Thomas Frank has confirmed that co-sporting director Fabio Paratici is still firmly involved in Tottenham’s transfer plans despite reports linking him with a move away from the club.
Paratici has been heavily linked with Fiorentina, who are said to have offered the Italian a five-year deal to become their new sporting director.
Rumours over his potential departure have only intensified after Spurs agreed a deal to loan winger Manor Solomon to Fiorentina on Friday.
Quizzed on who Paratici was working for, Frank insisted he was still in constant contact with the 53-year-old about Spurs’ January plans.
“Good question, maybe you know… (who he is working for),” Frank joked in his press conference held before Sunday’s Premier League clash with Sunderland.
“Fabio is Tottenham's sporting director. I spoke to him twice yesterday. He is working very hard for Tottenham.”
Frank says Paratici, who returned from a 30-month FIFA ban in October, and fellow sporting director Johan Lange are working together to deliver for Spurs in what is expected to be a busy January window.
“I just know when I speak to Fabio, who I spoke to twice yesterday, and Johan, who I spoke to this morning, the two of them are working very, very hard,” he said.
Tottenham are in the market for new players and have been boosted by the sale of Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace for a club-record fee.
Spurs need attacking reinforcements in light of Johnson’s departure, and Frank says the club are prioritising both short and long-term solutions.
“It always needs to be both players that can impact the team now, that’s the main priority,” he said.
“But at the same time, it’s not that we just stop signing teenagers because you need to have players with impact now and players for the long-term.
“Sometimes you sign maybe a young player who is good enough to play now, sometimes you sign a young player who comes in and you send him on loan and they are part of the long-term thinking. So it will still be a mix of both.”
