Tottenham’s revamp of their recruitment department for the Ange Postecoglou era continues as they finalise the appointment of Rob Mackenzie as chief scout from Aston Villa.
That’s according to a fresh report from Football Insider, who claims the Lilywhites have now reached a full agreement to bring transfer specialist Rob Mackenzie back for what would be his second spell at the club.
After making his name at Leicester City, MacKenzie worked as Spurs’ head of player ID between February 2015 and August 2016, a period in which the club snapped up the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Kieran Trippier, and Heung-min Son for bargain fees.
Mackenzie has since worked for Derby and Belgian outfit OH Leuven before joining Villa in August 2020. While in the West Midlands, MacKenzie has worked as a chief scout and as a video analyst.
He helped them in the capture of Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez. In the last couple of seasons, he has helped head coach Unai Emery take Villa to the next level while also working under the head of football operations, Monchi. At Spurs, the 38-year-old replaces Leonardo Gabbanini, who left as chief scout in September.
🥇| The move to bring chief scout Rob Mackenzie back to the club is being seen within the game as an impressive capture@AlasdairGold pic.twitter.com/PMoEvFe3fD
— The Spurs Express (@TheSpursExpress) November 3, 2023
Along with the fresh and exciting brand of football on the pitch, Spurs now have a very different outlook off it, driven by new chief football officer Scott Munn. The recruiting department has seen significant changes, with managing director Fabio Paratici stepping down in April and performance director Gretar Steinsson departing in June.
Paratici has continued working for the club on a consultancy basis, while Munn has been promoted to the role of chief football officer, which is effectively chairman Daniel Levy’s No. 2 in the club’s hierarchy.
Tottenham confirmed on October 9 the capture of Dane Johan Lange as their new technical director, with the 43-year-old joining from Villa. And Tottenham are aiming to reunite him with MacKenzie, who handed in his notice at Villa to push through a return to Spurs.
Not only MacKenzie but Frederik Leth, the Midlands club’s head of football research, is also set to move across to Tottenham following years spent alongside Lange at Villa and earlier at FC Copenhagen.
A large degree of the focus off the pitch at Spurs right now will be on preparing for the January transfer window, with Lange eager to improve their transfer strategy and ensure most of their new reinforcements make a big impact on the team, although they did have a very successful summer window.
Summer signings including James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, and Guglielmo Vicario have helped Postecoglou’s side go to the top of the table, but expect them to be active in January, especially if they are still in the running for the Premier League title.
