Italian has a track record of pulling off difficult deals and his know-how could be vital ahead of what looks set to be a huge few transfer windows for Spurs
Transfer king: Fabio Paratici is back at Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images
Matt Verri
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Another club statement, another reshuffle of the Tottenham hierarchy.
This one, though, did certainly not have the shock value of the announcement last month that Daniel Levy was leaving the club after almost 25 years.
The return of Fabio Paratici in an official capacity comes as no real surprise. The Italian has been working as a consultant to Spurs for several months, advising on the summer transfer window and on the managerial search that led to Thomas Frank's appointment.
Paratici was even in the stands for the UEFA Super Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain, sitting alongside Johan Lange.
The pair now share a job title, Spurs opting for a new leadership structure with two sporting directors. The club are also planning to appoint a director of football operations.
Paratici has been appointed Spurs sporting director
THFC
Paratici previously spent two years at Spurs as managing director of football before resigning after unsuccessfully appealing a ban for alleged financial mispractice during his time at Juventus.
That 30-month ban ended in July and a plea bargain resulted last month in Paratici receiving an 18-month suspended prison sentence, which involved no admission of guilt.
In an interview with the club's in-house media team, chief executive Vinai Venkatesham alluded to a "really challenging personal last two years" for Paratici, who he said was “delighted to be back at Spurs”.
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Paratici himself spoke of the "love" he had received from Spurs fans around the world and the Italian remains a popular figure among supporters.
During his previous two years at the club, Paratici was involved in bringing the likes of Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski and Destiny Udogie to the club.
It was not all hits - Pierluigi Gollini as a loan signing was very much in the miss column - but Paratici's record overall was impressive.
After a summer in which Spurs could not get moves for Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze over the line, Spurs will be hoping Paratici's official return enables them to be more successful in closing deals.
Levy was for so long the man responsible for the final stages of negotiations but in his absence, there is likely to be increased responsibility on Paratici and that is no bad thing. He has a track record of pulling off difficult deals and Spurs need that efficient operator.
The Italian's focus will be on the transfer market, with Venkatesham referencing Paratici's "fantastic network".
Vinai Venkatesham has hailed Paratici's ‘fantastic network’
AFP via Getty Images
While at first glance having two sporting directors might appear strange, it is a model Frank is familiar with having been in charge at Brentford.
Spurs believe that the remit for a sporting director at a big club is now so vast that sharing the load is the best approach.
“The sporting director role has changed a lot in the last five, ten years,” Paratici said.
“We have a lot of different models and structures in Europe. In every model, maybe the job titles are different but there are at least two to three people driving the football areas.
“We need more people and specialists. We have a lot of departments to manage."
The differing skillsets of Paratici and Lange also suggest they could form an effective partnership.
“Johan will be focused on scouting, performance, football insights, performance analysis and the academy,” Venkatesham explained.
“Fabio will be more focused on players, the transfer window, the loans and pathways department.
"They have different focuses but the reality is they will work together on everything, in particular around squad planning and player recommendations.”
Lange is renowned for his use of data analysis and his relationship with head of scouting Rob Mackenzie, who worked with him at Aston Villa, means it makes sense for him to continue overseeing that side of the recruitment process.
Paratici, meanwhile, brings perhaps a more old-school approach, one built on relationships and an extensive contacts book. Combining both should leave Spurs well-placed in the transfer market.
Paratici was highly-respected by Levy and the former chairman's departure raised some doubts over whether the Italian would make an official return to Spurs.
That the club's new-look hierarchy have decided to appoint him as sporting director points to just how valuable they deem Paratici's experience and transfer know-how to be.
With an increasingly involved ownership to back him, the Paratici sequel could be an even better watch.
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