Sources: Tottenham agree deal with ex-Aston Villa man Jeff Vetere
Tottenham have appointed recruitment expert Jeff Vetere to their scouting team after reaching an agreement, sources have told Football Insider.
This site broke the news on Tuesday morning (20th September) that the Londoners were close to agreeing a deal for the former Aston Villa and Newcastle United talent-spotter to head their Under-21s recruitment.
It is believed a full agreement is in place for Vetere to join Tottenham and he has begun work behind the scenes.
The deal has been pushed through by Spurs managing director Fabio Paratici, who knows Vetere well and has given the green light to the appointment.
He has advanced Vetere’s credentials even though he has not held a senior recruitment post for four-and-a-half years.
The 56-year-old was sacked as Birmingham City director of football in March 2018 at the same time Steve Cotterill lost his job as manager.
But he has extensive experience at elite Premier League clubs, as well as at Real Madrid, and also speaks five languages.
Vetere has worked in the Premier League for Charlton Athletic, West Ham, Newcastle United and Fulham as well as at EFL clubs.
His most senior post was at Aston Villa, where he was chief scout when Gerrard Houllier was the manager a decade ago.
Tottenham have moved for Vetere as they look to shake up their youth-team recruitment.
The London giants have been criticised for failing to bring through top talent in recent years, in a marked departure from the success of the pathway that produced the likes of Harry Kane and Harry Winks, as well as for letting their rising stars join rivals.
Spurs graduate Marcus Edwards showed up his old side last week in the Champions League when he produced an impressive display for Sporting Lisbon as they beat Tottenham 2-0 .
In other news, Tottenham expert issues ‘huge’ naming rights claim after source’s Amazon reveal.