Maddison 'excited' by De Zerbi's bringing attacking style to Tottenham

[p]Italy's De Zerbi took over from sacked interim boss Igor Tudor in March when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tottenham/UDg08Ohm/"]Tottenham[/a] were winless in the Premier League in 2026.[/p][p]He steered them to 17th place and survival with a tense 1-0 win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/everton/KluSTr9s/"]Everton[/a] on the last day of the season and has begun building a new squad with an aggressive summer of spending.[/p][p]England international [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/maddison-james/YwP0q0m8/"]Maddison[/a], who missed the majority of last season with a serious knee injury, said in Sydney he was pumped up for the next chapter.[/p][p][b]"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," [/b]said Maddison, who is reportedly set to be named Spurs' new captain.[/p][p][b]"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."[/b][/p][embed guid="33229fdb-0a5d-4e2e-9042-a92de52a77ac" url="https://x.com/SpurOTM/status/2081820094447980981?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The club opened their pre-season tour with an entertaining 2-0 win over A-League champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/auckland-fc/2J7jacL6/"]Auckland FC[/a] in New Zealand on Sunday with goals from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/scarlett-dane/2Vp8O43o/"]Dane Scarlett[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/richarlison/K82Dz773/"]Richarlison[/a].[/p][p]They face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sydney-fc/6JsBlXVI/"]Sydney FC[/a] on Wednesday, then meet London rivals [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a] in Sydney three days later.[/p][p]"First game of the season, Brentford. It's a big season for us under a new manager. We want to have a successful season," added Maddison of their opening Premier League game on August 22nd.[/p][p][b]"We need to be better than the last couple of seasons. So it's kind of all just preparation leading to that first game.[/b][/p][p][b]"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."[/b][/p][p]De Zerbi's big-money signings so far include midfielders [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandes-mateus/rFdshPHI/"]Mateus Fernandes[/a] from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/west-ham/Cxq57r8g/"]West Ham[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tonali-sandro/fmQVO5TQ/"]Sandro Tonali[/a] from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/newcastle-utd/p6ahwuwJ/"]Newcastle[/a]. He also raided his old club [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brighton/2XrRecc3/"]Brighton[/a] for centre-back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-hecke-jan-paul/WG59HGIH/"]Jan Paul van Hecke[/a].[/p][p]Full-back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/robertson-andrew/6e7Be9VI/"]Andy Robertson[/a], centre-back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/senesi-marcos/tzX63L7E/"]Marcos Senesi[/a] and goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dubravka-martin/dp3dkdsI/"]Martin Dubravka[/a] have all arrived on free transfers as the squad takes on a new look.[/p]