Former Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has made some serious mistakes during his nearly 25-year reign, and Spurs now appear to be looking to correct one of them.
Tottenham usher in a new era after Daniel Levy’s departure
Since Levy’s departure, which left senior football executives “stunned”, the Lilywhites have made some big announcements as the Lewis family looks to usher in a new era in N17.
Peter Charrington has been appointed as the club’s new non-executive chairman, with former Arsenal chief and CEO Vinay Venkatesham taking on a more prominent role in Spurs’ day-to-day running alongside members of the Lewis family.
Earlier this month, the north Londoners made a major statement of intent, announcing a new £100m capital injection through ENIC after rejecting three separate takeover approaches from former Newcastle United shareholder Amanda Staveley’s PCP International Finance Limited, a consortium of Firehawk Holdings Limited and American tech entrepreneur Brooklyn Erlich.
Shortly after, Tottenham also announced the return of transfer director Fabio Paratici, who will take up the role of co-sporting director alongside Johan Lange.
Paratici will essentially be a ‘deal maker’, responsible for securing high-profile signings, while Lange will be tasked with overseeing data-driven recruitment strategy and scouting (Sky Sports).
Announcements are coming regularly and quickly, with Spurs also confirming that Dan Lewindon will soon be appointed as the club’s new performance director, once his notice period has passed following his departure from City Group.
This major reorganization of the board follows a long Levy era that drew highly mixed reviews.
The 63-year-old oversaw Tottenham’s move to a brand new, state-of-the-art stadium and helped transform the club into one of football’s most profitable clubs, but Spurs’ lack of major silverware and a reputation for frugal spending have been the main themes of complaints over Levy’s tenure.
The most profitable club in world football — 2025 | value |
|---|---|
real madrid | 1.2 billion pounds |
man city | £727 million |
P.S.G. | 700 million pounds |
man united | £668 million |
bayern munich | £664 million |
FC Barcelona | £659.5 million |
arsenal | £621.5m |
liverpool | £620 million |
tottenham hotspur | £533m |
chelsea | £474 million |
via deloitte money league | |
Levy played a key role in bringing in Tottenham icons such as Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart, Luka Modric, Christian Eriksen and Moussa Dembele, while poaching the likes of Roberto Soldado and Vincent Janssen as the worst signings of the past 20 years.
As the season progresses, punting against Argentine striker Alejo Veliz also looks like a big mistake.
Alejo Velis expects to never play for Tottenham again
Levy signed the forward from Rosario Central for around £13m in a quick-fire double deal with Micky van de Ven two years ago, the latter of which was later exposed, but the same cannot be said of Bellis.
The 22-year-old made just eight appearances for Tottenham, scoring his first and only goal in 2023 against Brighton in the Premier League.
He then moved on loan to Sevilla and Espanyol before returning to Rosario, but pundit John Wenham believes Bellis will never play for Spurs again after a disappointing spell abroad.
“I’ve never seen him feature for Tottenham.”‘, Wenham told Tottenham News.
“I think it’s a lot of money, but we spent a similar fee on Pape Matar Sarr. We had a similar fee on Lukas Bergvall and look at what he’s worth now. We spent even less on Luka Vusković.”
“So you’re going to take some gambles, but not all of them will pay off. Just because you spent £13m on Bellis doesn’t mean it’s a terrible recruitment.”
The South American, who scored 24 goals in 75 senior appearances for Rosario before joining Spurs, is now at a crossroads despite previously showing signs of greatness in north London.
Praised for his “incredible” ability in the air, Velis was also described as an “exciting” player to watch by Spanish football experts.
Graham Hunter said in 2024: “There’s a certain something about him that means sometimes you try something and it’s like ‘no’. I think he can be a 16 or 17 goal (striker) this season.”
“That’s a big question. I know I could be wrong, but what I see in him is that extra element of judgment, movement and ability to stop players.
“He’s very raw as a farm boy. Partly because he’s a country boy, but they’ve got an exciting footballer.”
Tottenham are currently reported to be in the market for a new striker, making it increasingly unlikely that Bellis will feature.
