Tottenham close to appointing Fabio Paratici as Director of Football

There are still a bunch of questions over whether or not Antonio Conte will be the next manager of Tottenham Hotspur (don’t panic!). But regardless of what happens with Conte, Tottenham are poised to hire a new executive. The Athletic reports today that Spurs are set to hire former Juventus chief football officer Fabio Paratici as Director of Football, marking the first time Daniel Levy has employed someone in that role since Franco Baldini on 2013.

Paratici only left Juventus formally a couple of days ago, but looks set to be the first domino in what feels like a major shake-up in the way Spurs are operated. The Athletic says that Paratici’s appointment is completely separate from the deal that could bring Conte in as manager, but the two seem awfully closely connected — Paratici and Conte worked together at Juventus in similar roles a few years ago, and there has been reporting suggesting that Paratici has been in contact with Conte to sway him into joining Spurs.

Ask Juventus fans what they think about Paratici’s job performance at Juventus and you may get some mixed responses, with some Old Lady supporters a bit meh on the players he brought in during his time in charge. These kinds of things are hard to gauge and fans are notoriously fickle beasts about incoming and outgoing transfers, and I’m not as qualified as others to really comment on the transfer dealings of Juventus players.

What will be interesting is to see how Paratici impacts Tottenham’s fortunes, compared to the baseline of NOT having ANY DoF in place and having Daniel Levy do everything. Considering Levy’s performance on the football side of operations the past few years, it feels like even a mediocre (and I’m not saying Paratici is mediocre) Director of Football would be an improvement over the status quo. It is interesting that, after appointing Damien Comolli, Frank Arnesen, David Pleat and Baldini in a sporting director position over the years, it’s now been six seasons since anyone other than Levy has filled that role.

It’s still not OFFICIALLY official, but if you were hoping for an appointment to shake things up at Tottenham, this will definitely serve that role. Rejoice, for Daniel Levy hath delegated responsibility!

Update (7:31PM ET): Fabrizio Romano says it’s wrapped up. First order of business seems to be finding the man to lead the charge, given Conte falling through today.