To that end, things were always going to have to change this summer if the Lilywhites wanted to build something special with the Italian.
De Zerbi has already won over Tottenham's players
Not a quick fix, but a longer-lasting legacy, and one which would put the North Londoners squarely back on the map after a few seasons of underperformance.
In the short space of time that De Zerbi had to get his side out of the mire, he worked wonders, with James Maddison one of many first-team players to espouse the Italian's virtues to the media.
Things couldn't have been much worse than they were under Igor Tudor, and it's clear that having such a passionate manager, one who lives and breathes football and kicks every ball on the sidelines, was a breath of fresh air.
With safety secured, thoughts would've quickly turned to which players would be retained, who would be let go, and who would be brought in.
Gakpo targeted
One player whom De Zerbi appears to have his eye on is Liverpool's Dutch striker, Cody Gakpo.
The 27-year-old, who scored a double in the Netherlands' 5-1 World Cup romp against Sweden, was roundly criticised for his club form for the Reds last season, but the Italian clearly sees something in Gakpo that he likes.
So much so that rumours suggest De Zerbi has personally asked for the player, is willing to offer him a contract until 2031, and will make him a focal point of the Tottenham attack, which is a position he hasn't always held at Liverpool.
This is on the back of Spurs signing Andrew Robertson, Jean Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi, and apparently having serious interest in also bringing Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and Savinho to the club.
Reasonable goals return in 2025/26
That would be some transfer window for Tottenham if all of their targets are landed, but the pursuit of Gakpo is one of the more interesting moves.
His 52 games played last season saw him score just nine goals and provide three assists in all competitions.
Although only Mo Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Hugo Ekitike had a superior output, the Hungarian was the only one of that trio to have played more matches than the Dutchman. Ekitite's 45 games and Salah's 41 were significantly less.
It's therefore with some justification that the suggestion he didn't contribute as well as he could have can be levelled at him.
Improvements required
Gakpo did hit the woodwork more times than any other Liverpool player in 25/26 (four), and if those chances had found the net, the scrutiny of his performances may not have been so intense.
He also made 15 fast breaks, which were, again, only bettered by Ekitike and Salah.
A shot accuracy of 47.76% and shot conversion rate of just 8.04% undoubtedly contributed to the perception that Gakpo wasn't enjoying a stellar campaign last season.
That said, his 112 total shots were more than anyone else in the squad, and only Ekitike scored more big chances than the Dutchman's seven, so if De Zerbi can harness his talents in this respect, one should expect an uplift in his percentages.
Can't be faulted for effort
In terms of his 80.14% passing accuracy, that was actually an improvement on Salah's and Ekitike's showings, but was still low when compared to most other members of the squad.
In a De Zerbi side that relies on crisp, sharp and accurate passing, that's one area of his game that he would need to improve quickly if he wanted to be a success in N17.
At least Gakpo can't be faulted for effort.
His 426 one-on-one duels contested in 25/26 were the most of the entire Liverpool squad, and with 205 successful duels to his name, he was one of only four players - Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Ryan Gravenberch were the others - to breach the 200 mark.
131 aerial duels contested was also only behind the defensive pairing of van Dijk and Konate, whilst 15 interceptions and a 51.43% tackle success rate also showed another positive aspect to his all-round game.
Gakpo's mind could already be made up
With Salah having left Liverpool, of course, and Ekitike returning from a serious injury, it's unclear at this point how enamoured the Reds' hierarchy will be with any Tottenham approach for Gakpo, particularly as it wasn't long ago that he signed a new contract with the club.
Alexander Isak needs to continue earning his place, and if the Merseysiders want strength in depth, then having four strikers readily available has to be the way to go.
With it understood that Gakpo has already been briefed about his potential role at Tottenham; however, his mind might already be made up, and Liverpool can ill afford to have dissenting voices in a dressing room that needs to recover their form from two seasons ago.
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Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
