Roberto De Zerbi is officially in the building at Tottenham as they prepare to take on Sunderland in the Premier League on Sunday.
A lot has changed for the Lilywhites since they last kicked a ball competitively three weeks ago. Tottenham parted ways with Igor Tudor by mutual consent and moved quickly to secure the Italian, who signed a five-year deal at the club.
De Zerbi has been working closely with the Tottenham players in training and earned rave reviews for his training methods, which is a good sign for the club as they remain in the thick of a relegation battle.
The former Brighton man will speak at his first press conference as Tottenham manager, which we will cover in detail later today.
But, in the meantime, he has singled out two Tottenham players for special praise in an interview with NBC Sports.
Romero and Richarlison key for Tottenham
Cristian Romero has been linked with a Tottenham departure in the summer as speculation surrounding his future continues to dominate the back pages.
The Argentine has endured a tough season on and off the pitch, which has been the case for a lot of players.
As for Richarlison, he’s their top scorer this season and has performed more often than not.
De Zerbi feels Romero’s leadership will go a long way toward ensuring Tottenham avoid the drop.
“I think Cuti is crucial for us, crucial for Tottenham as a club,” said the Italian.
“He is the captain, he is maybe the most important player in our squad, and to achieve our goal, we need the best of Romero.”
He also reserved special praise for Richarlison’s ability and mentality, with the Brazilian expected to lead the line in the coming weeks.
“Richarlison can play in different positions. He’s a good guy, he’s a clean guy, he’s an honest guy. I like him, as a player, as a mentality, as an attitude.
“In the same position, we can play with different players, but I think, to achieve our target, we need Richarlison in the best way possible.”
Tottenham need their big guns to fire
Romero and Richarlison are among the most experienced players in the squad. De Zerbi has just arrived, so Tottenham’s senior players need to stand up and be counted as they haven’t won a Premier League game in 2026.
The same could be said about the likes of Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke, who are also expected to start against Sunderland.
Tottenham, however, could be without Mohammed Kudus for the rest of the season after the Ghanaian suffered an injury setback earlier this week.
He was expected to return to action against Sunderland, but that won’t be the case, putting his 2026 FIFA World Cup hopes in doubt.
