Tottenham close to appointing Fabio Paratici as sporting director

Former Juventus director of football Fabio Paratici is on the verge of signing a deal to become Tottenham's sporting director.

The 48-year-old left his role at the Old Lady last month having spent 11 illustrious years in Turin. Despite working his way up the ranks at Juventus, Paratici came in for a lot of criticism towards the end of his time at the club before it was announced his contract would not be extended.

Spurs have been credited with an interest in the the Italian since his exit was confirmed, though it was thought their inability to agree terms with Antonio Conte - who worked with Paratici during the pair's time at Juve - could impact their ongoing negotiations.

However, Goal now report that an agreement has been reached and Paratici will sign a deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the coming days.

While Daniel Levy will no doubt be keen to celebrate the arrival of Paratici in north London, a cloud still hangs over the club as their search for a manager continues to hit a brick wall.

After Ryan Mason was appointed as interim boss following Jose Mourinho's departure back in April, Levy was quoted as saying he hoped to appoint the club's new permanent boss before the end of the season.

The season has of course now been and gone, and it seems Spurs are still no nearer to announcing the new man at the helm.

The names on the club's list of potential candidates have been dropping like flies over recent months, with Brendan Rodgers, Erik Ten Hag and more recently Conte all rumoured to have been of interest before various incidents ended Spurs' pursuit.

Former boss Mauricio Pochettino and Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez continue to be linked with the post, though it seems like an appointment could still be some way off.