Having been at the club for less than a year, Leonardo Gabbanini is already attracting admirers from across Europe.
Tottenham Hotspur’s chief scout Leonardo Gabbanini is being monitored by a number of other clubs as he impresses at Spurs as he awaits Daniel Levy’s director of football decision.
Who is Leonardo Gabbanini?
Certainly not a household name or familiar face, Gabbanini has been at Tottenham for just under a year. Arriving as the club’s chief scout from Watford back in the summer of 2022, he was brought to north London by the now banned former Spurs director of football Fabio Paratici.
Despite Paratici’s disgraced departure, Gabbanini has been thoroughly involved in building this summer’s transfer plans. He has been in direct discussions with chairman Levy and new manager Ange Postecoglou ahead of a busy window.
However, Gabbanini is a “wanted man” and Spurs may have to fend off interest from other clubs in their 43-year-old talent spotter.
Journalist Alasdair Gold, speaking on his YouTube channel, stated: “From my understanding, there are a lot of clubs looking at Gabbanini. He is a wanted man because of his abilities and his network as well, and his scouts that he employs.”
“So keep an eye on what happens there. If there is another director of football type brought in and Gabbanini kind of feels overlooked, or feels that he doesn’t quite fit with the new director of football, it will not be long before someone comes in for him. I think Lazio were kind of sniffing around him recently as well.”
While Spurs look for a new director of football, Gabbanini’s responsibilities will increase this summer, with Gold even suggesting that the Italian could be considered for the job himself. However, his lack of experience in a similar role may put Spurs off appointing him.
Tottenham are already facing battles to keep some of their star players this summer, with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min linked away, so losing a key member of the recruitment team would be disastrous at this stage of the window.
Gold describes Gabbanini has having a “great eye for talent” and as a “modern” scout that teams data analysis with the classic ‘eye test’. Gold also claims that Spurs’ chief scout will “quickly evaluate a player and deliver a firm opinion”.
Who are Spurs looking to sign?
It promises to be a hectic summer for Gabbanini and his team who are already monitoring a wide variety of players ahead of Postecoglou’s debut season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Lilywhites have already made Dejan Kulusevski’s loan permanent and are closing in on the acquisition of Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario for £17.2m.
Tottenham are reported frontrunners for Leicester City’s James Maddison, while also taking an interest in Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Edmond Tapsoba and a potential reunion between Postecoglou and Kyogo Furuhashi.
It is expected that Postecoglou will be given in excess of £100m to spend in the transfer window this summer as he tries to build this Spurs team in his image.
