TBR Football

Tottenham have now officially announced that Fabio Paratici has returned to Hotspur Way as Sporting Director.

The Italian – who initially left Spurs in April 2023 after seeing his appeal against a worldwide football ban rejected – is now back in N17 to work alongside Johan Lange, who has also been promoted to the role of Sporting Director.

It signals another significant change at Tottenham following the recent departure of Daniel Levy – and Yves Bissouma could be next to depart Spurs with Fabio Paratici now back in north London.

Fabio Paratici has been trying to sell Yves Bissouma

The 53-year-old remains familiar with current events at Tottenham, having spent the summer working in a consultancy role for Spurs.

During the summer transfer window, Paratici offered Bissouma to other clubs as he tried to help Spurs offload the Mali international – suggesting the midfielder as a signing for his old side Juventus.

The order to sell the Tottenham No.8 came from those in the boardroom, with Paratici simply acting as a facilitator given his vast contacts across football.

Therefore, with the man born in Borgonovo Val Tidone now back at Tottenham in an official capacity, he will have added power to get this deal done himself – but time is of the essence.

Tottenham only have one more chance to sell Yves Bissouma

The 29-year-old sees his contract expire in July.

As a result, the winter transfer window represents the last chance Tottenham have to recoup some of the £25m spent to sign the Malian from Brighton back in June 2022 while Antonio Conte was at the helm.

It will be a difficult deal to pull off with the midfielder currently injured, as well as the fact he has already been late on several occasions under Thomas Frank.

Bissouma suffered ankle damage while away with Mali in the current international break, and we presume few sides will want to spend on a player recovering from injury – especially when they could get him on a free transfer in July.

Whether it happens this winter or when his contract ends in July, the man born in Issia does not appear to have any kind of future at Tottenham whatsoever.

Tottenham Hotspur have officially announced that Fabio Paratici has returned to the football club as sporting director.

Back in March 2023, Paratici was banned by FIFA for 30 months following his involvement in Juventus’ alleged financial irregularities scandal.

But with his ban having ended earlier this summer, as reported by TBR Football, Tottenham have been pushing to bring Paratici back to the club.

Daniel Levy’s departure from Tottenham had thrown the move into some doubt, given he had been pushing to bring the Italian director back.

However, Vinai Venkatesham was also a fan of Paratici, and he has managed to convince him to return to North London in a prominent role.

Fabio Paratici returns to Tottenham as sporting director

Fabio Paratici will be working alongside Johan Lange, who has also been promoted to become the sporting director.

Both directors have played key roles in building Tottenham Hotspur’s squad over recent years, recruiting some top young talents.

Paratici oversaw the likes of Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski, Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie signed by Spurs, meanwhile, Lange has signed talents like Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall.

Speaking about his return to the club, Paratici told Tottenham Hotspur: “I’m delighted to be returning to a Club that I love.

“I have been working with Johan, Vinai and Thomas as a consultant for a number of months and I now look forward to returning to London and joining the team full-time.

“I’m convinced that working in partnership with Johan, we can build a special future for the Club and our supporters.”

ENIC have just invested another £100m into Tottenham, so Paratici and Lange will have a decent budget to work with as they continue to improve the team.

Djed Spence’s impressive turnaround continued on Tuesday evening as the Tottenham defender impressed in England’s win over Latvia.

England have booked their spot for next summer’s World Cup in North America after comfortably seeing off Latvia 5-0 to ensure qualification.

Harry Kane’s brace, plus goals from Anthony Gordon, Eberechi Eze and an own goal, ensured that the Three Lions will now finish top of Group K.

But it was the performance of Djed Spence which really caught the eye of many England and Spurs fans as he took his chance at right-back.

Tottenham fans on Djed Spence’s skill vs Latvia

Tottenham Hotspur fans were going crazy after watching Spence produce an audacious cross during England’s win over Latvia.

The 24-year-old pulled off an impressive rabona cross just moments before another ball into the box, which forced Latvia to turn the ball into their own net.

