Tottenham Hotspur appoint former Gillingham captain Andrew Crofts as Roberto De Zerbi’s assistant head coach after lengthy spell at Brighton & Hove Albion

Gillingham’s former captain Andrew Crofts has joined the coaching team at Tottenham.

Chatham-born Crofts has been reunited with Roberto De Zerbi as assistant head coach at Spurs.

Crofts has been with Brighton since joining them as an under-21 coach in 2019 - becoming head coach of the under-21s two years later.

He continued to rise through the ranks and was appointed interim head coach after Graham Potter's departure in 2022, before working as assistant to De Zerbi.

He remained at Brighton under Fabian Hurzeler as assistant head coach.

Crofts also works with the Wales national team as part of Craig Bellamy’s backroom team. He won 29 caps for Wales.

He started his football career at Gillingham, becoming a professional at Priestfield following time in the youth team, breaking into the first team during the 2004/05 Championship season.

Over the next three seasons he was a mainstay in the Gills midfield and rose to the position of captain in 2007.

His departure from the club came under the management of Mark Stimson, who took the captaincy off him and made him available for transfer.

Following loan spells at Peterborough and Wrexham, he bounced back with a move to Brighton, then in League One. Norwich City paid around £300,000 for him in 2010 and gained promotion with them to the Premier League, where he made 24 appearances.

He returned to Brighton and had a six-game loan spell at Gillingham before a full season in League One at Charlton Athletic in 2016/17.

Crofts finished his playing career with Scunthorpe and Newport before returning to Brighton, where he has blossomed as a coach.

Another former Gills player, Stuart Lewis, has left Tottenham this week for a coaching role at Ipswich Town.

Lewis, now 38, began his playing