In the summer, Spurs twice broke their transfer record with three of their first signings, as they added centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton, Fernandes from West Ham and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle.
And all three impressed De Zerbi against Chelsea as he added: “Jan Paul van Hecke played very well, Matheus Fernandes played very well, Sandro Tonali played very well.
“I think it was Tonali’s best game since joining Tottenham. Omar Marmoush played a good game. It was a tough game for him, but he fought in the right way.
“Mathys Tel played very well too. I think we won the game with our two wingers, Mohammed Kudus and Mathys Tel. They made the difference.”
It was notable Fernandes, 22, was criticised by his manager last month.
The return of Maddison, who missed almost all of last season with a serious knee injury, was key in Monday’s 3-1 home victory over Coventry City – and he again looked impressive before being withdrawn in the second half with a suspected groin injury.
“I don’t think it is a very important problem,” said De Zerbi. “I hope it is not a big problem. He is a special player for us. We need him.”
Maddison is part of a returning group of players, including Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski, who are making comebacks from lengthy absences.
Spurs are now unbeaten in three games, with back-to-back victories following a 1-1 draw at Manchester United in which they were arguably the better side.
De Zerbi believed a team meeting in that match was also a turning point.
“After the Manchester United game, we had a big meeting,” he added. “We removed the masks and spoke honestly and clearly in front of ourselves. From that moment, I think something started to change within us.”
There was also a warm-weather training camp in Marbella, where heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua paid them a visit.
It feels as though some semblance of the old Spurs is returning, although they remain unconvincing in attack with just eight goals in as many games.
Manchester City loanee Marmoush misfired again and his replacement Dominic Solanke was underwhelming in previous matches, while Richarlison has been frozen out in the reserves after being left out of their Premier League squad.
But after this notable derby victory at Chelsea – earning a clean sheet there too for the first time since 1986 – it felt like the first part of De Zerbi’s rebuild is well underway.
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