De Zerbi: no new injuries, wants to keep Palhinha

“So I’m happy to watch him in this condition, in this confidence, with these performances. I think, and I said after the game, when Gallagher plays well, his team plays with one player more than the opponent.” De Zerbi is very good at coach-speak (annoyingly so) and this strikes me as the right thing to say in this moment when directly asked about a player in a press conference. It’s obvious that he likes Palhinha quite a lot, but I’m not sure it means that Spurs are [pushes glasses up nose] ACTSHUALLY going to sign him this summer. Palhinha’s a good player, but as I said when we were first linked to him he only really makes sense if you pair him with a midfield partner who can control and pass the ball. So far we haven’t gotten that. That said, De Zerbi is getting a tune out of players like Palhinha and Gallagher whom we (and other Spurs fans) had previously written off, so this is already a good outcome. But there’s going to be a LOT of transfer movement this summer, I suspect. De Zerbi also had very positive things to say about Leeds United and their recent form, which has seen them go from likely relegation candidates to on the cusp of securing their place in next year’s Premier League. “First of all, we’re going to play against one of the best teams in this moment because in the last five, six games they won against Man United. They drew in Bournemouth, playing well. They won at home two times, Wolves and Burnley. For that, we have a big respect. We can’t think in a different way. We have to keep this mentality.

“We must remain humble. Nothing changes. We have to prepare an important game. The same way we are playing. We didn’t play so well in Wolves, but in the first 30 minutes, we played okay. Against Brighton at home, we played 90 minutes and extra time very well. We have to stay focused on this type of performance. This type of attitude. This type of spirit and showing the quality of the players.

“Their style is very clear. They have a great organisation on the pitch, with the ball and without the ball. They have good players, Calvin-Lewin, Okafor, Tanaka, I think, and Ampadu are all very good players. Not to fight against relegation, but higher level. But the focus is on us. Not because we become arrogant, but because we have the quality. The quality is enough if we play like we know, like we can, to win the game, for sure.” With rivals West Ham playing Arsenal this weekend, Spurs have a real chance to put some distance between themselves and their relegation rivals on Monday with a win over Leeds. Spurs kick off their penultimate home match of the season at 3 pm ET / 8 pm BST.