It is all change at Tottenham Hotspur at boardroom level.
Last month, it was announced that Daniel Levy was stepping down as the club’s executive chairman after a quarter of a century in the role.
Levy certainly divided opinion among Spurs supporters, but will, undeniably, forever be one of the most influential figures in the club’s history, overseeing the construction of the new training ground and stadium, catapulting the club into the ‘big six’, something that would have been fanciful a decade or so ago.
Now, Peter Charrington has succeeded him as non-executive chairman while Vinai Venkatesham, formerly of Arsenal, was appointed chief executive officer in April.
It will be interesting to see what these changes mean for Spurs going forward, while another noteworthy appointment, or should we say re-appointment, was made this week.
Fabio Paratici's Tottenham return
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Fabio Paratici has returned to Tottenham Hotspur as sporting director.
He previously held the role between June 2021 and April 2023, before serving a 30-month ban from all footballing activities handed to him by FIFA, one of 11 Juventus executives punished in this way following the plusvalenze scandal, also given a suspended 18-month sentence.
Despite this, Sami Mokbel of BBC Sport believes his re-appointment is a major coup, considering his excellent reputation, boasting ‘one of the most extensive contacts books in the game’.
Paratici will be joint sporting director alongside Johan Lange, stating “I’m convinced that working in partnership with Johan we can build a special future for the club and our supporters.”
The table below documents all the players signed when Paratici was in situ the first time.
Bryan Gil
£21.6m
43
Pape Matar Sarr
£14.6m
113
Emerson Royal
£25.8m
101
Rodrigo Bentancur
£15.9m
123
Cristian Romero
£42m
133
Dejan Kuluševski
£30m
146
Pierluigi Gollini
Loan
10
Clément Lenglet
Loan
35
Pedro Porro
£40m
116
Arnaut Danjuma
Loan
12
Fraser Forster
Free
34
Ivan Perišić
Free
50
Yves Bissouma
£25m
100
Djed Spence
£19m
51
Richarlison
£60m
101
Destiny Udogie
£15m
74
As the table documents, many of Paratici’s Spurs signings made little impact in North London; looking at you Bryan Gil!
Others though remain key figures in Thomas Frank’s team to this day, including Richarlison, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie, Pape Matar Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur, Destiny Udogie and more.
However, one in particular was infamously not wanted by then-manager Antonio Conte, but Paratici can feel truly vindicated by his decision to sign him.
Paratici's greatest transfer market triumph
Back in July 2022, Djed Spence joined Tottenham Hotspur for a reported fee of £19m.
The full-back had been an integral part of Nottingham Forest’s promotion-winning team during a very memorable loan spell from Middlesbrough, leading to Daniel Taylor of the Athletic describing him as the best loan player he’d ever seen at the City Ground.
Despite this, upon his arrival, manager Conte instantaneously labelled him an “investment of the club” and “not my signing”, which Spence later revealed “shattered my confidence”.
Conte said: “Spence is an investment of the club. The club wanted to do it. I said ‘OK, this player is young but he showed he can become a good, important player for us’. The club decided to buy him.”
Thus, following loan stints at Stade Rennais, Leeds United and Genoa, he made his first start for Spurs away at Southampton last December, 881 days after signing for the club.
Well, since then, the 25-year-old has not looked back, starting 24 of Spurs’ last 30 Premier League fixtures, as well as both in the Champions League so far this season.
A hugely versatile asset, given that Spence has been deployed in both full-back positions, Ian Wright also describes him, at his best, as a “swashbuckling” presence. In the words of Harry Redknapp, he’s been a “revelation” in north London.
Meantime, current manager Frank asserted that Spence is “exceptionally good” is one-on-one defensive situations adding, “he’s a great type, can play both sides… big credit to Djed. He truly deserves it. It has been a tough”.
The Tottenham manager was referencing Spence’s international breakthrough, making his senior England debut against Serbia at Stadion Rajko Mitić last month, replacing Reece James for the final 20 minutes or so in Belgrade.
This month, Spence started both of England’s matches against Wales and Latvia, with Three Lions captain Harry Kane giving this emotional speech when presenting his team-mate with his maiden cap.
Given Thomas Tuchel’s dearth of left-back options, Myles Lewis-Skelly the other leading contender for that spot, it is far from inconceivable that Spence will be starting at the World Cup next year.
Back at Tottenham, his exponential improvement over the last 12 months is vindication for Paratici, who always believed in him, and proves that all it takes is the right environment for a player to thrive, one that clearly did not involve Conte.