There may have been scenes of celebration at full-time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after De Zerbi’s side avoided relegation on the final day of the season.
But there was a recognition internally that the club must never find themselves in such a dire position again.
Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham vowed “change is happening” in an interview with BBC Sport in May, and there has certainly been a shift in approach.
Spurs have already spent £52m on defender Jan Paul van Hecke, which would have been unimaginable once upon a time, given he had just one year left on his contract at Brighton.
They have also looked to capitalise on their revenue by adapting their wage structure, and signed Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi on free transfers before the window even officially opened.
Although Spurs’ opening gambit was unsuccessful, this approach for Tonali also marks a shift for a club who have never spent more than the £65m deal for Dominic Solanke.
However, it was rather telling that the bid was swiftly rejected by Newcastle.
In a week when Newcastle lost out to Liverpool in the race to sign Spain winger Victor Munoz, it would have been damning if Spurs succeeded with their opening bid for Tonali.
It is clearly going to take a great deal more to tempt Newcastle to cash in.