Tottenham Hotspur have held talks with Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto over their director of football vacancy, i understands.
Pinto, the former director of professional football at Benfica, is understood to be in Tottenham’s thinking as they look for someone capable of putting into place a long-term and sustainable vision that will deliver success and trophies.
Rudderless Spurs need to bring in a new manager and sporting director after the departures of Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici, who resigned last month after he was banned for 30 months for his part in the Juventus financial scandal.
A source aware of the discussions told i Pinto was “one of the names” in the frame for the role, with West Ham and previously Liverpool having looked at the Portuguese.
Brentford’s Lee Dykes, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Markus Krösche and Marseille’s Javier Ribalta have also been linked with the vacancy.
With just a fortnight until the summer transfer window opens, Tottenham need to move quickly if they are to be competitive at the top of the Premier League next season. A restructure of their football operation is under way but they are still whittling down their managerial options.
Having ruled out a move for former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann on Friday, it appears the shortlist is narrowing.
Interim boss Ryan Mason has put his hat in the ring but a patchy record since succeeding Cristian Stellini, who was fired after an embarrassing 6-1 defeat at Newcastle, appears to have scuppered his chances.
Having seen the Conte appointment flounder, the club are understood to be looking for a manager who can put into place a long-term vision and bring back attacking football.
Sporting boss Ruben Amorim, Feyenoord’s Arne Slot and Brighton’s highly rated Roberto De Zerbi are all prominent in their thinking.
The club are expected to fill the vacancy left by Paratici first though, with football insiders expecting substantial movement in the sporting director market in the coming months.
Who is Tiago Pinto?
Pinto is certainly a man in demand in the Premier League.
i understands that he was a leading contender to succeed Julian Ward at Liverpool and met senior club officials before they opted for ex-Wolfsburg director of football Jörg Schmadtke, whose appointment is due to be confirmed soon.
Pinto has also attracted interest from West Ham and Aston Villa, who subsequently moved to add Barcelona’s Mateu Alemany to their executive team.
Pinto has caught the eye at Roma partly by creating a climate dedicated to development, innovation and improvement.
One of his innovations has been to change the layout of the training pitches, introducing a big screen alongside one side of the pitch so that manager Jose Mourinho can carry out snap analysis and coaching during sessions.
Even with the demanding Mourinho in charge at Roma, Pinto has maintained good relationships within the club and his recruitment record is excellent.
Hailed as a “world-class talent” by Roma owner Dan Friedkin, Pinto has helped the club blend experience with youth – in a blueprint Spurs would like to follow.
As well as identifying and persuading Mourinho to move to Rome, Pinto was the driving force behind recruiting Juventus’s Paulo Dybala as well as Nemanja Matic, who was signed from Manchester United.
He also led negotiations to renew Chris Smalling’s stay at Roma in the face of interest from the Premier League.
Pinto has a year left on his contract in Italy and is said to be focused on completing the season at Roma, where the team is in the last four of the Europa League and chasing a Champions League place.
But he has previously spoken about his ambition to work in England and could realise that goal in the close season.
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