If first impressions are anything to go by, then Tottenham Hotspur should get used to controlling midfield.
Their new-look £185million pivot dictated play in their opening pre-season friendly – a 1-0 win against MK Dons on Wednesday – providing a 45-minute glimpse of what to expect from club record-breaking transfers Sandro Tonali (£100m from Newcastle) and Mateus Fernandes (£85m from West Ham).
Let’s get the balancing act out of the way. Yes, it was only a pre-season match. Yes, it was only one half of football. And yes, it was against inferior League One opposition, MK Dons.
But their desire to impose themselves immediately was encouraging. Fernandes took just three minutes to exhibit his natural ability. MK Dons goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray punched Mathys Tel’s corner clear, but Fernandes lurked outside the area and wrapped his right foot around the ball on the volley and hammered it into the top corner.
Pre-season or not, it was a top-quality finish – a peek at his talent. Seeing the first manifestation of his £85m transfer fee, his new teammates laughed in disbelief when the ball hit the back of the net. Spurs chiefs would have celebrated with a sigh of relief as he demonstrated the first sign of being a hit.
Mateus Fernandes finds the top corner in only goal of Spurs debut
Tottenham splashed the cash on Sandro Tonali from Newcastle, breaking their transfer record for the second time this summer
Mateus Fernandes – relegated with Southampton and Spurs – showed his quality in Spurs’ opening pre-season friendly
Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali are among £240m worth of reinforcements given to Roberto De Zerbi this summer
Spurs changed their entire XI at half-time – as is customary at the start of pre-season – making the sample size small. Regardless, it was an extremely active debut. Everything went through Fernandes. 81 touches in the first half; no player had more.
Playing as the eight, he was supported by fellow new arrival Tonali in the six. And for a pair playing together for the first time, they showed a surprising level of synchronisation as a unit. They both picked up on each other’s movement, finding space or covering when the other was on the ball.
If that can be developed in a week, then Spurs are on the right footing with this pair as they attempt to return to the top half after finishing 17th in consecutive seasons – avoiding relegation last term by just two points. Much like Fernandes, Tonali was busy – registering 70 touches; only his midfield partner had more.
Tonali was given the license to run forward into the channels from his holding midfield role as Spurs tried to break down MK Dons’ disciplined, low block. The Italian is versatile; not only is he a ball-winner, but he has a big engine and an array of line-breaking passes at his disposal. It enables him to play as a six or an eight. Partnering Fernandes, however, it seems that can be relatively fluid.
Perhaps the biggest boost is that Spurs’ lavish midfield is well-rested after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup while Portugal overlooked Fernandes. It offers Roberto De Zerbi a full pre-season to get his ideas across to the heartbeat of the team, the anchors between defence and attack – a luxury that most managers do not have this summer.
What remains to be seen, though, is how they will handle teams that pose a greater threat. There was little to handle from the MK Dons attack, and they did not have bundles of the ball, which limited the occasions Spurs could press with intensity – a hallmark of De Zerbi’s teams. The pair will need to step up to the increased workload, and that process should begin to take shape as the quality of opposition increases.
There were a couple of mistakes. Both gave the ball away in dangerous areas as MK Dons embarked on encouraging counter-attacks. Tonali was bailed out by the offside flag, Fernandes by a lung-busting run from a recovering defender. A couple of misplaced passes deserve the pre-season benefit of the doubt, though.
That said, it was an exhibition of intelligent passes in the main – particularly from Tonali, who played a pivotal role in transition as he shifted the ball into wide areas. His highlight came as he carried the ball from deep towards the halfway line before disguising a bending pass with his right foot into the feet of Tel, who cut inside and squared to Conor Gallagher inside the penalty area. An incisive move from back to front – crafted by Tonali – Gallagher couldn’t quite connect to top it off.
