Spurs’ interest in Freedman is simple to understand.<\/p>\n
His track record of identifying untapped talent is well documented: Guehi, Wharton, Olise and Eze are just four of his finds.<\/p>\n
But his reputation of being a sporting director whose main strength lies in unearthing players from the lower leagues doesn’t represent a full representation of Freedman’s skillset.<\/p>\n
Jean-Philippe Mateta, Daniel Munoz, Dean Henderson, Ismaila Sarr, Cheick Doucoure and Maxence Lacroix were all signed on Freedman’s watch at Crystal Palace<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a study compiled by Transfer Room, the 51-year-old was ranked third in a list of sporting directors according to the net value added to their respective squads – behind only former Manchester City<\/a> executive Txiki Begiristain and Timmo Hardung of Eintracht Frankfurt.<\/p>\n The study concluded that Freedman’s signings added \u20ac374million to Palace’s squad.<\/p>\n Indeed, Palace have benefited from selling Freedman’s signings.<\/p>\n Olise, signed for \u00a38m, joined Bayern Munich for \u00a360m; Eze, bought for \u00a319.5m, was sold to Arsenal<\/a> in a deal worth \u00a367.5m.<\/p>\n Palace rejected a \u00a370m package for Guehi from Newcastle<\/a> in the summer of 2024 before selling the defender to Manchester City<\/a> for \u00a320m in January \u2013 the cut-price deal owing to the fact he had just six months on his contract.<\/p>\n Wharton, who is being touted as an \u00a380m player, was signed for an initial \u00a318m but has top-level interest from the Premier League and Europe.<\/p>\n And, of course, Freedman’s work at Palace was capped by last year’s FA Cup final triumph.<\/p>\n Freedman’s role in building that historic Palace team was huge but he was also central to Oliver Glasner’s appointment.<\/p>\n Those who have worked closely with Freedman describe someone who offers a non-nonsense approach to the job.<\/p>\n He tells it how he sees it, a trait Tottenham<\/a> \u2013 given the situation they are in – may benefit from.<\/p>\n But it is his ability to work closely alongside managers, rather than against them, to sign players who can flourish under the head coach’s team structures that is described as one of his best attributes.<\/p>\n