On the back of landing a free transfer double deal for Andy Robertson and Marcos Sensei, De Zerbi brought in Jan Paul van Hecke just before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as part of third defensive coup in North London.
However, the Italian has since broken the club's transfer record twice before the start of preseason, with and £85M deal for Mateus Fernandes followed by a whopping £100M swoop for Sandro Tonali.
Next up on De Zerbi's radar is a wide attacker, with the club ready to revive a long-standing link to Manchester City forward Savinho.
The Brazil international joined City in June 2024, after a superb season on loan at Girona - as part of a £30M deal - but he's struggled for prominence at the Etihad Stadium.
Spurs had a January loan offer rejected by City, as they wanted to maintain a full squad for the campaign run-in, but the Blues will push to bring in around £30M to offset their original move to sign the 22-year-old.
De Zerbi is also tracking AC Milan winger Rafael Leao - who could be available for a cut-price fee due to their failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League - and Talksport have flagged up Liverpool's Cody Gakpo as a possible target.
Gakpo is rumoured to be on Andoni Iraola's exit list following the arrival of Victor Munoz from Osasuna - but he could be valued at closer to £45M based on his four years of Premier League experience at Anfield.