Tottenham fans cannot wait to see what Fabio Paratici does in the summer transfer market after such a successful January transfer window. Needing new additions at the turn of the year to help the team climb the league standings, the arrival of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski played a major role in the Lilywhites hitting top form and sealing a Champions League finish.
Already with a good squad in place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a few more quality additions really could take Antonio Conte's Spurs team to the next level as they look to compete for major trophies on a regular basis. Making such a name for himself during his 11 years at Juventus as he helped the Bianconeri get back to their previous heights following a number of shrewd acquisitions, the future could be very bright for Tottenham with Paratici at the club if everything clicks into place and goes to plan.
So how exactly did he operate in the summer transfer window at Juventus and what exactly could it mean for Conte and Tottenham? football.london takes a look.
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Well, one thing that was noticeable during his Juventus spell was that he did like to bring in players on free transfers. Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba were both signed for nothing once their contracts came to an end at AC Milan and Manchester United respectively, with Fernando Llorente, Kingsley Coman, Sami Khedira and Dani Alves also arriving on free transfers in Paratici's first few seasons in the job.
Emre Can, Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot signed in similar deals in recent years, though Juventus subsequently sold Can to Borussia Dortmund for around £21million in 2020 with the move just not working out. Given not all transfers go to plan, Juventus' policy of signing players on free transfers means they can make a very good profit if they move them on in the future.
It's certainly something Paratici seems to be doing at Tottenham with Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic looking set to join the club for nothing once their respective deals with Southampton and Inter Milan expire at the end of June. Bringing in players with bags of experience who can help add more quality to the squad, free transfer additions also help the club save money to spend on other deals.
What was also noticeable about Paratici's time at Juventus was when exactly the Bianconeri made their move in the transfer market. Clearly having a plan in place ahead of the summer to bring their main targets to Turin, the Serie A side were quick out of the blocks in June 2015 as they tied up a deal for Dybala from Palermo right at the start of the month.
Khedira would then follow five days later on a free from Real Madrid, with Mario Mandzukic signing from Atletico Madrid later in the month. Apart from a few early deals here and there in June, the vast majority of Juventus' business came in July as they brought in players in good time for the new campaign.
While most clubs would like that to be the case so that everyone is in place for the start of pre-season, things don't always turn out as planned, with Tottenham a prime example. Spurs have been notoriously late movers in the transfer market in previous years, including back in 2017/18 when they made five signings in the final week of the summer window.
The moves for Forster and Perisic do hint at a key change to the club's transfer approach, which could become even clearer in the coming weeks if more additions are brought in for Conte well before the team commence their pre-season training at Hotspur Way. If the Italian can get the majority of his new players in in good time then that will only bode well for the team ahead of the big kick-off in August.
Finally, one key Paratici tactic that we've already seen at Tottenham is his ability to sign players on loan with an option to buy. Pierluigi Gollini, Cristian Romero and Kulusevski all joined Spurs on loan with the club having the option to purchase them if they wished, with Gollini the only one of the trio set to miss out on a permanent Tottenham transfer.
Weston McKennie, Federico Chiesa, Douglas Costa and Juan Cuadrado were just some of the players who signed for Juventus on similar deals. Operating this way numerous times in the past, it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see Paratici do this again as he looks to strengthen Tottenham and also make best use of the money he has available.
Working his magic at Juventus in the past, Paratici very much has the experience to make key changes at Tottenham and help them progress to the next level. With a wealth of experience in the game and already having a major impact in N17 with some of his signings drastically improving Tottenham, Daniel Levy appears to have the right man in the job to help get Tottenham challenging towards the top once again.
