Sandro Tonali was outstanding during Tottenham's win over Crystal Palace on Saturday as the Italian ate up ground across the 90 minutes.

The midfielder is finally starting to show strong signs as to why Roberto De Zerbi wanted to fork out such a sum to bring him to North London.

Ever since the arrival of Mateus Fernandes in the team, Tonali's performances have moved to the next level, especially against Palace and Chelsea.

Tottenham fans had been critical of the 26-year-old during his first few months at the club; however, he is quickly silencing the doubters.

No Tottenham player has covered more ground in the Premier League this season than Tonali.

The Italian international has covered 101.3km this season, with Jan Paul van Hecke the next highest at 91.1km.

Last term, Spurs had Joao Palhinha in the midfield and he would do a lot of the dirty work for the team.

Palhinha's depature over the summer was questioned by many fans, but Tonali is now proving himself to be a huge upgrade on the Portuguese star.

During the win over Palace on Saturday, Tonali covered 12.2km and completed a total of 11 sprints as he proved to be everywhere.

Roberto De Zerbi's quotes also prove how he covered so much ground, as he suggested it was like playing with 12 men, having Tonali in the team.

During De Zerbi's press conference, he joked: "Tonali today was unbelievable, incredible. We played with two players more. Tonali was the double today."

The former AC Milan star's ability to read the game is another reason why he has been so good and why he's doing so much more than just covering ground.

Tonali was one step ahead of most Palace players on Saturday, and they often found themselves running into trouble when they entered his vicinity.

James Maddison, Tonali and Fernandes must now be considered one of the Premier League's best midfield trios.

There is not many well better balanced midfields in the whole of Europe than Spurs' right now.

Tonali's work rate, Fernandes' passing range and Maddison's ability to unpick the lock for the attackers mean De Zerbi's midfield has a bit of everything.

Tottenham are now up into eighth place in the Premier League table and if they can keep this trio fit, then the sky is the limit for this season.

The North London club will also have Xavi Simons back in the New Year, with the Dutch international continuing to step up his recovery from an ACL injury.