Rumours of Fabio Paratici’s imminent return to Tottenham continue to ramp up, and now a club insider claims that the Italian could use his extensive list of contacts to set up a meeting with a top coach to replace Ange Postecoglou.
The Australian is on thin ice after a disastrous season domestically in north London, and it’s likely that leading the club to Europa League glory will be the only thing that keeps him in a job at Tottenham beyond the summer.
While Postecoglou continues to fight for his job, Paratici looks set to walk straight back into employment with Spurs after reportedly holding talks with Daniel Levy over a return when his ban relating to the Prisma/capital gains case ends in the summer.
The 52-year-old is also on the radar of AC Milan, but it’s understood that Paratici favours a return to the Premier League and also laid some groundwork for potential new midfield signings at Tottenham.
In terms of Postecoglou’s future, TT understands that the former Celtic chief looks increasingly likely to leave and that Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola has emerged as the top candidate for the role.
Brentford’s Thomas Frank, Fulham boss Marco Silva and former Dortmund coach Edin Terzic are also greatly admired, while links to Mauricio Pochettino refuse to go away despite the Argentine being focused on leading USA to a home World Cup in 2026.
But Tottenham insider John Wenham thinks Paratici could use his ‘deep contacts in the field’ to set up a meeting with former Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez, in what be a real coup for the north London club.
“Xavi would be someone I would look to contact,” Wenham told Tottenham News.
“If Spurs have any sort of ambition, that is the calibre of manager we should be going after. I understand you need the contacts to help make it happen.
“However, Paratici managed to attract Antonio Conte, which didn’t seem possible at the time. I’m sure he could help Tottenham get a meeting with Xavi.
“Look at what Xavi did with Barcelona, with so many restrictions against him. It was incredible. He brought through a lot of young players and gave the likes of Lamine Yamal a platform to perform. Therefore, he is someone I’d be asking the question of.”
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Paratici importance to Tottenham cannot be overlooked
The former Juventus sporting director has played a significant role in Tottenham’s business in recent times, bringing in the likes of Cristian Romero, Pedro Porro, Rodrigo Bentancur, Destiny Udogie and Dejan Kulusevski, as well as appointing Antonio Conte, with whom he had worked at Juventus before.
He is well known for having deep contacts in the game and is also free to arrange talks between Spurs and Xavi, even though he is currently no longer officially tied to the club.
As for Xavi, the Spain legend is currently out of work after walking away from the Camp Nou at the end of last season.
The 45-year-old guided Barca to the LaLiga title last season and promoted an eye-catching brand football that also included bringing through plenty of younger talent – making him an almost perfect fit at Tottenham.
He reportedly only parted ways with the club he made over 750 appearances for after becoming ‘fed up with toxicity of being in the Barca environment’, which had ‘consequences for his closest family’.
Barcelona’s financial constraints also made life tough, making the club’s title win under Xavi that bit even more remarkable.
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