With the negative atmosphere circling Tottenham Hotspur in recent weeks, the need for a new Director of Football is absolutely necessary before any important sporting decisions are made.
With Spurs set to select a new manager relatively soon, the need is now.
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After Fabio Paratici was banned by FIFA worldwide for two-and-a-half years, the club have appeared frantic and disorganised.
The initial hiring of the Italian director of football was a positive one, and successfully reformed the on-pitch identity of Spurs with signings such as Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur.
The view is that Spurs have reverted back to square one since the recent sacking of Antonio Conte and Paratici’s ban, which has seen Daniel Levy repeat exactly what he did two years prior, which was hire Ryan Mason as interim to see a dreadful season out, such as when Jose Mourinho was a casualty to the Levy dismissal.
Directors generally aim to be the figureheads of a project, and a forward vision for the football club. Their influence, sporting-wise, is monumental.
They will generally be involved in manager searches, scouting and transfer strategy intently. It is imperative that an elite club identifies a good Director of Football in order to succeed.
Tottenham Hotspur are at a crucial point where effective decision-making is crucial to the future of the club.
With no Director of Football or Manager, the board has crucial decisions to make in the coming weeks, and the former must be hired immediately to lay out a project which can be pursued for the future.
Daniel Levy will surely have the final say on the new Director of Football, but the chairman’s gradual distancing from the footballing operations has to be seen as a positive one.
Scott Munn, the club’s new chief football officer who was announced to be joining Spurs last month could be assisting Levy in seeking out the new Director of Football.
Munn, who was the chief executive of City Football Group China before taking the new role at Spurs will be important in future strategy at Spurs, as he and Daniel Levy will attempt to build a strong, elite structure such as at Premier League champions Manchester City.
His work officially begins on July 1, but it would be unsurprising if he has influence in the upcoming decisions.
A new Director of Football is needed immediately so Spurs can speed up and narrow down the managerial search, which simply appears to be dragging beyond the end of the current season.
Implications will become obvious down the line this summer if there are delays, and the strategy may appear disjointed, because if we are being honest, Levy having a say-so over transfers has not generally been successful.
The recent standout names are Tiago Pinto (inews), the current sporting director at AS Roma, who works closely with Jose Mourinho and has praise and admirers across the world of football, so would certainly be an option.
Also linked was Tim Steidten, who has worked at Werder Bremen and most recently Bayer Leverkusen, where he left in March (Standard). The recent links are a positive to all Spurs fans, but it is important that the trigger is pulled as soon as possible.
The importance of Levy’s next decision cannot be understated. This is a key stage in his tenure, and the Tottenham chairman will be strongly judged based on this summer after an extremely disappointing season, which has been infected with poor decision-making.
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