Leonardo Gabbanini has left his position as Tottenham’s chief scout as the club restructures before the anticipated appointment of a new sporting director.
Gabbanini played a prominent role in the club’s summer transfer business, working closely with the chairman, Daniel Levy, and the manager, Ange Postecoglou, after the resignation of the managing director of football, Fabio Paratici, in April.
Postecoglou described the summer window as “unusual” in terms of how the club sought to drive wholesale change without a sporting director, although Paratici is understood to have helped out on a consultancy basis.
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With Postecoglou himself a new hire, the idea was not to rush the appointment of a sporting director. Gabbanini stepped up to enhance his reputation during a window that has come to be viewed in a positive light.
Postecoglou did make it clear at the end of it that he expected the appointment of a sporting director sooner rather than later. “Yes, that’s the club’s plan,” he said on 1 September. “I like working with a sporting director because they do most of the leg work that I just don’t have the time to do. When you’ve got a good sporting director you work together. They see the game through your eyes and they say: ‘This guy is going to be perfect for you.’”
