Spurs have collected just two points from their opening five league matches and sit bottom of the table. The Italian will use a nine-day gap between the visit to Old Trafford and the home fixture against Coventry on 19 October to work with his squad away from their usual surroundings.
The camp comes after a summer of considerable change, with Tottenham bringing in 10 players for around £250 million. Several arrivals came late in the transfer window, leaving limited time for them to settle into the team before the campaign began.
The trip will provide an opportunity to improve relationships within the squad while allowing De Zerbi to work on the tactical details that have been difficult to establish amid the disruption of the summer and international commitments.
Marbella also offers warmer conditions than north London, where rain is forecast. Temperatures in southern Spain are expected to reach around 25 degrees.
De Zerbi has previously spoken about his frustration at the limited time available to work with his players during pre-season, when Tottenham’s tour of New Zealand and Australia was followed by late returns from international duty.
The decision to organise an early-season camp is unusual in English football, where warm-weather training trips are more commonly associated with the winter break. However, De Zerbi has used similar arrangements during previous managerial spells to strengthen team cohesion.
The need for improvement was underlined by Tottenham’s 3-2 home defeat against Aston Villa before the international break. De Zerbi was particularly angry about his side’s loss of defensive organisation after half-time.
“I was very disappointed, very sad, very frustrated for the performance,” he said after the defeat. “We can’t lose this game in this way, absolutely. We can’t concede the second goal. We can’t lose balance.”
The manager was also unhappy that his players had failed to deal with a threat he believed they had been prepared for.
“We conceded an unacceptable goal from a long goal kick, with a long ball. We knew Aston Villa are playing 86 per cent more long balls than last season. We spoke about it in many meetings.”
De Zerbi accepted responsibility for the performance but insisted his players had to remain composed when a match moved away from their preferred style.
“Aston Villa is not such a bad team. It is a good team, good players and the moment we have to defend, we have to defend compact. The leaders have to be leaders and lead the team,” he said.
He also criticised the reaction to falling behind, explaining that Tottenham had forced passes and rushed decisions instead of maintaining their structure.
“Football is like life, either you are stronger or you lose,” De Zerbi added.
The Marbella camp will give the Italian valuable time to address those problems before a demanding run of fixtures against Coventry, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Leeds.
With Tottenham struggling for results, the priority is to turn improved preparation into performances and points.