Roberto De Zerbi has said that any Tottenham player who is not "happy or proud" to be at the club "has to leave," amid doubts over Lucas Bergvall's future with the north London side.
Spurs have spent around £237m ($319m) as part of a big rebuild this transfer window and departures are also expected, with head coach De Zerbi revealing he will part ways with players who don't wish to stay at the club.
Bergvall was included in the 35-man squad for Tottenham's preseason tour in New Zealand and Australia, but after receiving limited minutes under the Italian boss last season, the Sweden midfielder may push for a move away.
Lucas Bergvall joined Tottenham from Djurgarden in July 2024. Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images "I was very clear at the start of my time in Tottenham," De Zerbi said in a news conference ahead of Tottenham's preseason game against Auckland FC. "I said, who doesn't want to stay in Tottenham? Who is not happy, is not proud to stay here, has to leave.
"I want the players to be proud and happy to stay here, to go on the pitch in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with big motivation.
"The motivation is to be happy to stay in one team. I have not spoken with Lucas yet. I will in the next days and we will make the best decision for the club, for Lucas, for me, for every one of us, without problems, Lucas is a big, big talent."
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Tottenham have boosted their squad with big-money signings of Jan Paul van Hecke, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, but De Zerbi insists more players need to come in.
"The target now is to complete the attacking positions," De Zerbi said. "We want the first target, the first level, because anyway we are already important players, but I think to start the new project we need another couple of important players, for sure."