Club-record £100m signing Sandro Tonali took “10 minutes” to decide to join Tottenham from Newcastle after meeting manager Roberto de Zerbi at his home.
The 26-year-old said a shared passion for his boyhood club Brescia played a key role in the move.
De Zerbi grew up a Brescia fan and later played for them, while Tonali started his career there, and that connection helped pave the way for the biggest transfer in Tottenham‘s history.
“We spoke about Brescia, about the difficult situation facing our club,” Tonali said, referring to the bankruptcy of his boyhood side following relegation to Italy’s third tier.
De Zerbi texted a mutual friend during last season to ask whether Tonali might be interested in joining Tottenham and was told: “He is open.”
His immediate focus was securing Premier League survival and, the day after Tottenham beat Everton to avoid relegation, De Zerbi contacted Tonali about a potential move.
Within 10 minutes, he had received a phone call from the midfielder.
A further meeting at Tonali’s home, just outside Brescia, followed as talks progressed.
“Brescia is so small. I had two weeks there and met him two or three times,” Tonali said.
Tonali said his connection with De Zerbi stretches back nine years to the coach’s spell in charge of Sassuolo, when he wanted to sign him.
That brief reign helped launch De Zerbi’s managerial career and began what Tonali described as a “mini-connection”.
After their meeting this summer, however, he said he knew “everything” about his future manager.
Credit: bbc
