Tottenham Hotspur 'need to replace' outgoing transfer guru Paul Mitchell

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that the club intends to appoint a successor to outgoing transfer guru Paul Mitchell. The head of recruitment and analysis's departure from White Hart Lane was announced back in August, with Spurs revealing that he would be leaving the Premier League club "at a future date to be mutually agreed".

According to The Guardian, Mitchell, who followed Pochettino from Southampton to north London in November 2014, handed in his resignation amid frustrations with the position unrelated to his relationship with the manager. It was subsequently reported that the 35-year-old was expected to work a "significant portion" of a six-month notice period and would remain at Tottenham beyond the end of the summer transfer window.

The topic of Mitchell's exit was later discussed at a meeting between the supporters' trust and the board back in September, with Tottenham apparently "open-minded" over the possibility of employing a direct replacement.

Addressing the situation again on Friday (9 December) during a press conference held prior to this weekend's trip to Manchester United, Pochettino revealed that the former Wigan Athletic and MK Dons midfielder, responsible for recruiting the likes of key first-team players Dele Alli and Toby Alderweireld during his two-year tenure, was still working at the club – and that there exists an appetite to replace him.

"It is true that here at Tottenham we need to replace him," he said in response to a question from the London Evening Standard. "The club believe that, not only me. Paul Mitchell is still working for us, and it is a normal process to find another person who can cope with his job in the future."

Tottenham would presumably be eager to have a new transfer chief in place before the window re-opens for business next month. However, Pochettino is aware of the myriad of problems associated with attempting to secure influential new signings in January.

"I think in January it's always difficult to find the right profile to help you, and always when you bring players from outside there's not much time for them to settle at your club and in your philosophy, for many reasons," he added, according to the Hampstead & Highgate Express.

Fifth-place Spurs head to Manchester on Sunday (11 December) hoping to end a run of four away matches without a victory and collect only a third win in their last 27 league trips to Old Trafford. Left-back Ben Davies is fit again following more than a month out with an ankle injury, although Erik Lamela, who had been suffering from a hip complaint, remains in Argentina due to family issues. Striker Vincent Janssen recently received an injection to his own ankle and could return within a fortnight.