Spence, who is the fastest Champions League player this season, ran to the byline before hitting a Cruyff-turn to send the defender the wrong way and then producing a rabona cross.

Spence’s confidence is high at the moment, and his impressive skill against Latvia highlighted the level at which he is currently operating.

Just moments later, the Spurs star got an assist as his cross caused real problems in the Latvia penalty area and was turned home by Maksims Tonisevs.

During the game, Spurs fans took to X to praise the full-back for showing personality with an impressive piece of skill on just his second start for England.

One fan stated: “Spence pulling out the rabona crosses. Come on, son.”

“Did I just watch Spence do a rabona cross?” said another who couldn’t believe his eyes.

There was yet more praise for the Spurs defender: “Djed just did a Maradona rabona out there on the right-hand side.”

Finally, another fan added: “Who knew Djed had this in his locker?”

Djed Spence has England full-back slot on lock

Right now, it’s hard to argue that Spence isn’t one of the first names on the England team sheet, given his status in the squad.

The Tottenham defender appears to have either full-back slot on lock, especially with Tino Livramento injured right now.

Spence appears to be up against the Newcastle defender, Lewis Hall, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold in competing for the spots at full-back for England.

The October international break came at a frustrating time for Tottenham following their win over Leeds, but also a chance for Thomas Frank to reflect on his squad.

The North London club have made a promising start to the season, sitting in third, but it’s clear that there remains room for improvement.

Results have been overall positive; however, some of Tottenham Hotspur’s performances have left fans demanding personnel changes to be made.

Here are three players TBR Football believes Thomas Frank should be looking to place his trust in when Spurs finally return to action.

Archie Gray

One player who does deserve more minutes is Archie Gray, having produced several impressive cameos off the bench.

The 19-year-old came off the bench against Bodo/Glimt and played a key role in helping force Spurs’ equalising goal.

The youngster also impressed playing in the number eight role against Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup, which is a role Spurs need to improve in.

Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur have struggled to bring creativity to Tottenham’s team, but Gray could be the answer for the Lilywhites.

Across the last year, the midfielder has averaged 2.45 progressive passes and 0.51 progressive carries per 90 minutes, despite playing mostly as a central defender.

Peter Crouch is a big fan of Gray, and now is the time for the manager to unleash him in North London.

Mathys Tel

Mathys Tel could be finding his feet finally at Spurs after opening his account for the season away at Elland Road just before the international break.

Tel produced a wicked finish to beat Karl Darlow and put Tottenham 1-0 up in a crucial Premier League match in South Yorkshire.

During last summer’s U-21 European Championships, Spurs icon Jermain Defoe called Mathys Tel’s finishing ‘Thierry Henry-like’.

The 20-year-old will certainly benefit from having a proper number ten behind him, supporting him and feeding him chances.

Against Leeds United, Xavi Simons filled that role, so it was no surprise to see Tel produce one of his best performances in a Spurs shirt to date.

Wilson Odobert

Another player who looks to be growing in confidence is Wilson Odobert, with the young Frenchman smashing it for France U-21 this week.

The youngster netted a brace against the Faroe Islands and then another brace and an assist against Estonia, even setting up Tel for France’s opener.

The young winger looks to be forming a great connection down the left flank with Destiny Udogie and Simons, which is great news for Frank.

Given that Pedro Porro and Mohammed Kudus have been playing so well on the right, Spurs needed someone to step up on the other flank and Odobert could be that player.

Paul Gascoigne is most remembered for his exploits with England after becoming a national hero for the Three Lions, but he played with some incredible players at club level too.

Growing up in Newcastle United’s youth ranks, ‘Gazza’ had popular spells at the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio and Rangers before joining a number of different clubs in the latter stages of his career.

Producing his best form whilst at White Hart Lane, it was during this spell where he starred for England at World Cup 1990, being in the peak of his powers at the young age of 23.

As a result, he played alongside some of the country’s best players during his time in North London.

