It is well documented that De Zerbi’s footballing DNA traces back to the Pep Guardiola tradition, but to leave it there would be restrictive. He has taken the principles – positional play, pressing triggers, control through the ball – and built his own beliefs around them

There are a number of reasons why this appointment could work.

First, De Zerbi doesn’t care what people think. He has a clear, unshakeable idea of how he wants to play football and at a club as chaotic as Tottenham right now, that kind of certainty is invaluable.

He has also never managed a club with no expectations and has always delivered under pressure. He knows what it means to have concrete targets and he knows how to meet them.

He brings the added benefit of knowing the Premier League and the timing of the likely appointment gives him scope for preparation. Spurs don’t play again until 12 April and that gives him precious time to assess his squad.

Arriving during the international break would give De Zerbi precious days to begin assessing his squad.

The big concern here, though, is less about De Zerbi himself and more about whether those around him will have the discipline to align with his vision.

When that alignment has broken down in De Zerbi’s career – when ownership or a director of football has pulled in a different direction – the project has quickly unravelled.

That is precisely what happened at Marseille. The football was often compelling, the city was behind him, but at decision-making level the relationship could not be sustained.

Tottenham have had their own well-documented structural difficulties. If De Zerbi is to thrive, the football operations around him must be stable, communicative and genuinely aligned to his way of working.

That is not a small ask for a club in the midst of a relegation battle.