Tottenham's managing director of football Fabio Paratici has been jetting between England and Italy as the summer transfer window really begins to get going.
Paratici, who celebrates his 50th birthday next month, has been busy since the end of the Premier League season, spending three days most weeks working at Hotspur Way and the other four at his Turin base in Italy. His jet-setting style of working was perfectly exemplified on Thursday as football.london understands he took part in some of an all day standard board meeting at Tottenham before leaving it to fly to Milan and speak to various Serie A clubs about potential transfers.
Antonio Conte wants as many new faces as possible through the doors to join his squad ahead of their flight to Korea on July 9 for their tour and matches against a K League All Star team and Sevilla. Paratici has already landed his compatriot a trio of signings for that trip in Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster with more to come.
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The fans are understandably eager to get that fourth signing through the door but Spurs also need to get players out through it. The £150million cash injection from owners ENIC gave the club a cushion of sorts in being able to get players in without requiring to sell first, but Conte cannot end up with a bloated squad containing players who do not want to be there. Any additional funds coming in also only strengthen Paratici's hand further.
The departures will fall into two categories - the established players who the club are happy to sell and the younger players who could leave either on loan or permanently if the offer is too tempting.
Joe Rodon falls into that latter category with a number of clubs interested in the Wales international. There have been reports of interest from Roma, but that is not believed to have manifested into anything concrete at this point.
Roma boss Jose Mourinho does have plenty of affection for the player. football.london understands that on the day he left Spurs, Mourinho told skipper Hugo Lloris to look after the young Welsh defender because he felt he had the potential to become the best defender at the club and a special player.
A loan move for the 24-year-old Welshman, wherever it may be to, might be the best option for all parties because a successful campaign of regular top flight football would at worst increase Rodon's price tag or at best prepare him to challenge at Spurs on his return.
If Rodon does secure a loan move, that could well be accompanied by a new contract to increase the basic salary he has been on since arriving from Championship side Swansea. Spurs are no different to most Premier League clubs in often utilising loan moves for young players as an opportunity to increase contracts to what the loan club are willing to pay each week and in the mean time the parent club can protect their asset's value with a longer deal.
Bryan Gil is another young player likely to depart the club this summer, with a string of admirers across Europe, and Tottenham will have to decide whether it's too soon to cut ties permanently with a 21-year-old touted as one of the most talented young wingers on the continent. Conte has already publicly stated that the Spain international is not ready for the Premier League but with a contract until 2026, it would take a tempting offer for Spurs to let Gil go permanently.
Another player in the young category is Japhet Tanganga, who has now fully recovered following his knee surgery in March and Conte and Paratici will have to decide whether the 23-year-old's versatility makes him difficult to lose if offers do arrive for him. Tanganga is also well regarded by some Italian clubs, which could make him a potential makeweight in deals over there as well as some in the Premier League.
Other young players expected to head out on loan include talented teenagers Dane Scarlett and Alfie Devine, who are currently impressing for England at the European U19 Championships. Conte will also make a decision on whether 19-year-old Pape Matar Sarr needs to head back out on loan, with the Senegal international having signed from Metz last summer and remained there for the season.
Then there are the established stars who the club will listen to offers for. Everton continue to try to prise away Harry Winks but their financial fair play problems mean they favour a loan move whereas Tottenham want at least £20million for the 26-year-old England international. It could be that a hybrid of the two paths ends up being the chosen one as all parties are keen for the move to happen.
Ajax are yet to meet Spurs' valuation of Steven Bergwijn but that move is expected to go through in the coming weeks with the player keen to move.
Paratici is looking for buyers for the club's two most expensive signings in their history in Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso, with more interest in the latter in both Spain and France after an impressive loan spell at Villarreal, helping them to reach the Champions League semi-finals. Ndombele's time back at Lyon was less successful and the French club did not activate the option to purchase him.
Spurs will also listen to offers for both Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal, although neither player is believed to be keen to leave the club. Despite Conte's fondness for Davinson Sanchez, Tottenham are expected to consider serious approaches for the Colombian, who has two years left on his contract and has admirers at Monaco.
Who departs Tottenham this summer and how many head out of that Hotspur Way door will dictate just how many replacements Conte requires Paratici to bring in. The two Italians in charge will have to balance the need for a bigger squad to handle the return of Champions League football and the ability to use five substitutes in the Premier League with keeping everyone happy. Managing that and bringing in more new players is set to keep Paratici busy as he constantly flies between countries.
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