And that has seen him name former England and Spurs teammate Chris Waddle as ‘unbelievable’ as he reminisced on his playing career.

Paul Gascoigne waxes lyrical over ‘lethal’ England and Tottenham teammate Chris Waddle

Waddle, like Gascoigne, was a midfielder from the North East of England, who embarked on spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham and abroad when being a key player for French giants Marseille.

The pair would have featured alongside one another in the final days of Waddle’s Newcastle career, rekindling at Tottenham for a year prior to Waddle’s move to Marseille, and they played together for four years at international level before former Three Lions gaffer Graham Taylor excluded Waddle from selection.

However, that was enough time for Gascoigne to wax lyrical over his former teammate. Gascoigne described his former teammate as ‘unbelievable’ and ‘lethal’, before throwing in a joke that he translated for him at Spurs due to Gascoigne’s thick Geordie accent.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Gascoigne said: “Yeah, unbelievable. He was lethal.

“He was fantastic. Especially at Tottenham, you know, when I followed at Tottenham, when he looked after us, because he had already been there a year. And I don’t know why, but I needed a translator.

“Well, I say, but no one could understand what I was saying, they were like ‘Chris, what is he saying?’

“Chris had the translator for us, it was embarrassing. But yeah, he was, what a player, when he dropped his shoulder, half a crowd went out the stadium.”

Often described as one of England’s most unsung and underrated players, it’s no surprise that someone who shared such a similar career to Waddle has sung his praises so much.

Chris Waddle’s career isn’t talked about enough after Tottenham move

Chris Waddle’s career often goes under the radar.

His move to Marseille from Tottenham for £4.5million made him the world’s third-most expensive player at the time, and having won three consecutive Ligue 1 titles, his time across the Channel was a success.

Even for England, he was a regular having featured in three major tournaments – World Cup 1986, Euro 1988 and World Cup 1990, though he will be remembered as the player who missed the decisive penalty in the semi-final against West Germany after firing over the bar.

Regardless, that form in the top-flight and in France has seen him go down as one of England’s most talented players of all-time. He may not have the grandeur and stories that Gascoigne has, but on talent, they were neck-and-neck.

James Maddison has been comparing himself to Premier League attackers, and there is one ‘top’ Everton player who he surprisingly backs himself over.

Maddison underwent ACL surgery over the summer after suffering a knee injury, which is set to keep him sidelined into the New Year.

Tottenham Hotspur will be devastated to have lost the midfielder for a sustained period of time, given his importance to Thomas Frank’s team.

The 28-year-old has now been ranking himself up against several former teammates, and there is an Everton star whom he thinks he’s still better than.

James Maddison backs himself ahead of Jack Grealish

James Maddison still believes that he is a better player than his close friend and England teammate, Jack Grealish.

Grealish has been brilliant since joining Everton on loan, and is currently one of the most in-form players in the Premier League.

The forward has one goal and four assists in his first seven Premier League games, including a crucial late winner against Crystal Palace.

But despite his impressive start at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Maddison is confident in his ability over that of Grealish.

The Spurs star also picked himself ahead of Mason Mount, Youri Tielemans and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, before finally admitting Phil Foden was a superior player.

When playing a game of speak until you see a player better than himself, Maddison told EA Sports FC: “Yeah, I love Phil (Foden) as a player.

“I thought about it for Jack because he’s a top player and he’s my mate, but then I thought, actually, I’m not giving him that one.”

James Maddison’s Premier League stats compared to Jack Grealish

Maddison actually has more Premier League goals and assists than Grealish, with 56 goals and 51 assists in 222 appearances.

The Spurs star is averaging a Premier League goal contribution every 0.48 matches, meanwhile, Grealish is at 0.32 goal contributions per game.

The Toffees loan star does boast a superior trophy cabinet to Maddison, having played a role in three Premier League titles with Manchester City.

Both Grealish and Maddison have suffered the pain of being relegated from the top-flight, with Leicester City and Aston Villa, respectively.

