The Italian coach has spent heavily ahead of the 2026/27 Premier League campaign after guiding Spurs away from relegation at the end of last season.
De Zerbi has paid out around £237M to bring in Jan Paul van Hecke, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes alongside free transfers for Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi.
He's also raised over £70M via sales, but more are on the cards, with Lucas Bergvall and Guglielmo Vicario tipped to move on and De Zerbi had a clear message over his plans.
"I was very clear at the start of my time in Tottenham. I said, 'whoever doesn't want to stay in Tottenham?' Who is not happy, and is not proud to stay here, has to leave.
"I want the players to be proud and happy to stay here, to go onto the pitch in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a big motivation. Because now in football, if you think about the World Cup, motivation makes the difference.
"The motivation is to be happy to stay in one team."
Tottenham secured a 1-0 opening preseason win over MK Dons before heading to New Zealand and Australia for a week-long tour.