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Tottenham wonderkids in Marbella, Kulusevski and key man watching - 5 things spotted in training
Luca Williams-Barnett is out with Tottenham Hotspur's first team as they train in Marbella ahead of their Premier League match against Coventry

Roberto De Zerbi has been looking to harness the positive momentum in training after Tottenham Hotspur's dramatic late point at Manchester United.

Spurs were training hard at Hotspur Way before heading off to their warm-weather camp in Marbella this week to continue their work and encourage more bonding within a squad that had 10 new additions in the summer and four of them towards the end of the window after pre-season was done.

With the team having been working in the sunnier climes of Spain, the club released footage from a session under the greyer skies of Enfield before they departed abroad for the bonding trip which will see them back in good time ahead of Monday night's match against Coventry.

"We have to build the team," said De Zerbi. "We are a great group of players, but we are not a team yet. To be a team is to play for the team-mates, suffer together, attack together, defend together."

On the purpose of the trip to Spain, he added: "To work together, stay together, go for dinner together, know better each other."

Here are five things we noticed from the work being done both inside Hotspur Way and out on the training pitches before the squad headed off to Marbella.

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The man with the plan

While the Tottenham players are working away in the gym before the session, going through their warm-ups, drills and stretches, you can see performance director Dan Lewindon watching everything in the background.

Lewindon has top level experience aplenty, having worked for the City Football Group as their director of player health and performance for almost four years after six years as the LTA's head of performance, science and medicine, which itself came after seven years as a senior team physiotherapist with the RFU.

So with his background in football, tennis and rugby, Lewindon was tasked when he arrived earlier this year with undertaking a major review of Spurs' way of working in various departments across performance and medical.

One of the many changes made was the overhauling of the first team gym to a more fitting state-of-the-art one with everything the players need to push on. That new-look space opened at the start of this season and Lewindon could be seen watching on as the players went through their motions in there this week.

Lewindon's other changes are expected to bear fruit in the long term but the extra caution with some players has been clear and - Pedro Porro aside - the number of muscle injuries in particular are currently low.

Tottenham attacker Dejan Kulusevski in action on the training pitches at Hotspur Way
Tottenham attacker Dejan Kulusevski in action on the training pitches at Hotspur Way -Credit:Courtesy of Tottenham Hotspur

Sharp Kulusevski

One of those areas of caution has certainly been around Dejan Kulusevski, despite the excitement about potentially seeing the Swede back in action soon after more than 500 days out with his complicated patella injury in his right knee.

The 26-year-old looked sharp in the training footage, playing a key part in rondos as the man in the middle taking all the passes and moving the ball on as others tried to get in the way. He also could be seen firing home a goal from Andy Robertson's low cross during a training game.

Kulusevski made the trip to Manchester with the squad and while others like Porro, Robertson and Xavi Simons sat in the stands, the Swede was down alongside the bench which might suggest he was given the opportunity to get back into the groove of being in that scenario ahead of his return.

Before the draw at Old Trafford, De Zerbi told football.london: "He is working well, tomorrow he comes with us, also Porro. I want all players tomorrow, tonight and tomorrow, but he is working very well. I think he is an example for everyone, Dejan Kulusevski. Forget the player, but the example of how he reacted to the injury, the reaction to being unlucky, the character he showed this time, was an example, a reference for everyone."

Two players who could not be spotted in the footage was Kulusevski's compatriot Lucas Bergvall and Mateus Fernandes. Hopefully the young midfielders were just resting rather than having any issue after making an impact against United.

Marbella youngsters

football.london understands that De Zerbi took a group of young Spurs starlets out to Marbella with the first team, including Luca Williams-Barnett, Tye Hall, Callum Olusesi, Rio Kyerematen, Tyrese Hall, Reiss-Elliott Parris and 18-year-old goalkeeper Dylan Thompson, who has been enjoying his first senior football on loan at Enfield Town.

In the training footage from beforehand at Hotspur Way, all of them could be seen involved in the first team sessions with Williams-Barnett, now firmly a part of De Zerbi's squad, netting with a composed finish from a Rodrigo Bentancur pass.

The experience in Spain will be another important step for the academy products as the calls continue from Tottenham fans to see 18-year-old Williams-Barnett given his Premier League debut at a time when the club are looking to hand him a new contract.

"I'm thinking. I'm thinking, because he's another special player. But he's very young, and the management of very, very young players is very complicated," said De Zerbi.

"Because sometimes you want to be the good of the players, of you, but you are not doing the good of the player. But I think he arrived [at] the moment when Luca would play because he's special.

"Special talent. Special personality also, because he's arrogant, but arrogant good for football because you have to believe in yourself. Not forgetting to be humble. Humility but believe in yourself, and the right example is Luca."

Super Senesi

Marcos Senesi impressed against United at the weekend and in particular his passing between the lines which caused all kinds of problems for Michael Carrick's side.

However, the 29-year-old Argentine showed in the training footage just how good he can be on the end of such a pass. The former Bournemouth centre-back, who played at the World Cup this summer, ran perfectly on to a lofted Bentancur pass during a training match and crashed home a cushioned volley off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.

That drew impressed cheers and noises from the staff and some of the players as he ran back into position with a hint of a smile on his face.

The champions

The mini-games always have a winning side as we often see them line up for a photo and that was certainly the case during this session.

The celebrating team at the end of the day, posing for their group shot, included Ben Davies, Tosin Adarabioyo, James Maddison, Tyrese Hall, Rio Kyerematen, Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus.

De Zerbi will be hoping that all of his players will next enjoy a similar winning feeling after Monday night's game against in-form promoted side Coventry with Spurs still searching for that first victory of their Premier League season.

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