Throughout his 25 years of management, Thomas Frank has coached some superb players, but two of the best are actually former Spurs stars.

Thomas Frank has made a strong start to life at Tottenham, with his team currently sitting in third in the Premier League after seven matches.

The Danish head coach has already recorded some big wins, including away at Manchester City and in the Champions League against Villarreal.

Now, the new Spurs boss has been asked to name the top players he has coached throughout his career, and he has named two who were sold by the North London club.

Thomas Frank hails Christian Eriksen and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

Frank has hailed former Tottenham Hotspur stars Christian Eriksen and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as two of the best players he’s coached.

Eriksen was undoubtedly one of the best midfielders Spurs have owned in recent times, playing a key role in Mauricio Pochettino’s team at White Hart Lane.

Meanwhile, Tottenham sold Hojbjerg for £17m over the summer, having become a player who was rather underrated during his time in N17.

The former Brentford boss has now praised both former Spurs stars, having coached Eriksen at Brentford and Denmark U-17, and Hojbjerg in the national team.

Frank told SPORTbible: “That is a very tricky question. I will mention former Spurs player Christian Eriksen, who was a fantastic player. I coached him in the U-17 national team.

“Also, Ivan Toney, David Raya, Ollie Watkins are among them. And another one, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the national team and Andreas Christensen.”

Thomas Frank names his favourite Tottenham legend

Frank has also named Glenn Hoddle as his favourite Tottenham legend, calling the former Spurs icon a ‘fantastic player’.

“There are a lot of good players who have played for this fantastic club. I would say the standout one for me is Glenn Hoddle,” said Frank.

“Fantastic player, vision, technique and ability – so that would be the one.”

The former England international made 435 appearances for Spurs between 1975 and 1987, producing 96 goals and 52 assists for the club.

Kylian Mbappe is seen as one of the world’s greatest footballers right now, but that doesn’t mean he’d be first choice under Tim Sherwood.

Mbappe is one of Real Madrid’s strongest attacking threats and has caused constant problems for his opponents at club and international levels.

Few fans or pundits will question what Mbappe brings to a football pitch, but he’s apparently not good enough to be Sherwood’s first choice.

Instead, the former Tottenham Hotspur boss would choose one of his ex-players over him if given the opportunity.

Tim Sherwood would rather have Harry Kane in his team

Sherwood was able to coach plenty of talented players during his time working for Tottenham Hotspur from 2008 to 2014.

He took on various roles during that time, from assistant coach to first-team manager, and Harry Kane was the true star with whom Sherwood worked closely.

When Sky Sports asked Sherwood who he would start, bench, and sell out of Kane, Mbappe, and Erling Haaland, he provided a surprising answer.

“I’m starting Harry because I’ve worked with him, and I’m biased, I know what to expect because I’ve worked with him.

“I’d bench Erling, what a threat he’d be off the bench when I need him, and Mbappe I would sell because he’s on more money than anyone, and if you want to win as a team, you need to open up some funds for other areas of the field.”

Sherwood isn’t the only pundit who is choosing Premier League stars over the World Cup winner either, as Robbie Savage claimed Mohamed Salah is better than Mbappe recently.

How do Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe compare?

Mbappe and Kane are both natural goalscorers and two of the most talented forwards in world football today, operating at their absolute best.

Of course, they’re completely different in terms of playing style. Kane is a traditional number nine, while Mbappe thrives with the ball at his feet, beating players with his trickery.

Mbappe does have an advantage over Kane in terms of trophies won, but the England captain is working on that during his time at Bayern Munich.

Luka Vuskovic is proving at Hamburger why he is one of the best young talents in Europe, which will likely leave some at Tottenham Hotspur questioning why they loaned him out, but the actual reason is clear.

The defender has been so good in the Bundesliga that Tottenham are already considering recalling Vuskovic in January, TBR Football understands.

The 18-year-old has impressed so much that the German media have already nicknamed him ‘Air Vuskovic’, given his remarkable aerial ability.

