De Zerbi eyes Brighton's Verbruggen for Spurs. Can the shot-stopping sensation's improved form and ball-playing ability fit the new manager's demands?
Brighton and Dutch number one goalkeeper, Bart Verbruggen, is a target of the new Tottenham and former Albion head coach, Roberto De Zerbi.
Roberto De Zerbi's takeover at Spurs has led to links very swiftly, as they look to push on should they survive the drop from the Premier League this season. One of the main positions that De Zerbi is looking for is in goal.
The principles of keeping the ball at the feet of the goalkeepers will be significant, but is Verbruggen the right man for the job?
Verbruggen's Significant Improvement
It has to be said, Albion's goalkeeper has come on leaps and bounds in 2025/26. From being statistically one of the worst shot stoppers in the league last season, Verbruggen has been saving penalties and vital points for the Seagulls this season.
A big part of this has been in his shot-stopping. This stat has shot up from 58.7% last season to an impressive 70% this season. It isn't just the number of saves, but also the value of them. On countless occasions, moments like high claims from high-pressure corners and last-minute opportunies have been overwhelmingly dealt with comfortably by Verbruggen.
In fact, he even saved a penalty against Brentford back in November with one of the last kicks of the game to carry Brighton to a 2-1 victory over the Bees. A valuable three points and a match-winning moment.
Additionally, Verbruggen has been a busy goalkeeper, recording 87 saves in the 2025/26 season, which ranks him among the top keepers for total saves.
This cannot be said for the season prior, and so something has shifted dramatically. A key piece of this is confidence. Verbruggen is an incredibly young goalkeeper, and his performances have shown that. When he was down, he was down.
Brighton have also changed goalkeeping coaches this season, which could be linked with the change in style and calmness that is evident in the young keeper.
How does he cope with the ball at his feet?
Fabian Hürzeler's style is difficult to balance for goalkeeping statistics for when it comes to distribution. De Zerbi will highly emphasise build-up play stemming from the keeper, and to rarely play a long ball as long as possible.
This isn't the same for Hürzeler, and Verbruggen is not very good with the long ball, to put it bluntly. He ranks in just the fifth percentile for long ball passes completed, compared to the 82nd for short passes.
For context, more often than not, the long ball pass is effectively not going to make its target. This doesn't necessarily need stats to back up the point; a simple eye test for 90 minutes will be enough!
With the ball at his feet, he has improved. Although there is still a lot to learn. Being fairly mistake-prone from giving the ball away can come from a mixture of confidence and structural issues.
De Zerbi's focus on bringing a spare midfielder deeper and utilising the midfield and full-backs better could prove to work in Verbruggen's favour.
As Brighton fans know, De Zerbi dropped Robert Sanchez in favour of Jason Steele while at the Amex, leading to his £25 million departure to Chelsea.
This change, arguably, led to Brighton's European surge. A total shift of confidence in possession, and a significant improvement in first-phase build-up play.
At just 22 years of age, the Dutch no.1 has a long career ahead of him, and an investment now under a possession-based manager could prove to be a shrewd first piece of business for Spurs.