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Roberto De Zerbi spoke about the developments with two summer signings in the midfield. Tottenham are trying to avoid the lows from successive 17th placed Premier League finishes, and they splurged big in the summer. Their two most expensive recruits both belong as part of the engine room: Mateus Fernandes for £85 million from West Ham and Sandro Tonali for £100 million from Newcastle United. Neither was at the World Cup, and fans hoped both would hit the ground running. A slow start for the new midfield But Mamadou Sangare took the headlines for Brentford in a big 3-0 win on the opening matchday, and Manchester City castaway Nico Gonzalez fit in seamlessly for Newcastle United last weekend. De Zerbi sought to explain why there should not be a rush to scrutinise the pair too severely. 'Mateus is understanding the new club' "I think Mateus Fernandes, in the last game, played a good game. He can play better. I think he can play in different positions. For example, in this moment, I think Rodrigo Bentancur is very important for this team, because he's the right player to give balance, to keep the order on the pitch. "He has experience, so we try to play with Mateus as the number 10. Mateus started his career as a number 10, and then last season he played as one of two midfielders, but he's (born in) 2004, very young. I think also for him it's very important, this moment, because he's understanding the new club, understanding the new coach, the new environment, so we have to give time. Tonali needs time to settle "[Sandro] started very well the game, for example, with Chelsea or Hoffenheim. It can happen also the time, maybe he needs more time to understand a new club. I remember in the first season in AC Milan, the second season they won the Scudetto, Serie A, but the first season he suffered. "Then, in the second season, hopefully we want him to play at a good level, already in the first season, but maybe for a new player, it's different now, the dressing room."