Tottenham Hotspur are closing in on a deal to add Jeff Vetere to Fabio Paratici's recruitment team in north London.

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That's according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that the Italian sporting director has given the green light for Daniel Levy to close a deal with the former Real Madrid scout, who looks set to become the Premier League side's new U21s head of recruitment.

The report goes on to suggest that Spurs are looking to shake up the structure of their youth department after being criticised for failing to keep hold of some of their most promising emerging talents in recent seasons, as well as seeing a lack of academy prospects make the jump from youth to first-team football.

Levy masterclass

As the report suggests, considering just how poor Tottenham have been in their retention and development of youth talents in recent years, the fact that Levy looks to be addressing this issue with the appointment of Vetere is undoubtedly something of a masterclass by the Spurs chairman.

Indeed, the club's disappointing record in keeping hold of their most exciting prospects was personified in the 2-0 Champions League defeat at Sporting Lisbon last Tuesday - a game in which former Tottenham academy talent Marcus Edwards stole the show for the Portuguese side.

Over the course of his 89 minutes on the pitch, the £18m-rated forward who left north London on a free transfer back in 2019 was a thorn in Antonio Conte's side all evening, completing four dribbles, making two key passes, finding his man with one cross and completing 80% of his attempted passes on the night.

The 23-year-old also very nearly scored what would have potentially been one of the best goals the Champions League has ever seen, winding his way through half of the Tottenham team before forcing Hugo Lloris into a smart save. It was a run that the Portuguese press went crazy for, with Record dubbing it "magic," O Jogo labelling it "artistic" and A Bola claiming it was "transcendent."

Indeed, this performance led many to question exactly how Spurs had not recognised the incredible amount of potential Edwards undoubtedly possessed before releasing him - something that would explain Levy's move to appoint Vetere a little over a week after the winger's display against his former club.

And, should the 56-year-old's arrival see Tottenham begin to blood significantly more youth prospects in their first team over the coming years, Levy's appointment of Vetere will certainly be looked back on as something of a masterclass by the chairman.