Tottenham look to have been handed a huge boost in their pursuit of one of the world’s best strikers.
The club officially confirmed the return of Fabio Paratici as their sporting director on Wednesday morning, and the Italian will work alongside Johan Lange in the same role.
Paratici was credited with a number of eye-catching signings during his first stint in North London, having brought in the likes of Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro.
He has now been tasked with building a “winning, world-class men’s team that endures”, and the first step in that process could see him look to splash the cash on a show-stopping frontman.
Tottenham given Dusan Vlahovic boost
As reported by TBR Football, Juventus ace Dusan Vlahovic is targeting a move to the Premier League in 2026, and both Tottenham and Chelsea have already been approached.
Vlahovic is likely to become a free agent when his contract runs down next July, and he is not expected to remain in Turin after talks over an extension broke down.
Despite him failing to live up to his hefty £66.6million price tag after his switch from Fiorentina in January 2022, the Serbian international is still held in high regard across Europe.
Paratici is a known admirer, too, with Fabrizio Romano reporting back in 2021 that Spurs’ returning transfer guru views Vlahovic as a striker capable of becoming one of the best in the world.
All of the indications are, then, that the foundations are in place for Tottenham to push for his signature, especially with Paratici now reinstalled at the top of their footballing hierarchy.
Vlahovic has scored four goals in his first eight club appearances this season and he looks ready-made to lead the line for Spurs, with Harry Kane likely to stay at Bayern Munich.
Juventus want Dusan Vlahovic to stay
Despite speculation mounting over a departure next summer, Juventus head coach Ivan Tudor wants Vlahovic to stay at the club, praising his mentality despite the transfer rumours.
“I’ll repeat what I have already said. In this month and a half of preparation, he has always been focused, he has worked as an example,” said Tudor in September.
“[Juventus general manager] Comolli said he is staying and I’m happy. He is a strong player and hopefully he keeps up this scoring rate, which is no small thing.
“Only two games have been played. I want to go match by match and do our best in the next one. Stay focused and train well, then we’ll see where this mindset and way of working takes us.”
Vlahovic even caught the eye of Micah Richards as far back as 2021.
“I have watched him a couple of times now,” Richards told the BBC. “He is lightning. It’s ridiculous.
“His left foot is like a wand. I am telling you now, he is everything, he is everything you need.”