As the dust settles on the chaos that was last season, attentions turn to the summer, to the World Cup, and more importantly, Roberto De Zerbi’s first opportunity to start shaping this Tottenham Hotspur squad in his image. Andy Robertson and Marco Senesi look set to join, but who else is a transfer target? Here, we break down De Zerbi’s coaching history so far and see what we can discern about the kinds of players he appreciates, before exploring what that may mean for Spurs.Roberto De Zerbi put himself on the map at SassuoloDe Zerbi was praised for his style of football at Benevento and put himself on the radar of some of the bigger clubs around Europe when taking charge of Sassuolo.Winning plaudits throughout a three-year spell for a possession dominant style, De Zerbi led Sassuolo to 11th in Serie A in his first season, followed by consecutive eighth-placed finishes, narrowly missing out on a Europa Conference League qualification spot on goal difference in his final season.Baiting the press, De Zerbi called on Manuel Locatelli as a deep-lying playmaker, who proved to be key in ball progression. There have already been murmurings of a potential reunion at Tottenham which, considering Locatelli’s pedigree today, would be exciting.Further up the pitch, Domenico Berardi and Jeremie Boga were real weapons out wide, with the intelligence of frontman, Ciccio Caputo, key in creating space for the pair of them, establishing Sassuolo as an attacking force.Credit: @thefrederikkejensen / InstagramShort-lived success at DonetskLeaving Italy, De Zerbi arrived in Ukraine and took charge of Shakhtar Donetsk for what was a lone, unfinished season owed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.De Zerbi had won the Ukrainian Super Cup and Donetsk were league leaders when football ground to a halt. He left the club in July.Prior to that, De Zerbi maintained the possession-based, deeper build-up play he had favoured in Italy.Unsurprisingly, Donetsk topped the possession charts in the league, counting on inverted wingers to push forward, with Tetê, Manor Solomon, Pedrinho and Marlos all factors. Mykhalio Mudryk too emerged under De Zerbi in this time.At the back, Mykola Matviyenko’s composure in possession was another important factor in Donetsk’s build-up play.Tottenham saw Roberto De Zerbi up close at BrightonDe Zerbi arrived in England to take charge of Brighton in 2022. His first season in particular was hugely successful, delivering a sixth-placed finish, Europa League qualification and an FA Cup semi-final.Throughout this season, Brighton’s centre backs – Lewis Dunk in particular – would draw attackers in, before progressing the ball to Alexis McAllister and Moises Caicedo.Having baited the press, the space would now be there for the likes of Kaoru Mitoma, Solly March and Evan Ferguson to cause havoc.McAllister, Caicedo and goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez, all departed for big money that summer, with Carlos Baleba arriving in midfield and Bart Verbruggen in goal to try and keep the club moving in the right direction.Ultimately, the Seagulls finished 11th and there was a mutual agreement for De Zerbi to depart.A fiery spell in FranceThere was plenty of controversy surrounding De Zerbi’s time in France with Marseille, not least his comments on Mason Greenwood.But there was success, finishing as runners-up to PSG during his first season in charge and qualifying for the Champions League, with Marseille thriving on the wings .Leonardo Balerdi was key in building from the back, Valentine Rongier, Adrien Rabiot, Geoffrey Kondobgia and former Spurs man, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg made things tick in midfield, with the likes of Amine Gouiri and Luis Henrique shining in the final third.So, what happens next for De Zerbi and Tottenham?De Zerbi has already gone on the record on wanting to be much stronger in implementing his philosophy in 2026/27.That means he needs to have centre backs capable of inviting danger and playing a killer pass into midfield, with the arrival of Senesi ticking some boxes already.De Zerbi’s midfielders must progress the ball under pressure and a reunion with Manuel Locatelli, as rumoured, could do wonders.Wide options are under consideration with strong links to Savinho and interest in Crysencio Summerville. Any arrival must stay wide and stay dangerous. Their goal is to exploit the space opened up by a striker that can drop in, link play, and create space for others.Harry Kane, anyone?READ MORE – Three realistic winger targets Tottenham should sign alongside Savinho, including Brighton starThe post Roberto De Zerbi's history tells us the exact player profiles he wants at Tottenham this summer - Opinion appeared first on Spurs Web.