Tottenham have filled their vacant technical director role with the appointment of Johan Lange from Aston Villa.
The 43-year-old will start in his role on November 1 and effectively succeeds Fabio Paratici, who resigned his post as Spurs’s managing director of football in April after losing an appeal against a two-and-a-half-year ban from working in the game.
Unlike Paratici, however, Lange will not be in charge of running the club’s entire football operations — a responsibility which has since been assumed by new chief football officer Scott Munn — and the Dane will instead manage recruitment, analytics and talent ID across Tottenham’s senior and academy teams.
Lange will report to Munn, who led the latter stages of a lengthy recruitment process alongside chairman Daniel Levy.
Said to be quiet and thoughtful by colleagues, Lange was responsible for Villa signing Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia, Danny Ings, Ashley Young, Bertrand Traore, Morgan Sanson and Matty Cash, and will have a key role in continuing Spurs’s rebuild under Ange Postecoglou.
Spurs still plan to appoint a new chief scout to work under Lange, following the departure of Leonardo Gabbanini last month.
Lange compiled a talented data team at Bodymoor Heath and a key part of his role at Spurs will be to continue the club’s smart use of analytics in the transfer market, which has seen them snap up a number of impressive and undervalued players, such as Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie and Pape Sarr.
Asked about the club’s nascent use of data in the transfer market at the fans’ forum last month, Postecoglou said: “It’s hugely important. We employ a lot of people in that space, like most clubs now.
“There pretty much isn’t any hidden gems anywhere. Every club knows every player out there. It’s ever-changing, there are a lot of smart young people working in that space who we’re constantly trying to tap into.”
Postecoglou was not directly involved in the process to appoint Lange but has obviously approved his arrival and will work closely with the new hire to identify targets.
The Australian last month warned the yet-to-be-appointed technical director that “I usually get my way” but has welcomed the club filling the position.
“I like working with a sporting director because they do most of the leg work that I just don’t have the time to do,” Postecoglou said. “When you’ve got a good sporting director, you work together.
“They see the game through your eyes and they say, ‘This guy is going to be perfect for you!’ And you look at it and you go, ‘Brilliant, I don’t even have to worry about it’.”
One unresolved question for Spurs is whether Paratici will remain in the background. The Italian has been advising the club in a consultancy role since stepping down and has attended a number of matches this season, including the past two home games, against Sheffield United and Liverpool.
The majority of the signings on the Italian’s watch are proving a big success and he retains Levy’s ear, although there is a danger his ongoing involvement would undermine Lange, who faces a potentially pivotal first transfer window in January.
Postecoglou’s unbeaten side will spend the international break on top of the Premier League table, raising hope that they could genuinely be in a title race, but their squad is short of depth, notably at centre-back.
If Spurs are still in the mix at the turn of the year, there will be pressure on Levy and the club to invest in players again.
“We need to keep building the squad, it was never to happen in one window,” Postecoglou has said.
