Tottenham's New Ambition: Van de Ven on De Zerbi's Impact

Micky van de Ven has lived the worst of Tottenham. Now he thinks he might be seeing the start of something very different.

Two consecutive seasons scraping home in 17th, a club paralysed by anxiety and drift, a dressing room running on fumes. Then, this summer, a jolt: Roberto De Zerbi through the door and a record-breaking £237m poured into the squad. For a 25-year-old centre-back who has worn the scars of the chaos, it feels like a line in the sand.

“It’s really good that 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.”

Those are not the words of someone simply ticking off media duties. They sound like a player who has been waiting for the club to catch up with its own expectations.

From Survival Mode to De Zerbi Ball

De Zerbi’s arrival in late March marked a hard turn away from the pragmatic, safety-first football that defined Spurs’ recent survival fights. The Italian has wasted no time imprinting his philosophy: the ball on the floor, the pitch stretched, defenders asked to play, not just clear their lines.

“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.”

For a squad battered by a year spent staring down the trapdoor, that shift matters as much mentally as tactically.

“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.”

The message is clear: this is not just a new coach, it is a new way of living with the ball.

Record Fees, Big Statements

If words set the tone, money has underlined it in bold. Tottenham have backed De Zerbi with a level of spending that would have felt unthinkable at the end of that fraught campaign.

They have smashed their transfer record twice in 48 hours. Mateus Fernandes arrived from West Ham for £85m, a statement signing that barely had time to dominate the headlines before it was eclipsed by a £100m move for Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United.

Those two alone would have changed the feel of the dressing room. Spurs didn’t stop there.

Dutch defender Jan Paul van Hecke has come in from Brighton for £52m, reinforcing a back line that has known too much panic and too little control. Around that core, a trio of seasoned free agents has been added: Andrew Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka, experience and know-how dropped straight into a squad that has looked naïve in too many big moments.

This is not tinkering. It is a rebuild with teeth.

A Different Mood on Tour

You can sense the impact already, at least from inside the camp. On tour in Oceania, with new faces bedding in and De Zerbi drilling his ideas into double sessions, Van de Ven says the atmosphere has shifted.

“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.”

Winning helps, even in July. Tottenham have already beaten Auckland FC in New Zealand and now move on to face Sydney FC on Wednesday. The results themselves will be forgotten by October, but the habits, the patterns and the belief they’re trying to build will not.

This is where De Zerbi’s project starts: far from north London, in training pitches and hotel meeting rooms, with a squad being told to forget survival football and embrace something more ambitious.

No Hiding Under De Zerbi

Optimism, though, will only carry them so far. De Zerbi has already made it plain that there will be no passengers on this journey. Any player unhappy with the new direction, he has warned, should find a way out.

That stance suits Van de Ven and the core of the squad who have chosen to stay and fight. After two years spent looking over their shoulders, they now talk about front-foot football and “new ambition” without flinching.

The money has been spent. The manager is in place. The excuses have gone.

Now comes the only test that counts: can Tottenham turn this surge of intent into Premier League points, or will another season of struggle expose this as just another expensive promise?