Tottenham are eyeing former Crystal Palace boss Dougie Freedman to replace Fabio Paratici
Tottenham are eyeing a former Crystal Palace boss to replace Fabio Paratici as sporting director, according to a new report from The Telegraph.
Tottenham are moving the living room amid problems on the pitch
Make no mistake, the Spurs are a mess.
Real, deep, bordering-on-disaster turmoil – and the club’s search for a new sporting director is the latest reminder of just how badly the wheels have come off in north London.
Let’s start with what happened on the field.
Under interim manager Igor Tudor, who was appointed in mid-February to replace the sacked Thomas Frank, Spurs have been miserable. They were thrashed 4-1 by Arsenal in Tudor’s first game in charge, then traveled to Craven Cottage on Sunday and lost 2-1 to Fulham, making it a record 10 Premier League games without a win.
Harry Wilson and Alex Iwobi had Fulham two up inside 35 minutes before Richarlison, one of three half-time substitutes fielded by Tudor, pulled one back on 65 minutes.
It wasn’t enough. Spurs are still 16th in the table, just four points above the bottom three, and have yet to win a Premier League game in 2026. There is none. Across January and February – nine games – they drew four and lost five.
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This is the club that won the Europa League less than a year ago. That sounds like ancient history now.
The chaos goes deeper than the results. Ange Postecoglou was sacked last summer despite that European glory, and was handed a bittersweet exit.
Frank came in from Brentford full of grace and stayed for a few months before the fans turned on him and the board followed suit.
And then there is the story of Paratici.
The Italian returned to his role as sporting director alongside Johan Lange in October after serving a 30-month FIFA ban for financial irregularities at Juventus.
He had been back in the building for three months before announcing his move to Fiorentina – expressing a desire to return home to Italy.
He left in early February, but not before taking a thinly veiled swipe at his former employers when he introduced Fiorentina, openly praising the Serie A club’s ownership as “critical.” Given the chaos at Spurs, it was nothing to look at.
There are suggestions that PCP Capital Partners, led by former Newcastle boss Amanda Staveley, are genuinely interested in buying Tottenham, and for some fans, the opportunity to take the money is very welcome.
Now, with Lange working alone and the relegation battle consuming everyone at the club, Tottenham are stepping up their search for a new manager.
Tottenham are eyeing former Crystal Palace director Dougie Freedman
According to The Telegraph, one of the names they were investigating was Dougie Freedman.
The former Palace chief is a key player in the game.
He spent eight years as the Eagles’ sporting director, helping to oversee a remarkable turnaround at Selhurst Park that included the signings of Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Adam Wharton, and the appointment of Oliver Glasner – a decision which led to Palace winning the FA Cup last year and reaching Europe for the first time in their history.
The Telegraph adds that Paratici’s replacement will have a ‘significant say’ on who will be their next manager, amid critical links to Mauricio Pochettino and Roberto De Zerbi.
Freedman left Palace in 2025, ending up in Saudi Arabia with Al-Diriyah, but his record in English football is one of the real deal.
Chelsea’s Paul Winstanley is also understood to be eyeing Spurs as a target, but Freedman’s name carries real weight given what he built at Palace in modest ways.
Appointing the right sporting director doesn’t sound like a big deal for a Premier League club.
Tottenham have chewed up management at an alarming rate – six permanent appointments since Mauricio Pochettino left in 2019 – and instability at boardroom level has done nothing to help.
Without a clear vision of the ball and someone with the authority and nous to use it, the revolving door in the dugout will continue to revolve.
Freedman will come with a reputation built on smart recruiting, long-term thinking and the ability to connect with managers and players alike.
Whether he is tempted to return to the Middle East to take on what is undoubtedly a major challenge remains to be seen, b.one thing is clear – whoever enters will have to be different.
Right now, Tottenham are on their way to the Championship – and neither prestige nor history will save them if the next three months go anything like the last three..
PCP Capital Partners holds talks to take over Tottenham as it awaits positive response from Lewis Family
Amanda Staveley’s company is said to be keen to take over.
