Fabio Paratici's resignation as Tottenham's managing director of football really does complicate things for Daniel Levy at such a crucial time for the football club. Already needing to find a replacement for Antonio Conte after he parted with the Lilywhites at the end of March, Spurs now need to appoint someone who can fill Paratici's shoes.
In an awkward position over the past three weeks with the Italian's 30-month ban from Italian football extended worldwide by FIFA, Tottenham finally received clarity on Thursday evening when Paratici's appeal to the Italian Olympic Committee over his ban was rejected. In light of the news, the 50-year-old resigned from his role at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after almost 22 months in the job.
A statement on Tottenham's official club website read: "Yesterday - 20 April 2023 - Fabio Paratici was unsuccessful with an appeal against his Italian Football Federation (FIGC) ban on certain football related activities.
READ MORE: Fabio Paratici's Tottenham exit and what it now means for Daniel Levy in next manager search
"FIFA ruled to extend the ban worldwide and, whilst there continues to be a dispute as to the scope and extent of the ban, the current worldwide ban prevents Fabio from fulfilling his duties as our managing director of football. Fabio has consequently taken the decision to resign from his position at the club with immediate effect to focus on his legal position in respect of the FIGC and FIFA rulings."
Daniel Levy added: “This has been a stressful time for Fabio and his family. We wanted to ensure that we allowed for due process to be followed. Fabio is a man who lives and breathes football - we wish him well.
“As outlined in our year end results, we started several months ago to restructure our football operations and last week announced the appointment of Scott Munn as chief football officer to head up all the departments. We shall continue to strengthen our football functions over the coming months.”
Not only is Levy now leading the search for Tottenham's next head coach, he must also find his perfect man to replace Paratici. That leaves the chairman with a very tricky decision over whether he appoints his head coach or new managing director of football first.
As Paratici's replacement would ideally have a pivotal role to play in finding Conte's successor, Levy prioritising a new head coach would mean that the new man at the helm would not be the managing director of football's pick. Likewise, if he plumps for a managing director of football first, Spurs then run the risk of their head coach search dragging on and on.
That is something that needs to be avoided at all costs, especially as two years ago it took the club 72 days to replace Jose Mourinho with Nuno Espirito Santo, only for the ex-Wolves boss to then be dismissed from his position come the start of November. Tottenham certainly aren't going to have it all their own way in their hunt for a new head coach as Chelsea are in a similar boat at present and a number of Europe's top clubs could also be on the lookout over the coming weeks.
The same goes for the managing director of football search, with Liverpool currently on the hunt for a new sporting director and Manchester United also possibly looking to do the same. Just last year the Anfield club appointed Julian Ward as their new sporting director due to Michael Edwards' decision to move on.
Ward was no stranger to the club having risen through the ranks to become loan and pathways manager, before later working under Edwards. It was no surprise to see Ward replace Edwards in his position, especially as he had essentially studied for the previous 18 months the man who had been lauded for his transfer dealings on Merseyside, but the Reds were shocked a few months down the line by his decision to quit the club at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
As reported by the Liverpool Echo, Jurgen Klopp and CEO Billy Hogan are overseeing the process to find their third sporting director in less than 18 months. Thirty-two miles away from Anfield, Manchester United could also be in the market for a new man to transform their transfer strategy as they look to refresh Erik ten Hag's current squad this summer and bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.
Paul Mitchell, who previously worked at Tottenham as head of recruitment when Mauricio Pochettino was at the club, has been tipped for a switch to The Theatre of Dreams as he is stepping down from his role as Monaco's sporting director. Needing the best man for the job in regards to the current Tottenham head coach vacancy, Levy also needs the same when it comes to Paratici's previous position as Spurs must get back on track after a difficult couple of years in north London.
Levy's decisions will ultimately dictate what comes next at Tottenham in the years ahead.
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