Tottenham Hotspur 'hold talks with Tiago Pinto over director of football role'

Tottenham Hotspur have held talks with Roma chief Tiago Pinto over their director of football vacancy, according to a report.

The Lilywhites parted ways with former sporting director Fabio Paratici in the middle of April in the wake of the Italian's failed appeal over a 30-month suspension from all footballing activities.

Paratici was implicated in the recent Juventus financial scandal, and he was initially only banned from Italian football before his punishment was extended worldwide.

Paratici stepped back from his duties while lodging an appeal, but after his plea was thrown out, the 50-year-old officially resigned from his North London post.

As a result, Daniel Levy is currently overseeing operations as he searches for a new sporting director and permanent head coach following Antonio Conte's acrimonious exit at the end of March.

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The Spurs chairman will soon welcome Scott Munn to North London as chief football officer at the start of July, but he apparently wants to have a new sporting director in place before he intensifies his hunt for a permanent head coach.

According to i, Roma's Pinto is a name under consideration for Tottenham, who have gone as far as to hold talks with the Portuguese over a switch to the English capital.

Pinto served as Benfica's director of football for three years between 2017 and 2020 before leaving to join Roma, where he has forged a successful working relationship with Jose Mourinho.

Under Pinto's watchful eye, Roma acquired the services of Tammy Abraham from Chelsea in 2021, and the English striker came up with 27 goals in all tournaments during his debut season, where Mourinho's side won the Europa Conference League.

Pinto also helped Roma win the race to sign Paulo Dybala on a free transfer from Juventus last summer, and the Giallorossi are 90 minutes away from a place in the Europa League final thanks to a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in last week's semi-final first leg.

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Tottenham have apparently earmarked Pinto as a candidate who can formulate a long-term plan to help Spurs consistently challenge for silverware, and his contract at Roma only runs until 2024.

Liverpool and Aston Villa are believed to have taken an interest in Pinto in the past, but the Reds are close to appointing Jorg Schmadtke as their new sporting director, while Villa are set to poach Mateu Alemany from Barcelona.

West Ham United could still rival Tottenham for Pinto's signature, and the Roma chief is understood to be interested in an eventual move to the Premier League when his time at Roma comes to an end.

Roma occupy sixth place in the Serie A table at present, six points adrift of a Champions League berth with three games left to play, while Tottenham are seventh in the English top-flight standings and are mathematically incapable of finishing in the top four thanks to Saturday's 2-1 loss away to Villa.