By Wayne Veysey

30th Oct, 2023 | 6:50am

Sources: Tottenham in advanced talks to agree deal with Aston Villa's Rob MacKenzie

Tottenham are in advanced talks to lure Aston Villa recruitment chief Rob MacKenzie, sources have told Football Insider.

The Premier League leaders are working on a deal to hire MacKenzie for a second time after he spent 18 months at the club from 2015 to 2016.

Tottenham have set their sights on the Villa head of recruitment after announcing on 9th October that Johan Lange was joining from the Midlands giants as their technical director.

The Dane is set to officially begin work at Spurs on Wednesday and will have responsibility for recruitment, analytics and talent identification across the club’s senior and academy teams.

Tottenham are keen to reunite Lange with MacKenzie, who has been head of recruitment at Villa since August 2020.

He has previously held senior recruitment roles at Derby County and Belgian club OH Leuven, after making his name as head of player identification at Tottenham, which involved recommending scouting targets to the club’s transfer team.

Lange had been squeezed out at Villa after Monchi took over as the club’s president of football operations in the summer, in a move that effectively put the Spaniard in charge of the first-team recruitment.

Villa owners NSWE had been concerned with Lange’s transfer record during his three-year reign at the club.

He hwas responsible for signing flops like Bertrand Traore, Morgan Sanson and Leon Bailey for big-money fees – while more successful stars like Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash were also signed on his watch.

Lange held the role of global director of football development and at Villa from June 2023, having previously been sporting director from 2020.

In other news, Sheikh could sensationally now buy Tottenham amid ‘incredible’ Levy reveal.