Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy could well be looking to line up a potential successor for Fabio Paratici as his off-field issues continue to rumble on in the background.
What is the latest with Fabio Paratici?
The Italian director of football was slapped with a 30-month ban earlier in the year from the Italian court after he was found guilty of false accounting issues from his time at Juventus.
And it is believed the final result of his ban will be heard in the coming weeks as to whether it has a wider effect than Paratici simply being banned from any involvement in Italian football.
If the Italian Olympic Committee find his ban to have been correctly judged, they will then forward it on to UEFA and FIFA to ask for it to be made a worldwide ban from football.
At a time when Spurs are believed to be looking to sack their manager, journalist Alasdair Gold told the Last Word On Spurs that Levy will likely be considering his options to possibly succeed Paratici:
"Well, knowing the way that football club works, there's always someone else. There's always someone being lined up.
"So I have no doubt that if they are deciding they're going to keep pursuing down this route – and as I said earlier, it's a route that Daniel Levy clearly loves – I'd imagine, yes, there will be someone else that comes in."
Should Spurs bring in another director of football?
It is believed Paratici is currently involved in the search for a manager to potentially succeed Antonio Conte – whether that be now or at the end of the season.
Reports would suggest the 50-year-old has already drawn up a shortlist of potential managerial candidates who could be brought in to replace his Italian colleague.
However, it has to be questioned whether Levy will have that much faith in Paratici's advice on a potential successor when his previous hire went so badly wrong.
It is believed Paratici was the one at Tottenham who fronted the pursuit to bring in Nuno Espirito Santo back in 2021 and has to convince Levy to make the appointment.
Who may potentially succeed Conte may also have a huge part to play in whether Spurs were to replace Paratici if he is to leave the club for whatever reason over the coming months.
With the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, it is said that he would not be keen on working under a set-up like Spurs currently have and isn't in favour of having a director of football.
This will likely leave Levy in a catch-22 situation where he has to decide whether the managerial option he wants is worth more than the club's current set-up which involves a director of football.
