Roberto De Zerbi has scheduled a team-bonding trip to Marbella this week as Tottenham look to address their early-season struggles. Five players in particular will be hoping to impress the Italian and strengthen their case for a starting spot against Coventry City.

1. Mathys Tel must impress in Marbella

Mathys Tel has not started a Premier League game for Tottenham in well over a month, with his last appearance in the starting XI coming in the goalless draw against Nottingham Forest on September 5. Following that match, Roberto De Zerbi criticised the Frenchman, describing him as someone who ‘takes too many wrong decisions’ on the pitch.

The Tottenham head coach had given Tel plenty of opportunities before reaching that conclusion, starting him in every game across all competitions up to that point. However, the winger struggled to repay that faith, and his minutes have been limited ever since.

He came off the bench against Everton on 12 September, with half an hour remaining, but produced another disappointing display. An impatient De Zerbi began coaching the youngster on the pitch itself after the game, in what was an animated exchange between the two.

The 20-year-old has since enjoyed an outstanding international break with France Under-21s, scoring five goals in three starts, including a hat-trick in his most recent outing against Switzerland Under-21s.

Tel was an unused substitute against Manchester United, likely as part of efforts to manage his workload. He will now want to show De Zerbi that he can reproduce his international form in Tottenham colours.

2. James Maddison hasn’t started for Tottenham in 18 months

James Maddison has not started a competitive game for Tottenham in more than 17 months, having endured successive spells on the sidelines through injury. All eight of his appearances since returning have come off the bench, as De Zerbi continues to manage his fitness rather than risk pushing him too quickly.

De Zerbi has already explained that a player needs to ‘complete three, four, five weeks in a row without problems, without feeling pain, without feeling problems’ before being considered ready to start regularly. Maddison, unfortunately, has yet to satisfy that requirement.

The trip to Spain is a good opportunity for the England International to prove that he is ready to start games again, although, that is not entirely in his hands.

3. Luca Williams-Barnett deserves some Spurs minutes

Roberto De Zerbi has yet to hand 17-year-old academy prospect Luca Williams-Barnett his Premier League debut, despite growing calls from supporters to see the youngster involved.

However, there is a reasonable argument for the head coach’s caution. Tottenham have struggled badly in the league, and they have not been in a position where introducing an inexperienced teenager has felt like an obvious decision; Spurs have not been leading in a Premier League match once this season.

De Zerbi revealed before the dramatic 1-1 draw against Manchester United that Luca is ready to play, but he was surprisingly not even included in the matchday squad the following day.

The Spurs youngster has now travelled to Marbella to train with the first team, and there is no better opportunity for him to prove to his manager that he need not think too much before introducing him into games.

4. Mateus Fernandes has barely started for Tottenham

Roberto De Zerbi described Mateus Fernandes as ‘one of the best players in the squad’ on the eve of Tottenham’s meeting with United. Yet the £85 million summer signing was introduced with barely two minutes of normal time remaining at Old Trafford.

De Zerbi has made it clear that Fernandes needs time to settle into his new surroundings, which helps explain why we have not yet seen the best of him. He’s managed only three starts in the Premier League – all of them in an unfamiliar number 10 role – where he struggled and unfortunately painted a rather misleading picture of himself this season.

With Rodrigo Bentancur suspended for the next three games following his sending-off against United, Fernandes can finally expect an opportunity in his preferred role. That’s where he’ll likely be training over the coming days, and hopefully, he manages to impress De Zerbi and convince him to hand him a start against Coventry.

5. Lucas Bergvall needs to do more with his minutes

In a game where Sandro Tonali and Conor Gallagher were two of Tottenham’s best performers against United, Lucas Bergvall was very much left behind in terms of the impact he had compared to the other two midfielders. It was only his second start of the season, so he should have made more of that opportunity.

De Zerbi has a surplus of options in Bergvall’s position, and if the Swedish midfielder wants to make a case for a starting spot again, he’ll have to prove himself on the training ground first, then on the pitch. Otherwise, the 20-year-old could be in for a long season on the bench.