Fabio Paratici's decision to return to former club Juventus in January to strike two deals proved pivotal to Tottenham's return to Europe's top table. Tending to be a tough window to sign players and get them to hit the ground running, Spurs had no such problems at all with Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski.
The duo slotted straight into Antonio Conte's side with ease and played significant roles in the Lilywhites securing a Champions League return after two seasons away from Europe's premier competition. Given the success of both in north London, many fans questioned why on earth Juventus had decided to part with both for bargain prices in the first place.
Fans of the Italian club may still be thinking exactly the same after a disastrous start to the campaign under Massimiliano Allegri. In eighth in Serie A and ten points off early leaders Napoli following three wins from their first nine league fixtures, the Bianconeri are also on the verge of crashing out of the Champions League.
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Tuesday night was undoubtedly the lowest point in their season so far as they lost 2-0 away at Maccabi Haifa. Qualification is still possible but they will have to somehow overturn a five-point deficit with two games against Group H pacesetters PSG and Benfica to come.
It was perhaps no surprise at all to see Conte linked with a return to his former club last month when you take a look at the predicament Juventus currently find themselves in. Amid questions over the long-term futures of some of the Juventus squad, the defeat at Maccabi Haifa also saw three of the club's summer signings start on the bench.
Bentancur and Kulusevski would undoubtedly walk into Allegri's side at present and make a key difference in there. Throw Cristian Romero into the mix and you have to question Juventus' deals in recent years, especially as they have not been in title contention in the previous two campaigns and are unlikely to be challenging this time around unless there is a major change in the remaining 29 games.
In the case of Romero, Tottenham's highly-rated centre-back never made an appearance for the Italian giants after joining them on a permanent deal from Genoa in July 2019. Immediately sent back to Il Grifone on loan and once again excelling for them, the 24-year-old headed to Atalanta on a two-year loan the following campaign.
Coming to the attention of many of Europe's top clubs in the process following a stellar campaign for the Bergamo-based side, the agreement between the sides also contained an option to sign the Argentine for a measly €16million, something Atalanta took up a year early before he was sold to Tottenham for an immediate profit. Looking on course to become one of the best defenders in world football if he continues to go from strength to strength, Romero, just like Bentancur and Kulusevski, is at the right age where he could be a mainstay in the Juve team for years to come.
Not that any of that matters now anyway as they are part of Conte's Tottenham masterplan going forward. With Romero and Bentancur already signed on permanently, Spurs just have to turn Kulusevski's 18-month loan into a permanent deal now and tie down such an exciting player for the future.
All playing a major part in Spurs' success so far under Conte and set to do likewise in the years ahead, Paratici quite rightly deserves so much praise for bringing them all to north London in the first place. Juventus' loss has certainly been Tottenham's gain.
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