Tottenham’s New Ambition: Van de Ven on De Zerbi's Vision
Tottenham have not just changed manager. They have changed mood, method and, if Micky van de Ven is right, mentality.
After back‑to‑back 17th‑place finishes and a season he calls “unacceptable”, the Dutch defender has watched a club on the brink of drift suddenly slam its foot to the floor. A record £237m outlay, a bold appointment in Roberto De Zerbi and a clear message from the board: survival is no longer the bar.
“You can see the club has made some changes,” Van de Ven told BBC Sport on Spurs’ pre-season tour in Australia. “You can see the club has a new ambition. It’s something that’s really important for players who have been here for a long time. Last season was a stressful season, unacceptable from our side, so to leave all of that behind and go into the new season fresh means a lot.”
From Survival Mode to De Zerbi Ball
De Zerbi arrived in late March as a sharp break from the pragmatic, safety-first approach that had defined Tottenham’s recent years. His blueprint is no secret: possession, angles, risk, and the ball on the floor.
For a squad battered by two seasons of relegation battles, the contrast has been stark.
“It’s going to be different compared to the manager we had last season,” Van de Ven said. “It’s going to be more with the ball, I think, more about playing football. I think it’s also going to be more enjoyable for people to watch because we’ll be playing offensive football.”
That is the promise. The reality is being drilled into them in Oceania, far from the noise of north London but very much under the glare of a manager who demands bravery in possession and aggression without it.
“You can see he [De Zerbi] has brought a lot of passion into our group, a lot in terms of mentality and passion on the pitch,” Van de Ven added. “It is something we needed because everybody was a little bit down. He brings a lot of good energy and, from pre-season, we have really had the time to bring his football into the team. That’s really enjoyable.”
Record Fees, Big Statements
If De Zerbi’s ideas signalled a shift, the transfer window has underlined it in thick black ink.
Spurs have broken their transfer record twice in 48 hours. First came Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85m, a move that would normally dominate an entire summer. It lasted two days. Then Sandro Tonali arrived from Newcastle United for £100m, a marquee signing that sent a jolt through a squad that had grown used to caution rather than confrontation in the market.
The spending has not stopped at headline numbers in midfield. Jan Paul van Hecke, a £52m signing from Brighton, joins Van de Ven in a retooled defence, while Andrew Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka have come through the door as experienced free agents to stiffen the spine and raise standards.
This is not tinkering. It is a rebuild at speed.
Van de Ven can feel the difference already, not just on the pitch but in the corridors and hotel lobbies of their tour.
“The feeling of the team is really good, to be honest,” he said. “I have really enjoyed working with him [De Zerbi]. That’s what we have been doing in this pre-season, and the guys who are coming in have been unbelievable as well. They have fit in well to the group.”
Energy in Oceania, Demands Back Home
Tottenham’s pre-season tour of Oceania has become the first testing ground for this new era. They have already beaten Auckland FC in New Zealand and now turn their attention to Sydney FC on Wednesday, another chance to rehearse De Zerbi’s expansive, front-foot football in front of a distant but eager audience.
The mood is lighter, the football braver, the training sessions sharper. But De Zerbi has wasted no time reminding everyone that optimism means nothing without edge.
He has made it clear: any player not on board with the direction of travel should find the exit.
It is a hard line, but after two years of scraping over the line, Tottenham know what indecision looks like. They have lived it. Now they are paying heavily to escape it.
For Van de Ven and the core of this squad, the path is set. They have a manager who wants the ball, a club that has finally opened the chequebook, and a style designed to excite as much as it exhausts.
The question is no longer whether Tottenham are willing to change. It is whether this bold, expensive vision can turn all that new ambition into points when the Premier League pressure returns.
