Tottenham Hotspur report: Roberto De Zerbi names first signing in Spurs meeting, as revolution begins

Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi is already planning ahead for next season by outlining a key transfer target.

The decision was made this week to install De Zerbi as the new Tottenham Hotspur boss after the departure of Igor Tudor.

First and foremost, the Italian manager will need to keep Spurs in the Premier League. And, if he succeeds, he knows exactly who to sign first.

Tottenham Hotspur looking to sign Roberto De Zerbi's ideal midfielder

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With just seven games to go this season, Tottenham are only one point clear of the relegation zone and could well end up losing their Premier League status unless Roberto De Zerbi can galvanise his new team in the coming weeks.

The Tottenham squad have a number of performance issues, and whether the Lilywhites are relegated or not, a complete overhaul will be much-needed this summer.

With that in mind, a report from Calcio Mercato suggests De Zerbi has already made it clear to the Tottenham hierarchy who he would like to sign at the end of the season, with Italian midfielder Manuel Locatelli at the top of his shopping list.

While discussing his suitability for the manager role, it's said De Zerbi named Locatelli as a player he believes can drastically improve the playing squad.

Locatelli's current contract at Juventus expires in 2028 and FourFourTwo understands the Italian giants may be ready to cash in this summer rather than risk losing him for free.

The 28-year-old is the club captain in Turin, and has missed just three matches all season.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Juventus rejected a €25m (£21.7m) offer from Al Ahli last summer, so it remains to be seen just how much they would want for the player now.

Spurs have already reworked their midfield roster multiple times over the last couple of years with the likes of Conor Gallaher, Xavi Simons, and Joao Palhinha coming in.

However, in FourFourTwo's view, the balance is still not right and reinforcements are desperately needed if Tottenham do remain in the top flight. Arguably, only Archie Gray, who is Tottenham's eighth most expensive signing of all time, has shown anything like the quality and work rate required to succeed in this team.

Locatelli is worth €25m according to Transfermarkt. Tottenham travel to Sunderland on April 12, in another must-win game in their fight for survival.