Banned former Tottenham Hotspur director of football Fabio Paratici is a big fan of Spurs' incoming goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Who is Fabio Paratici?
The Italian was Tottenham's managing director of football but recently resigned from the role following a two-and-a-half-year ban from the game. The ban comes as a result of alleged financial mismanagement during his time at Juventus.
Initially only being banned from working within the Italian Football Federation, this punishment was extended to a global ban from football by FIFA in late March. Paratici quickly appealed this decision but his appeal was rejected.
Paratici resigned on April 21 following the loss of his appeal, which ended a nearly two-year relationship with the north London club. Meanwhile, his former club Juventus received a final 10-point deduction in Serie A, five points fewer than the original verdict.
Considering Paratici is banned from conducting any business relating to football, it may come as a surprise to learn that the former Spurs man was a big "admirer" of incoming Tottenham goalkeeper Vicario, according to journalist Alasdair Gold.
"From what I understand, having dug around a fair bit this week, our old friend Fabio Paratici was a big admirer of Vicario, along with [Leonardo] Gabbanini. And I actually understand that Paratici inquired about Vicario earlier in the season, spoke to those around the goalkeeper to just kind of see his availability for this summer."
"Lo and behold, here we are. The Paratici influence still there clearly. Also, Gabbanini – someone who would have bigged him up as well – and here we are at this stage".
Despite Paratici's departure and ban, his influence is arguably still significant in Spurs' transfer plans this summer, with many of the potential targets having been shortlisted while he was still at the club.
Are Tottenham signing Vicario?Spurs look incredibly close to signing the Empoli goalkeeper, with a fee of £17.2m enough to secure the 26-year-old's signature. Despite having never played for a traditionally 'big club' in Italy or being capped by the national team, Vicario has still earned plenty of plaudits for his impressive Serie A performances.
With an average Sofascore rating of 7.05 in the league last term, he helped Empoli finish a comfortable 12 points above the relegation zone last year.
Gold describes Vicario as a "very good 'keeper", meaning he can certainly help bolster a shaky defensive unit at Spurs. Hugo Lloris has come under criticism for some high-profile gaffes this season and has decided to leave north London in the summer.
