If De Zerbi wants to play 3 in midfield then somebody like Alfie would fit, he would help move the ball forward quickly but he probably can't be a wide forward (he has played there for England in age groups though) or the right sided part of a 4231. On the other hand Jamie Donley works better in a 4231 with his style of play. Mikey Moore works in any option.
-
The Fighting Cock is a forum for fans of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Here you can discuss Spurs latest matches, our squad, tactics and any transfer news surrounding the club. Registration gives you access to all our forums (including 'Off Topic' discussion) and removes most of the adverts (you can remove them all via an account upgrade). You're here now, you might as well...
Transfers Summer 2026 Transfer Thread
- Thread starter The Fighting Cock
- Start date
Latest Spurs videos from Sky Sports
Very talented but with massive motivation issues. He's seemed uninterested about football for years now.
Exactly. Players like Eze become established at clubs like Palace because everyone accepts they're competing in a different pond. They can play every week, learn from mistakes and have the odd poor game without their careers being written off.
If we'd signed some of these players at 19 or 20, they probably wouldn't have played enough and fans would have been questioning the signing after a handful of average performances. Just look at some of the comments about Odobert already.
In fact, if Odobert had gone to Palace from Burnley, played regularly and developed there, we'd probably be sat here now wondering why we didn't sign him when we had the chance.
Football fans are brilliant with hindsight. We often judge the finished product and forget that a big reason these players became what they are is because they joined clubs that gave them the minutes, patience and environment to develop.
You may have answered your own question in there.
I've never heard of the bloke before but if he is an attacking player, stuck in a rigid defensive team, maybe that's why he is hardly picked?
2 goals and 3 assists in 16 appearances isn't bad either.
Maybe we've spotted something that we think De Zerbi can unlock, or set free?
By all accounts the Napoli fans aren't happy to lose him either so maybe he is a talented player being stifled by a rigid manager, it wouldn't be the first time we've seen that.
Last edited:
Nope and even if you tell me, I'm not listening!
Why he hasn't played much in Serie A also has a much simpler explanation. He's relatively young still. Italian football as a whole is very hesitant to lean on younger players. Their football structure is built on younger kids getting loaned out to clubs in Serie B and below and toiling away until they have "enough experience to be relied upon". Bar the odd exception of course.
It has come under more scrutiny just this year because of Italy's latest WC qualifying snafu. And poised as one of the reasons for why they aren't developing enough talent these days.
Italy are going through a rampant change at the minute with exactly this, to the extent where there next international squad is full of youngsters and only 1 established player of the national team.
It's the same with our own players. We even had a hoard of mouth breathers saying Kinsky was already not destined to make it in the professional game because he didn't have flippers on instead of studs at the Metropolitano.
Look no further than the first page here
Ex-Spurs Player - Harry Kane
Deadly serious here, love the lad. sure he will never be the number 9 we always dream about, but he is naturally more of a number 10. Had a great loan spell in 11/12 at Milwall. I would love to see him get a fair bit of time off the bench this season, get used to Premier League football. My HK...
thefightingcock.co.uk
Any chance of a cheeky bid for Eze 
Yeah, the best environment for a youth player is the Europa or conference league group phases. Unfortunately this season we won’t have the luxury of these increased games, so any youth player that needs games to develop are better developed playing week in week out on loan.It's the same with our own players. We even had a hoard of mouth breathers saying Kinsky was already not destined to make it in the professional game because he didn't have flippers on instead of studs at the Metropolitano.
Look no further than the first page here
Ex-Spurs Player - Harry Kane
Deadly serious here, love the lad. sure he will never be the number 9 we always dream about, but he is naturally more of a number 10. Had a great loan spell in 11/12 at Milwall. I would love to see him get a fair bit of time off the bench this season, get used to Premier League football. My HK...
TBH the club/manager probably needs to realise what club products can offer the culture.
Give them opportunities earlier in the season and figure it out from there. Get them involved in training so they can adapt to playing with the senior players. Give them some minutes in the league and cups etc
Yeah, think we’ll see that in pre-season and make decisions from there.
that requires doing business early… which is something we’ve never ever been able to do.
First of all, Xavi will likely be out until Easter next year and Odobert will be lucky to see this side of Christmas. Neither have ripped up trees for us, so I wouldn’t be holding their spot for them coming back going on what they’ve shown us so far.
Based on what’s been said about Kulu, unfortunately we need to basically act going forward as if he isn’t coming back, cause it seems as if there’s a high likelihood that he isn’t, and if he is, what are the chances he’ll ever get back to the required level. If he does, we treat it as a bonus
And I would argue that outside of Maddison - and who knows what he’s gonna be like now after his injury - none of those 8 players are up to the required standard, and we shouldn’t just continue to persist with mediocrity because it’s already in the building. I wouldn’t be particularly aggrieved to see the back of any of them.
We lack real star quality, especially up top. Leao gives us that. Spurs have been built on these types of players.
Not unexpectedly, Spurs are now linked with a lots of Italianos ...
Tottenham keen on Niccolo Pisilli
Tottenham Hotspur are showing serious interest in signing the AS Roma midfielder Niccolo Pisilli.theboyhotspur.com
What is De Zerbi’s vision of football? High tempo, quick passing, win possession back as quickly as possible and launch more attacks.
Guys like Leao don’t fit this. Buy players that will slot into this style.
Next season is a transition in my opinion. We aren't going to be a Champions League spot contender, probably looking at either Europa or Conference. We can use next season to see where we are with what we already have.
Well yes, i agree.
But if Roberto wants him then so do I. He may find a workable solution.