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Tottenham Hotspur in advance talks with Paulo Fonseca

Tottenham Hotspur is in advanced talks with Paulo Fonseca to become the club’s next head coach. Reports emerged last night in England and Italy stating the former Roma manager is the preferred choice of incoming sporting director Fabio Paratici.

The former Juventus sporting director is in talks with Fonseca in Italy before flying to London, where Paratici is due to be formally announced. Fonseca left Roma in seventh place in Serie A at the end of the 2020-21 season, giving way to Jose Mourinho, who took over earlier in the summer.

Fonseca first came to Roma in 2019 on a 3-year deal at €2.5 Million per year. The Italian club had just missed out on the Champions League and faced a complicated restructure in light of some expensive mistakes in the transfer market under Sporting Director-Monchi.

A vacuum also opened up at the club when Monchi’s successor Gianluca Petrachi, was dismissed from his post, which left Fonseca vulnerable. All the uncertainty did not make for an easy job. Roma played some slick football and reached a European semi-final under the Portuguese, but the record in big Serie A games and missing out on the top four again persuaded Roma’s new owners to part ways with him.

Fonseca being in pole position for Tottenham Hotspur job comes as a surprise as former Inter Milan and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was in talks with the London-based club to become their next manager. Tottenham also made contact with former manager Mauricio Pochettino about a return to the club last month. The club had reportedly spoken to Fonseca at the start of their process but, he has moved up the list with the imminent arrival of Paratici as sporting director.

Paratici is an Italian former football player who spent eleven years in a series of executive roles for Juventus, including chief football officer. The appointment of Paratici does suggest Levy is preparing to delegate oversight of football matters to an influential new figure.

Tottenham Hotspur had a disappointing season. The North London side was sitting at the top for four weeks in December, but a poor run of results saw them drop down the table. Ryan Mason stepped in as interim head coach until the end of the season, who secured a UEFA Europa conference league place. Only time will tell if the new sporting director and the staff he brings along, turn the tables for Tottenham, who face an intriguing summer ahead. The future of star striker Harry Kane remains in the air after he requested the club to grant a transfer in the summer. Nevertheless, Spurs are close to sorting the managerial conundrum at the club.

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