Report: Fonseca’s staff appointments to focus on defensive strengthening, will include King

Paulo Fonseca, the man expected to take charge as Tottenham Hotspur’s new head coach, will be doing so with a new backroom staff. According to Alasdair Gold at football.london, Fonseca will be working with new Managing Director of Football Fabio Paratici to identify and hire a new crop of assistants that will address some of the areas of concern both within Tottenham’s squad and his own tactical expertise.

Fonseca amicably parted ways with long term assistant manager Nuno Campos this year, and some of the new assistants he plans to bring in will be focused on developing the defensive side of the game. This is important, as it’s been one of the areas that Tottenham has struggled recently, especially this past season. While Fonseca is known for developing a progressive, attractive style of football, his defensive organization has come under criticism, both while at Roma and Shakhtar.

It’s not yet known who his new assistants will be, but we know one person who will still be a part of his setup — Ledley King, who was promoted to a coaching role under Jose Mourinho. This was clearly important to the club, as the number of assistants was one of the sticking points in the failed negotiations with Antonio Conte, and it was implied that King may not have had a place in Conte’s staff. According to Gold, Ryan Mason is set to return to his previous position as Head of Player Development in Spurs’ academy.

The defense has been pretty gross this past year, though it’s hard to pinpoint how much of the blame falls on Spurs’ players and how much on Mourinho’s tactics, which put the back line under significant pressure. However, if Fonseca is planning to dedicate personnel to improving that area, that’s a positive. Combine that with 1-2 reinforcements (Joachim Andersen, etc.), with reports also claiming that a CB is of top priority this summer, and that bodes well for what has been a big area of concern.