Ciaran Morrison

Thu 12 March 2026 13:45, UK

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Dougie Freedman and Thiago Pinto are the candidates to replace Johan Lange as Tottenham Hotspur’s sporting director.

That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, amid increasing scrutiny over Lange’s role at the club.

Spurs have endured a miserable season on the pitch, with the club battling to remain in the Premier League, and the interim appointment of Igor Tudor has yet to improve results.

Fellow sporting director Fabio Paratici left in January, with Spurs’ leadership group questioned over their running of the club since the departure of Daniel Levy as executive chairman.

Dougie Freedman backed to ‘stabilise’ Tottenham

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – thinks Freedman would be an “interesting” appointment for Spurs.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness believes Pinto could be a strong hire if the club remains in the Premier League.

He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast:  “Well, it certainly is difficult. I mean, the mess they’ve had with Johan Lange and Paratici, it just didn’t seem right to me anyway for some period of time.

“The names I’m hearing, Thiago Pinto from Bournemouth and old Dougie Freedman coming back from Saudi would be an interesting one. And I think he might be the right sort of pick to come in and stabilise things.

“Also, if Spurs did go down, Dougie Freedman’s got enough knowledge of the British game that he could actually put together the squad to get them back up quickly. That’s interesting.

“Whereas I think Thiago Pinto from Bournemouth is more of a Premier League specialist and getting some young talent in. So those are the sort the names I’m hearing whispers about.”  

Tottenham show interest in Premier League manager

Former Man United scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that Spurs could be interested in Unai Emery becoming the club’s next permanent manager.

Mauricio Pochettino is Spurs’ number one managerial target, but Emery has impressed at Aston Villa and could quit the club over their financial constraints.

Man United could be another possible destination for Emery in the summer, whilst Spurs would have to remain in the Premier League to tempt the 54-year-old to join the club.