A strange decision? De Zerbi sparks controversy before the Manchester United clash

The timing of the decision makes it hard for fans to understand!

Tottenham are enduring a wretched start to the season, and their Italian coach has spent weeks banging the drum about the need to sharpen his squad's physical fitness. So his latest call looks odd on the face of it. The fans are furious, and the anxiety is creeping back in around a club that only just avoided relegation last season.

The players who stayed in London during the international break will get a full week off. That decision follows the 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa, a result that left Spurs rock bottom of the table and still without a Premier League win.

De Zerbi had insisted, right after that match, on working harder with the players who would not be away on international duty.

He named names, too: James Maddison, Conor Gallagher, Dominic Solanke, Tosin Adarabioyo and Marcus Sinisi. Their fitness, he felt, still needed work.

Solanke stands out as the clearest case, a player crying out for more rhythm and strength.

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According to Foot Mercato, citing the Telegraph, the story isn't quite what it seems. De Zerbi made the call to hand the players a week off before the Villa defeat, a common move among fitness staff when a long international break stretching across three weeks looms.

Tottenham had lined up no training camps abroad and no closed-door friendlies. The players left out of their national squads will report back to the club's training centre the following week to pick up where they left off.

Foot Mercato put it this way: "Nevertheless, the timing of the decision makes it difficult for the fans to understand. While Roberto De Zerbi has stated that he identified physical fitness as one of his team's problems, the players concerned will ultimately benefit from extra days of rest during this period. It remains to be seen whether this choice will pay off."

They signed off: "The answer will become clear when matches resume with a top clash against Manchester United on 10 October, the first test of this strategy."

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