De Zerbi's Ultimatum: A Clear Message to Tottenham Players
Roberto de Zerbi has never been shy about drawing lines. In New Zealand, thousands of miles from north London and with pre-season barely under way, he drew another one straight through the heart of his Tottenham squad.
“If you don’t want to stay at Tottenham, you have to leave.”
No caveats. No softening. Just a manager making it abundantly clear that the door swings both ways at a club trying to drag itself from a relegation fight back towards relevance.
De Zerbi’s ultimatum
De Zerbi, who arrived at the end of March and promptly yanked Spurs away from the drop, spoke on the eve of Sunday’s friendly against Auckland FC in Auckland (04:30 BST). The context was Lucas Bergvall, but the message was aimed at everyone.
“I want the players to be proud and happy to stay here, to go on the pitch in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with big motivation,” he said. “Because now in football, if you think also in the World Cup, the motivation makes the difference. The motivation is to be happy to stay in one team.”
This is not a squad being sold a gentle rebuild. It is being challenged to prove it deserves to be part of one.
Bergvall at a crossroads
Bergvall’s situation captures that tension perfectly. Nottingham Forest have already tested Tottenham’s resolve with a £38m bid for the Sweden midfielder. That was rejected. Forest are preparing to come back with £45m.
Spurs can afford to be stubborn. Bergvall only arrived from Djurgarden in 2024, a long-term project with a high ceiling. But his first months under De Zerbi were quiet. He started the Italian’s debut match, a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland, then slipped to the fringes, making just four more appearances from the bench.
Now the squad around him is being rebuilt at speed.
Sandro Tonali has arrived from Newcastle United in a £100m deal, a statement signing for the centre of the pitch. Mateus Fernandes has followed from West Ham for £85m. Two heavyweight additions, both operating in Bergvall’s territory.
De Zerbi knows the implications. He also knows he cannot carry passengers.
“I have not spoken with Lucas yet,” he admitted. “I will in the next days and we will make the best decision for the club, for Lucas, for me, for every one of us, without problems. Lucas is a big, big talent.
“There will be a big competition to play because at the end, I think we will be two players for each position. If he wants to stay, I will be happy. Otherwise, we have to find a new solution with Johan Lange, with Vinai Venkatesham. It’s not my business after the decision to leave.”
The subtext is obvious. Tottenham want to keep a gifted 20-year-old, but only on the club’s terms: compete, commit, or cash in.
For now, Bergvall is in the touring squad in New Zealand, training under the man who will ultimately decide how big a role he plays – or whether he plays at all.
A squad built for duels
If Bergvall stays, he will not be short of company in the fight for minutes.
Tottenham have moved aggressively this summer. Beyond Tonali and Fernandes, defenders Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi have been added to a back line that looked brittle for too long last season.
The pattern is clear: depth, competition, and no guaranteed spots.
“First of all, I think it’s not finished yet, our transfer market window,” De Zerbi said. “We have to finish, we have to bring another couple of, maybe more, maybe not less, but a couple of players.”
The target, he stressed, is now the attacking positions. After reinforcing the spine, De Zerbi wants more threat, more variety, more goals.
His ideal squad? Two players for every role, all of them feeling the breath of a rival on their neck.
Waiting on Kudus and Kulusevski
Not everyone could make the trip to New Zealand. Two of De Zerbi’s most dangerous wide options, Mohammed Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski, stayed behind in London as they continue their recovery from long-term injuries.
“Kudus is very close,” De Zerbi said. “I think when we come back to London he will be available to start working with us. It’s a great thing for us. Kudus is another important player.”
The tone shifted when he spoke about Kulusevski. The Swede has endured a full season without a game after a serious knee issue, and Spurs know they cannot afford missteps with his return.
“Kulusevski, we have to see in the next couple of weeks,” De Zerbi cautioned. “He’s another important player. After one season, one complete season, without a game, we have to analyse better and better, don’t take risks, first of all for him and then for us.”
For a manager demanding maximum intensity, the patience here is notable. Kudus is close. Kulusevski is further away. Both, if fit, change the complexion of that “complete” attacking unit De Zerbi keeps referencing.
Xavi Simons’ brutal reality check
If anyone at Tottenham needed a reminder of how fragile a career can be, Xavi Simons has provided it.
The attacking midfielder is still working back from the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in April, a moment that not only ended his season but cost him a place at the 2026 World Cup with the Netherlands.
He did not sugar-coat the experience.
“The first four days were the worst days of my life,” he told the club’s website. “I couldn’t sleep, I didn’t eat for one week. I was in a lot of pain. I was vomiting and felt dizzy, it was everything. That pain, I don’t wish no-one to go through that pain.
“I don’t know what it’s like for other players but, for me, it was like my whole body was saying like ‘what happened?’ This is what it is. I’m happy and in a good place now.”
It is a stark contrast to the usual pre-season optimism. While De Zerbi speaks of motivation and competition, Simons offers the other side of elite sport: the fear, the helplessness, the long road back.
A new standard, or the same old Spurs?
From Auckland to London, the picture is slowly coming into focus. Tottenham are spending heavily, clearing out weak points, and building a squad that looks far more suited to the ferocious, high-demand football De Zerbi preaches.
The manager’s message cuts through all of it. Big fees, big names, big promises – none of that matters if the players do not truly want to be there.
For Bergvall and others eyeing the exit, the choice is stark. Stay and fight in a squad designed for duels, or step aside and let De Zerbi and Tottenham push on without them.
