Roberto De Zerbi is looking for Tottenham to assemble a new “dream” team this summer to leave their Premier League struggles in the past as he plans a ruthless squad overhaul.
Spurs saved themselves from the embarrassment of relegation to the Championship on the final day of the top-flight season as they beat Everton 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A first home league win since December, sealed by Joao Palhinha’s goal shortly before half-time, saw Tottenham survive at the expense of rivals West Ham, who returned to the second tier of English football for the first time since 2012 despite finishing their campaign on 39 points with a 3-0 home win over Leeds.
De Zerbi said that guiding Spurs away from the drop was the “biggest achievement” of his managerial career so far and one of his “best days” in football to date.
However, the hard work on restoring Tottenham to contending at the right end of the Premier League table starts immediately, with the Italian clear on how many players are good enough to stay and urging the rest to ideally be replaced by top-level new signings this summer.
“From tonight, we have to start to organise and to build a new team,” De Zerbi said after the win over Everton. “I think we have now to change too many players.
“We have 10, 11, 12 players good enough to stay. Good enough. Like players. Especially like people. And then we have to complete the squad with the first level of players.
“First level of players because we suffered too much. I suffered a lot but I think the fans, the club, the board, the players, they suffered too much. We are Tottenham and we can't suffer like this until the last second of the last game to stay up.
“And I will be stronger. I will be stronger. I don't want to decide alone because football is a group - sporting director, scouting, CEO - but my target now is finished to stay up. My target is to start the pre-season with the team I have in my dream.”
Tottenham’s match-winner on the final day, Palhinha, is only on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich, though the deal includes the option for a permanent summer transfer.
Asked if he would like to keep the Portuguese midfielder, De Zerbi said: “Yes I would like to keep him, 100 per cent. We have to start from these people, before to speak about the players, we have to speak about the people.
“And we have to start. Then, I can't give the place for everyone in the first eleven. Because I want to build two players in each position. But for sure, I would like him to stay with me. Like Conor Gallagher and [Rodrigo] Bentancur, the same.”
© The Standard Ltd