Franco Baldini leaves Tottenham as club shift focus towards developing academy stars

Legacy: Baldini masterminded the acquisition of seven players after the departure of Gareth Bale - with patchy results
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James Olley28 September 2015

Tottenham today confirmed the departure of technical director Franco Baldini by mutual consent.

The 54-year-old leaves his post after just over two years at White Hart Lane after being appointed in June 2013.

Baldini’s performance in the role will divide opinion among the club’s supporters after he oversaw the £86million departure of Gareth Bale in his first transfer window before playing a key role in signing the much vaunted ‘magnificent seven’ of Erik Lamela, Roberto Soldado, Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen, Etienne Capoue, Paulinho and Vlad Chiriches.

Only three of those players are still at the club. Over time, Baldini’s role was reduced to dealing solely with players leaving Spurs. Although it is believed he agreed a severance package with the club in August, the Italian stayed on to streamline the squad this summer, significantly reducing Tottenham’s wage bill in the process.

The appointment of Paul Mitchell as head of recruitment and analysis last November gradually marginalised Baldini’s influence. Mitchell worked with manager Mauricio Pochettino as a talent scout at Southampton and was credited with identifying Graziano Pelle, Dusan Tadic and Sadio Mane, who all joined the Saints last summer.

The move will consequently be seen as a further show of solidarity behind Pochettino, who recommended Mitchell for the role with chairman Daniel Levy keen to follow Southampton’s lead in developing their own players, particularly given the recent successes of Harry Kane, Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb in coming through the ranks.

A brief statement on Tottenham’s official website read: “We can confirm that Franco Baldini has left the Club by mutual consent. Franco joined us as Technical Director in June 2013 from AS Roma where he was General Director. He leaves us now to spend time outside of club football. We wish him all the best for the future.”

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