After a dismal 3-0 defeat at Brentford in their Premier League opener, Tottenham Hotspur head coach Roberto De Zerbi is still optimistic about his team’s chances this season. The Italian manager believes that the signing of Brazilian winger Sávio, formerly known as Savinho, will be a key factor in their success.

Source: i.guim.co.uk

De Zerbi’s comments came at a press conference on Tuesday, shortly after the club completed the £75m signing of Sávio from Manchester City. The 22-year-old Brazilian has taken over the No 17 shirt from Cristian Romero, who has moved to Atlético Madrid.

The reasons behind Sávio’s decision to revert to his original name, Sávio, have sparked speculation. Some believe it may be a sign of maturity, while others think it could be a nod to his Portuguese heritage, with ‘Savinho’ translating roughly to ‘little Sávio’.

A Record-Breaking Transfer

The £75m fee for Sávio represents a record sale for Manchester City, who paid £30.8m to take him from Troyes. Spurs are reportedly pushing to sign another attacker from City, Omar Marmoush, whose previous club Eintracht Frankfurt have a sell-on clause. It has been suggested that Spurs may be paying more for Sávio in order to pay potentially less to City for Marmoush, which could reduce the liabilities to Eintracht.

De Zerbi has plenty on his plate after the disappointing start to the season. He has been working on a new project with the squad, which he believes will bring consistency and improve their chances of success. ‘We have to get used to winning games and games and games – we have to change habits from the last two seasons,’ he said.

The head coach also emphasized the importance of the Carabao Cup, which he sees as a crucial competition for Spurs this season. ‘For me, the Carabao Cup is like the Premier League. We are not in the condition to make differences [between the competitions]. We have to play well and get used to winning – and winning matches, not a match.’

De Zerbi has a decision to make on Sávio’s selection for the Carabao Cup tie against Charlton on Wednesday night. The Italian manager has a host of players missing due to fitness issues, including Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven, Mateus Fernandes, and Dominic Solanke. However, he is hopeful that some of these players will return as substitutes against Charlton.

In a bid to turn their season around, De Zerbi has emphasized the need for his team to change their mentality and develop a winning habit. ‘We have to be intelligent, we have to analyse better the situation – not to have an emotional reaction. We have to be calm and focused.’

Spurs have a tough task ahead of them, but De Zerbi remains optimistic. ‘Maybe last season was a tougher challenge to stay up than this season,’ he said. ‘I said to the players: last season, in a worse situation, we showed character, we showed balls. We showed pride and quality. Now we have to stay calm and to analyse better the situation.’

The head coach is confident that his team can turn their season around and become a proper team. ‘We have to change the mood. And we can.’