01/04/2026

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WEDNESDAY | APR 1, 2026

Malaysian Paper

Last roll Tottenham closing in on De Zerbi

of the dice appointment with talks at advanced stage

R OBERTO DE ZERBI is poised to take on the challenge of keeping Tottenham in the Premier League, with discussions between the parties reportedly in advanced stages. Spurs refocused its attention on De Zerbi following Igor Tudor’s departure on Sunday. Although the former Brighton manager initially pre ferred to defer his decision until the summer, he now appears set to reverse course and assume immediate con trol. Reports emerging from De Zerbi’s native Italy yesterday indicated his willingness to engage with Tottenham’s offer, which includes a five-year contract. Should he accept, the 46 recurring name linked with the Spurs vacancy, first in 2023 and again more recently after Thomas Frank’s exit on Feb 11. However, a sabbatical until the sea son’s conclusion had been anticipated after his departure from Marseille in the same week. Tottenham therefore turned to Tudor as interim head coach, but his shambolic 44-day reign produced five defeats in seven matches alongside a catalogue of questionable tactical choices and only increased the realistic threat of a first relegation since 1977. It forced Spurs into one final roll of the dice and, with fans’ favourite Mauricio Pochettino contracted to lead the United States at this year’s World Cup, De Zerbi has profited from being the best and most viable candidate cur rently on the market. Pochettino was asked on Monday if he had received any contact from Tottenham or Real Madrid, and told a press conference: “We have our full focus here on the World Cup. “I think everyone knows that I am committed with the national team. I think there’s no a point to talk about the future. At the moment no (team) has approached.” First-team coach Bruno Saltor was tasked with taking training for the play ers not on international duty after Spurs moved on from Tudor on Sunday. However, Tottenham expected a new head coach would be hired by the middle of this week to give them 10 days to prepare for the April 12 trip to Sunderland – and that is set to be De Zerbi. The anticipated appointment will not be universally popular among Spurs fans, with three supporters year-old would become the club’s fourth head coach within a span of just 10 months. De Zerbi has been a

groups calling for De Zerbi not to be hired due to his past comments on Marseille forward Mason Greenwood. Proud Lilywhites, Women of the Lane and Spurs Reach all expressed their concerns with “No to De Zerbi” statements. Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling and coercive behaviour and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in February 2023, citing “a combi nation of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light”, which meant there was “no longer a realistic prospect of con viction”. Greenwood has since resumed his career and joined Marseille in 2024. In November, when De Zerbi was Marseille boss, he described Greenwood as a “good guy” and added: “It saddens me what happened in his life, because I know a totally different person than the one who was described.” Candidates with Tottenham connections such as Ryan Mason, Harry Redknapp and Tim Sherwood would be open to taking the job on an interim basis until the end of the sea son, while current player Ben Davies has also been considered as a possible short-term fix. Fan reactions to the links with Davies have been divided. The 32-year old, who is currently sidelined through injury, joined the club from Swansea City in 2014. He has racked up more than 350 appearances for Spurs, though only five of those have come this sea son. “Ben Davies?! Are we down that bad for a manager?” questioned one fan, while another simply stated: “Not Davies man”. Former Spurs players Glenn Hoddle and Chris Hughton have also been touted as interim appointments. Ex-Monaco head coach Adi Hutter’s name had also been mentioned, but he has appeared to rule himself out of the running. He issued a statement to Sky Sports Austria , saying, as he had stated follow ing his exit from the French top-flight club in October 2025, that he “would prefer not to work as a head coach again until the start of the new season at the earliest”. He added: “My position on this mat ter has not changed since then.” – The Independent/Express Newspapers/ Agencies

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Thomas Frank, Igor Tudor and Roberto de Zerbi.

Battle for tennis supremacy

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Story on page 28 -

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