Roberto De Zerbi has big ambitions for Tottenham as he begins preparations for his first full season in charge. The former Brighton boss managed to guide Spurs to safety, albeit narrowly, and while there was nothing glamorous about the escape, the dodging of relegation will allow the North London club to retool this summer.
De Zerbi is an ambitious manager by nature, and as he showed when he first rejected the Spurs job, prior to Igor Tudor taking over, he was never going to join a project that did not match his ambition.
With that in mind, there is no surprise that Spurs chiefs came out with bold statements about what they will do to turn things around this summer, and they are already beginning to live up to their word.
De Zerbi's true ambitions
It's going to be a tricky task to transfer this Tottenham team from one that has finished in the bottom half for the last two seasons to one that can compete for Europe. But according to Ben Jacobs, De Zerbi is aiming even higher.
He told Last Word on Spurs: "All of this does feel like a fresh start, and now Tottenham have to do two things: one, put their money where their mouth is, which has happened already with some shrewd signings, and two, start building a squad that's capable of challenging at the top half of the table and trying to get one of those Champions League spots, and make no mistake, my expectation is that Roberto De Zerbi will have one aim.
"I don't think he'll put the pressure on the players of saying it outright, but privately, my information is that Roberto De Zerbi feels Spurs should be qualifying for the Champions League next season."
All indications point to Spurs being just as ambitious
Given how the board has managed things over the last couple of years, Spurs fans will rightly have had hesitancy in taking the club at its word when club chiefs promised significant investment to turn things around this summer.
But credit where it is due, Tottenham have been one of the most active in the transfer market so far, rapidly snapping up Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi. It looks as though Manchester City's Savinho will follow at some time or another, and the business will not end there.
Spurs are in the process of a squad overhaul, and a much-needed one at that. But from the quality of their targets this summer, it's clear that the club holds at least European ambitions, if not Champions League ambitions to match what De Zerbi is hoping to achieve. That will be music to the ears of Spurs fans, even if they are well aware that ambitions in the boardroom must be backed up on the pitch.