Tottenham in ‘advanced talks’ to hand Postecoglou key Aston Villa man, as double raid takes shape
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou
Tottenham Hotspur are deep in negotiations with Rob MacKenzie as they try to take the Aston Villa chief to North London, according to a report.
On October 9, Tottenham announced 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.
According to Football Insider, talks between Villa’s recruitment expert MacKenzie and Spurs are at an ‘advanced’ stage. Spurs are busy preparing an official deal which will see the Englishman return to the club.
After making his name at Leicester City, MacKenzie worked as a scout for Spurs between February 2015 and August 2016. He then had spells at Derby County and Belgian outfit OH Leuven before moving to Villa in August 2020. While in the West Midlands, MacKenzie has worked as a chief scout and as a video analyst.
In recent seasons he has helped Unai Emery take Villa to the next level, while also working under president of football operations, Monchi.
MacKenzie has clearly impressed Spurs, as they are gunning to bring him into their setup. Should he join, then he would help manager Ange Postecoglou, who is thriving after joining Spurs over the summer.
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MacKenzie, 38, would also work under Lange and chief football officer Scott Munn. The latter was supposed to begin his role at Spurs in July, but the move was held up due to a delay with Munn’s former employers, the City Football Group. According to football.london, Munn actually started work at Spurs in September.
MacKenzie will aim to help Spurs improve their transfer strategy and ensure most of their new arrivals make a big impact on the team. Although, Spurs did have a very successful summer window, as new signings including James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario have helped Postecoglou’s side go top of the table.
MacKenzie moving to Spurs could see them begin talks over the captures of some of Villa’s best players, such as Ollie Watkins, John McGinn or Douglas Luiz. But Villa are intent on establishing themselves as regular top-four challengers, which means they will put up an intense fight to keep those stars.