Tottenham Hotspur officially confirmed yesterday that Roberto De Zerbi will take over as head coach on a five-year contract.
The Italian is set to be at Hotspur Way later in the week, where he will meet his players and do his media duties.
De Zerbi is no stranger to the Premier League, having previously worked at Brighton, where he made a name for himself as one of the brightest coaches in world football.
Three years ago, he made an unsuccessful attempt to sign Mohammed Kudus for the Seagulls, who was still at Ajax at the time.
And now, the stars have finally aligned as they prepare to join forces to save the club from relegation.
De Zerbi finally gets his man
In the 2023 summer transfer window, Brighton agreed a deal to sign Kudus, who was coming on the back of an outstanding season for Ajax.
As David Ornstein confirmed at the time, the deal was virtually agreed.
However, the transfer fell through and Kudus moved to West Ham United a few days later for £38m before joining Tottenham in the summer of 2025.
Brighton, led by De Zerbi’s instructions, were willing to make him their record signing at the time, which is a sign that the Italian really wanted to work with Kudus.
It didn’t come to fruition at the time, but the Ghanaian has done really well for himself since, becoming one of West Ham’s central figures before earning a move to Tottenham.
Kudus could really flourish in De Zerbi’s 4-2-3-1 formation at Tottenham, with his ball-carrying and ability to take players on from wide areas set to be important attributes under his new manager.
When will Kudus return for Tottenham?
Kudus hasn’t featured for club or country since January 4th, when he picked up a thigh injury in the 1-1 draw against Sunderland under Thomas Frank.
He didn’t play a single game under Igor Tudor but has returned to training in recent weeks, which is a massive boost.
Speaking before the 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, Tudor confirmed that Kudus will return after the international break, with the Ghanaian already working with the ball behind-the-scenes.
The timing couldn’t have been better for De Zerbi, who will have a closer look at his new squad this week before narrowing down on his starting XI.
And if Kudus is fit and firing, it goes without saying that he’ll be one of the first names on the team sheet as one final battle to avoid the drop prepares to begin for Tottenham.
