Tottenham Hotspur have made a major move behind the scenes this week...

What's the word?

According to The Athletic, Spurs have appointed Leonardo Gabbanini as their new chief scout after the 42-year-old left his dual role with Championship side Watford and Serie A outfit Udinese back in May.

It's another huge decision from sporting director Fabio Paratici, who has already taken steps in his restructuring of the club's staff by landing Andy Scoulding from Scottish giants Rangers.

Gabbanini is set for an "important role" in helping and developing the scouting network under the guidance of performance director Gretar Steinsson.

Paratici masterclass

After sealing as many as eight new signings this summer and being tasked with changing things behind the scenes, this will be yet another masterclass from the Italian supremo.

Gabbanini's role at the Hornets increased in 2019 following the departure of Andy Scott and it's clear that his influence is already being felt as Spurs are set to sign young left wing-back Destiny Udogie from Udinese.

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It remains to be seen if he had any part in the deal specifically but few will know the Italy U21 international better.

But what makes this appointment so good, aside from the fact that the north Londoners did not have someone active in the role already, is the man stepping into the shoes.

“Before moving from the field to the desk, he had already shown undoubted talent scout skills,” claimed Maikol Di Stefano, who worked alongside Gabbanini when he managed Italian lower league team Civitanovese. "The truth is that, in recent years, precisely to improve his scout qualities on the field, he has travelled extensively in Europe, looking for new talents."

It will also lower the burden on Paratici to 'do everything' at Hotspur Way as he is now putting a solid scouting network in place that can identify talent in advance, rather than it being solely down to the former Juventus chief to do so.

As such, this will have a positive knock-on effect for manager Antonio Conte as he'll be getting top-quality players that can have an impact in his squad now, as well as in the long-term future as seen by signing players like Udogie, Pape Matar Sarr and Bryan Gil, so this will certainly be a great decision from Paratici.

AND in other news, Spurs "interested" in £34m-rated "big talent", he's a true heir to £100k-p/w "legend"...