He also said he had watched him at Brescia, where Tonali looked like a veteran at 18. His recent top rating in the supplied numbers is 7.9.

How bad was Tottenham's season before this rebuild?

Tottenham were guided to safety on the final day of last season after successive 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League. They finished on 41 points. That is the backdrop to De Zerbi's focus on mentality, soul and spirit as well as recruitment.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →