Gabbanini says he wanted to sign one Spurs player as a 14-year-old starlet
Tottenham’s former chief scout Leonardo Gabbanini has spoken about the work that went on behind the scenes to identify the club’s summer targets.
Tottenham did some outstanding business during the summer transfer window, with the likes of Maddison, Guglielmo Vicario, and Micky van de Ven hitting the ground running after arriving at the club.
Gabbanini, who departed Spurs last month, played a prominent role in the club’s summer business after Fabio Paratici vacated his role as Spurs’ managing director of football.
When asked about the acquisition of Maddison, the Italian told The Athletic: “Honestly he’s a perfect player, there wasn’t any deep scouting activity needed there.”
Gabbanini admitted that his role involved making predictions on players’ career trajectories, revealing that Ange Postecolgou was also keen on knowing about the players’ personalities before green-lighting any transfer.
He continued: “When we have a player like Van de Ven, it’s not as simple as, ‘He’s tall and fast’. We have to predict the future. You need to be sure when (decision makers) start to say, ‘I don’t know, the price is high, he’s young, not in the national team’.
“Your job is to be there and say, ‘No, go ahead. He will achieve great things’. And this is the thing I’m most proud of at Tottenham because I didn’t fight for obvious players.
“Knowing the background, the history and education of the player was fundamental in saying this is the player for us. Ange is the same, he wants to know the person, he wants to know the man behind the player. So it was a high level of scouting with a focus on the player as a person.”
Gabbanini wanted Destiny Udogie for years and years
The 42-year-old admitted that Destiny Udogie, who was signed last year and loaned back to Udinese, was someone that he had his eye on for a long time, remarking that the Italian is a better fit for the Premier League than the Serie A.
Gabbanini said about the left-back: “Destiny is a player that I first wanted to sign six years ago for Udinese and Watford. I always had in my mind that he would become a top player.
“Ange has helped him improve a lot already from last season, and perhaps playing in the Premier League is a better fit for him. The coach is so good and clear in his instructions, he gives Destiny and every young player a clear pathway to follow.”
When asked about the acquisition of Vicario, Spurs’ former chief scout responded: “Signing him was a team decision and it’s clear that (last season) our targets were different because we had a different coach. But when you have the scouting department leading the process, the names will be different.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is obvious that Postecoglou had identified Maddison as one of his top targets as soon as he took the job. However, Leandro Gabbiani, Paratici and Tottenham’s recruitment department deserve immense credit for the acquisitions of Udogie, Van de Ven and Vicario.
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