The teenager has now been discussing what it is really like to compete with two ‘top players’ like Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.

Luka Vuskovic hails Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven

Luka Vuskovic has hailed the ability of Van de Ven and Romero, claiming that the pair are both ‘top players’.

Vuskovic did not want to sit on the bench at Tottenham and instead wanted to experience regular football in a top-flight division.

Thomas Frank’s team are currently sitting in third place in the Premier League, and the young Croat believes that is a testament to how good their centre-back pairing has been.

When asked about the competition for the centre back spots at Spurs, Vuskovic told Sportske Novosti: “Spurs are currently third in the super strong Premier League, which tells you enough about the strength of the team.

“The first defenders are Romero and Van de Ven, who are top players, which is evident in Tottenham’s results.”

After seven matches, Spurs have the joint second-best defensive record in the Premier League, having conceded just five times.

Luka Vuskovic has won the most aerial duels in the Bundesliga

No Bundesliga player has won more aerial duels this season than the young Tottenham Hotspur defender, with 32 in total.

Against Union Berlin, he became the first player to win 18 aerial duels in a single match in Europe’s top five leagues over the last five seasons.

Despite achieving such a feat at 18, Vuskovic puts his incredible ability in the air down to genetics and his hard work to improve.

“I can certainly thank genetics for this in part. I have the stature and tendency to be able to physically deal with older players, and reflexes and a sense of space and timing are, on the one hand, innate, and on the other hand, something I’ve worked on throughout my career,” said Vuskovic.

“It’s important to have confidence, will and faith that you can, want and will surpass your opponent, regardless of whether they are more experienced than me.”

TBR Football understands that Vinai Venkatesham has made Micky van de Ven’s new Tottenham Hotspur contract one of his main priorities.

Tottenham Hotspur are keen to get to tie him down to a new deal, given his status as one of the best defenders in Europe.

Van de Ven’s current deal is due to expire in 2028, but the Lilywhites want his contract worth to reflect his status in the Premier League.

Currently, the 24-year-old earns around £50,000 a week and Spurs are prepared to more than double that figure in a bid to keep him happy.

Exclusive: Tottenham want Micky van de Ven’s new contract sorted before the New Year

Tottenham want Micky van de Ven’s new contract sorted before the New Year to avoid his future being discussed by other clubs, sources have told TBR Football’s chief correspondent, Graeme Bailey.

Central defenders are likely to be a hot topic of the next two transfer windows, with several major European clubs looking to sign one.

Real Madrid are keen on Van de Ven, as TBR Football revealed back in September; meanwhile, Chelsea and Bayern Munich are also interested.

Bailey told TBR Football: “I am told it is very much one of Vinai Venkatesham’s priorities to get him tied down before the New Year; they don’t want Van de Ven’s name to become part of the centre back talk that is already happening.

“Spurs know he is under contract until 2028, so in theory he can’t move, but they want to keep him happy, and Spurs know he is as good as anything in England or indeed Europe at the moment.”

Recently, Thomas Frank made Van de Ven Tottenham’s vice captain, having been so impressed by his leadership behind the scenes.

Just to show how highly rated he is, Sol Campbell has just ranked Van de Ven ahead of Virgil van Dijk in his top three Premier League defenders.

Micky van de Ven is a big fan of Thomas Frank at Tottenham

Speaking back in September, Van de Ven admitted that he is a big fan of Frank and was quickly impressed by Spurs’ new coach.

The Dutch international was really impressed with the head coach’s level of detail in his tactics and believes the squad picked it up quickly.

Van de Ven said: “You can really see he lives the game, he loves it, every time he speaks about it, he’s on everything.

“Even in pre-season, his vision of football and plan, his tactical play in training, you have to do the drill every time, over and over and over, every day, every second he is on it.

“Even at this point, everybody knows what the gaffer expects and everybody just does it, I have the feeling that he has his way of playing and he’s translated quite quickly to the group.”