De Zerbi’s Leadership Pitch Helped Tonali Choose Tottenham
Sandro Tonali joined Tottenham from Newcastle in a reported £100m move, with his agent saying Spurs’ recovery and Roberto De Zerbi’s leadership pitch helped sway him despite Manchester City interest.
In a report published on Friday 2 October, Spurs-Web said Giuseppe Riso had explained why the 26-year-old chose Tottenham after the club narrowly avoided relegation. The outlet described Tonali as the club’s most expensive signing and highest earner; it attributed Riso’s remarks to TuttoMercatoWeb. The Manchester City interest in Tonali provides the transfer-race backdrop, though the report does not set out a detailed bidding contest.
Why Tottenham’s recovery mattered
Tonali arrived from Newcastle with a substantial reputation and an equally substantial price tag. Riso’s account presents Tottenham’s survival as a turning point: after a difficult season, the club showed it was making different and courageous choices.
That message was paired with a direct role for the midfielder. Riso said De Zerbi told Tonali that Spurs needed him as a leader, and that their relationship carried significant weight. The personal appeal, then, was not separate from the club’s renewed direction; it helped make that direction credible to the player.
De Zerbi’s pitch and the £100m fee
Tottenham’s £100m price tag makes this more than a routine vote of confidence in a new project. The report links Tonali with Manchester City but does not establish that Spurs outbid them or provide a sequence of rival offers. The safest conclusion is narrower: Spurs completed a costly signing while City were among the clubs linked with the midfielder.
Riso’s explanation also offers a useful companion to Tonali’s decision to join Spurs: the agent places De Zerbi’s personal influence alongside Tottenham’s changing approach. It remains a compelling account of why the move happened, rather than proof that the signing has already worked.
Tonali still has to settle
The report notes that Tonali has faced criticism after a slow start, including Chris Waddle’s assessment that he had looked average. De Zerbi, by contrast, has backed the midfielder’s effort and said adapting to a new city and environment can take time; he also felt Tonali had played well against Everton.
That patience matters, but it does not make the early scrutiny disappear. The agent’s story explains the attraction of Tottenham’s project and De Zerbi’s role in it. Tonali still has to turn that belief into performances that justify a £100m fee, while De Zerbi’s midfield plans take shape.
