Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed that Micky van de Ven will take over as Tottenham's captain, filling the void left by Cristian Romero, who completed his move to Atletico Madrid last week. The Dutch centre-back, who put pen to paper on a new long-term deal earlier this month, becomes the club's new leader on the pitch.
Rather than appointing a single deputy, De Zerbi has established a five-man leadership structure. Alongside Van de Ven, Pedro Porro, Ben Davies, James Maddison and 20-year-old Archie Gray have all been given captaincy responsibilities. With Van de Ven and Porro not yet ready to start Saturday's away trip to Brentford, Gray is set to be handed the armband for that fixture.
Explaining his decision to name multiple captains rather than one, De Zerbi said: "The new captain is Micky van de Ven. The second Pedro Porro, the third Ben Davies, the fourth James Maddison and the fifth Archie Gray. Why five captains? Just because I want many captains inside of the pitch and to be clear in the position."
The Italian coach praised the character of his squad, adding: "Every one of them deserves to be captain or in the group of the captains, but personality and passion is not if you are captain or not captain."
Romero's exit brings an end to a five-year association with the north London club, during which the Argentine helped Spurs end their long wait for a trophy. The defender took to social media to bid an emotional farewell to supporters, acknowledging that his time at the club had not been without difficulties but insisting he wanted to focus on the positive memories.
"Today, I say goodbye to a place that, for five seasons, was much more than a club," Romero wrote on Instagram. "It was my home, my challenge and the place where my family and I built such an important part of our lives. I leave with a heart full of memories and enormous pride for everything we lived and achieved together."
He continued: "When I arrived, I had a clear dream: to leave my name in this club's history. I knew the only way was through hard work, sacrifice and achieving something that had seemed so difficult for so long: lifting a trophy again. And we did it. The journey wasn't perfect, but I don't want that to define my goodbye. I choose to remember the happy moments, the lessons, the people who stood by me and, above all, the love I received during these five years."
Romero also thanked the club directly before signing off: "Thank you to everyone at the club who shared this journey with me. I know I wasn't perfect, but one thing gives me peace: I always gave everything. I defended this shirt with pride and with all my heart. Thank you for everything. I'm leaving the club, but a part of my heart will always remain here. Once I was one of you. Today, I leave as one of you forever. With all my love and respect. Thank you for everything. And goodbye Spurs."
The leadership reshuffle comes amid a busy period of transfer activity for Tottenham. The club have reached an agreement to sign Manchester City winger Savinho for £75million, with a further £10million in potential add-ons, and are also pursuing his City team-mate Omar Marmoush. Spurs have additionally shown interest in Liverpool's Cody Gakpo this summer.
Should the Savinho deal go through, Tottenham's summer outlay would surpass £300million, after already breaking their transfer record twice this window with the arrivals of Mateus Fernandes for £85million and Sandro Tonali for £100million from Newcastle.
De Zerbi declined to discuss Savinho specifically until any deal is finalised but expressed satisfaction with the club's recruitment drive. "It is not right to speak about players until they are official," he said. "Just to say, I am very happy. We have not finished yet in the transfer market. It is an important part. You don't win the game with big-name players, we have to deserve to win games."
Reflecting on his short tenure since taking charge in March, De Zerbi described an intense start to life at the club. "It feels like I've been here ten years, but just three months," he said. "Three very intense months. We can't forget what happened last season. It's a big lesson for us. We are building a big project."
He outlined his priorities for the campaign ahead, saying: "Now the big challenge — the first two targets — we are very clear in ourselves, is to find the soul of the team. The second target is to improve in our organisation of football, with the ball and without the ball. Our style has to be the key of our season."
Based on reporting from Independent Football and Standard Football.