De Zerbi Wants Say in New Sporting Director and Real Madrid Target
Roberto De Zerbi is reportedly pushing Tottenham to appoint a new sporting director who will help bring in a forward currently at Real Madrid, according to reports emerging on the club's recruitment plans.
TeamTalk reports that De Zerbi "has asked for a new sporting director at Tottenham" and wants whoever takes the role in a potential January appointment to prioritise signing a "Real Madrid forward" (TeamTalk). Spurs Web backs this up, stating that De Zerbi "has told Tottenham Hotspur to make a key appointment in order to aid their efforts to strengthen an important area" of the squad, framing the sporting director search as being driven by De Zerbi's own preferences for who should fill the post (Spurs Web).
Both outlets agree on the central thread: De Zerbi is said to be influencing not just who gets the sporting director job, but also what that person's first priority should be once appointed - landing a forward from Real Madrid. Neither TeamTalk nor Spurs Web names the player in question in the snippets provided, though both frame it as a specific, identified target De Zerbi has in mind (TeamTalk) (Spurs Web).
Sky Sports, meanwhile, covers different transfer ground entirely in its Paper Talk round-up, noting interest from Manchester United in Real Betis and ex-Tottenham forward Troy Parrott, along with pressure on Crystal Palace's Pierre Sage and a "pointed social media post" from Richarlison described as backing criticism of Roberto De Zerbi. While Sky Sports' item features De Zerbi's name in connection with criticism aimed his way via Richarlison, it does not touch on the sporting director story or the Real Madrid forward target reported elsewhere, making it a more tangential link to the main narrative.
Taken together, the clearest and most consistent story is De Zerbi's reported involvement in shaping Tottenham's sporting director appointment and his wish for that person to sign a forward from Real Madrid, as set out by TeamTalk and Spurs Web (TeamTalk) (Spurs Web). The Sky Sports snippet adds colour around wider unrest - with Richarlison apparently amplifying criticism of De Zerbi - but represents a separate strand of news rather than a direct confirmation of the sporting director claims.
Written with the help of AI, using the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
