Tottenham Hotspur reportedly intend to hire a new sporting director before they bring in a permanent successor to former manager Antonio Conte.
A tumultuous 2023 for Tottenham has seen both Conte and ex-sporting director Fabio Paratici leave their posts, as well as the sacking of interim manager Cristian Stellini after just 29 days.
Ryan Mason has subsequently taken the reins for a second time, also doing so at the end of the 2020-21 season, as Daniel Levy spearheads Tottenham's search for a new manager in the absence of a sporting director.
Paratici spent under two years at the helm in North London before resigning last month amid his 30-month suspension from all footballing activities worldwide, having been implicated in the recent Juventus financial scandal.
Tottenham stood by Paratici when he was initially given a 30-month ban from Italian football in January, but he stepped aside from his duties at the end of March after his ban was extended worldwide.
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After failing with an appeal, Paratici left Tottenham for good towards the end of April, less than a month after Conte departed by mutual consent following his scathing attack on his players.
Levy is working to whittle down his list of managerial candidates, although some head coaches - such as early favourite Julian Nagelsmann - could be reluctant to take the job without a sporting director in place.
As a result, The Mirror claims that Tottenham are prioritising finding Paratici's replacement before they intensify their search for a new head coach, and they have already identified a potential candidate.
The report adds that Benfica's Rui Pedro Braz is admired by Tottenham, having brokered the big-money sales of Darwin Nunez and Enzo Fernandez to Liverpool and Chelsea respectively.
Thanks to Braz's work in the transfer market, Benfica are on the verge of sealing their first Primeira Liga title since 2019, sitting four points clear at the top of the table with three games left to play.
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Last month, Tottenham also announced that Scott Munn would become their new chief football officer, meaning that he will effectively serve as Levy's right-hand man, but he is not due to start in his role until July 1.
As a result, Spurs fans may be waiting another couple of months for significant movement in their team's managerial search, and there are fears that Nagelsmann's appointment could ultimately prove to be too expensive.
While the 35-year-old was sacked by Bayern Munich, he was placed on gardening leave and is therefore understood to still be collecting his wages, so Bayern could be in line for a compensation package of £10m or more.
Nevertheless, Nagelsmann - who pulled out of the running to become the next Chelsea head coach - is believed to be interested in the Tottenham job, but Spurs have been linked with names such as Xabi Alonso, Arne Slot, Oliver Glasner and Ruben Amorim as possible replacements.
Mason claimed his first win from his second stint in the Tottenham hotseat over Crystal Palace last weekend, allowing Spurs to cement their sixth-placed ranking in the table ahead of Saturday's trip to Aston Villa.
