Spurs target Freedman in sporting director search

Tottenham are interested in appointing Dougie Freedman as their new sporting director, as the club continues its restructure despite concerns over Igor Tudor’s position as interim head coach.

The club have been searching for a replacement for Fabio Paratici, who left in January after his second stint in north London as sporting director.

Freedman, who excelled during an eight-year period as sporting director at Crystal Palace, left the Eagles in 2025 and has since joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Diriyah.

He was instrumental in the recruitment of players such as Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, Adam Wharton and Dean Henderson.

Spurs hope to have a new sporting director in place in time for them to influence the decision over who becomes the club’s next permanent manager, with Tudor initially in place until the end of the season.

There has been significant structural change at Spurs over the past 12 months, with executive chairman Daniel Levy stepping down last September and Carlos Raphael Moersen joining as director of football operations in January.

But the search for a new sporting director comes at a time when the club is mired in the Premier League relegation battle.

Thursday night’s defeat by Crystal Palace means Spurs are just one point above the bottom three with nine matches remaining.

Spurs replaced Thomas Frank with Tudor in February, with the Croatian’s track record of instantly improving under-performing teams one of the key attractions to his appointment.

But Tudor has lost all three of his games in charge, raising concerns about his suitability for the role.

On Friday morning, club sources told BBC Sport that Tottenham have no immediate plans to change manager for a second time this campaign.

The club also confirmed that Tudor is scheduled to undertake the pre-match news conference, before Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 first-leg tie at Atletico Madrid, providing further indication that Spurs are sticking with him for now.