Roberto De Zerbi has a group of Tottenham players back on the training pitches at Hotspur Way while the international break rolls on. With most of his squad away on national duty, around a third of the group are at the Enfield complex, either building their fitness and development under the head coach and his staff or working their way back from injury.
Among those taking part are James Maddison, Conor Gallagher, Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie, Tosin Adarabioyo, Marcos Senesi, Mohammed Kudus and £85m summer signing Savio. Also involved is Dejan Kulusevski, who is back in the mix after more than 500 days out. Here are five things that stood out from the footage of this week’s sessions.
The biggest talking point is Kulusevski. Some feared he might never return after the complicated right patella injury he suffered in the 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in May 2025, and he endured setbacks along the way. Now he is back in full training, and Spurs are hoping that if he avoids the niggles that often follow a long layoff, he could make a matchday squad this month, likely on the bench. The 26-year-old looked sharp, setting up a couple of goals for Kudus with incisive passing in the small-sided games. Remarkably, the two have never started a game together despite Kudus being at the club for over a year, and the footage raises the question of whether Kulusevski could be De Zerbi’s number 10 once fully fit, alongside Maddison and eventually Xavi, rather than reverting to his old right-wing role.
With so few senior players available, De Zerbi trained a mixed group that also included members of Wayne Burnett’s under-21s, among them James Rowswell, Ellis Lehane, Alfie Dorrington, Callum Olusesi, Maeson King, Tyrese Hall and Tye Hall. The usual tradition held, with first-teamers greeting the youngsters with high fives as they arrived, and Savio and Kulusevski were both caught on camera doing just that.
Adarabioyo was the loudest voice on the pitch, constantly talking and issuing instructions to team-mates young and old. The 29-year-old joined permanently from Chelsea last month and impressed in his first start, the Carabao Cup defeat at Liverpool, after a brief cameo off the bench against Everton in the league. His vocal presence could be valuable soon, as Jan Paul van Hecke has withdrawn from the Netherlands squad with a toe injury that made kicking too painful. As a right-sided centre-back, Adarabioyo would be the logical replacement alongside Micky van de Ven, rather than the left-sided Senesi, to keep the defence balanced.
Udogie and Savio were the standouts down the left flank. De Zerbi is a big admirer of his fellow Italian Udogie, who simply needs a consistent run of games and better fitness after injuries disrupted his time at Spurs. The 23-year-old looked strong, dribbling well and finishing one move with a superb low shot inside the right-hand post. Savio, 22, showed remarkable pace and dribbling and just needs to carry his finishing from training into matches. He has mostly played on the right under De Zerbi, but a left-sided partnership with Udogie could be potent.
De Zerbi was front and centre throughout, and his messages were clear. At one point he urged the players to use the ball with intelligent use of space and to enjoy themselves while doing so.
That message matters because Spurs need to improve in the Premier League and climb off the bottom of the table quickly. Many of the underlying numbers have got better, but results are what count, and the team must be more effective in the final third, starting at Old Trafford against Manchester United on October 10. De Zerbi and his players are confident things will turn around, and if they begin to enjoy the ball, the fans will surely start enjoying the results too.
