James Maddison is eager to be part of Tottenham’s new era under coach Roberto De Zerbi.
The England midfielder is back after missing most of last season with a serious knee injury and is looking forward to working under the Italian coach, who arrived in March following the departure of interim manager Igor Tudor.
De Zerbi inherited a side struggling near the bottom of the Premier League but guided Spurs to safety with a 1-0 victory over Everton on the final day of the campaign. Since then, he has overseen a busy transfer window as he reshapes the squad ahead of the new season.
De Zerbi has been heavily backed in the transfer market as Tottenham build a squad to suit his style. The club have signed midfielders Mateus Fernandes from West Ham and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle, while centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke has joined from Brighton after previously playing under the Italian manager.
Experienced trio Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka have also arrived on free transfers as Tottenham look to return to the top half of the Premier League under their new head coach.
Speaking during Tottenham’s pre-season tour in Sydney, Maddison praised the manager’s attacking philosophy.
“The manager is very clear, the goal is to be better, to play better football, to be passionate, to be proud to play for this club,” Maddison said.
“I’m still learning the way he plays. But as a player, he’s a coach you want to play for because he loves everything with the ball. He’s very attacking, and I’m really excited.”
Tottenham have already made a positive start to pre-season, beating A-League champions Auckland FC 2-0 in New Zealand thanks to goals from Dane Scarlett and Richarlison.
Spurs will continue their preparations against Sydney FC on Wednesday before taking on Chelsea in Sydney three days later.
Maddison said the squad’s full focus is on making a strong start to the Premier League campaign, which begins with a home match against Brentford on August 22.
“First game of the season, Brentford. It’s a big season for us under a new manager. We want to have a successful season,” he said.
“We need to be better than the last couple of seasons. So it’s kind of all just preparation leading to that first game.
“We’re just stepping up what we’ve been working on and creating the team, how we want to play and the style we want to play.”
