Even though Ange Postecoglou brought the Europa League title - and thus Champions League football - back to Tottenham Hotspur, his future has never been fully predicated upon his success in the continental competition due to Tottenham's horrible Premier League record this season - among other things.
But Postecoglou has bought himself some goodwill with the fans and a more than fair shot at keeping his job for the Champions League season to come. He did his end and brought the trophy to Tottenham, but, now, Postecoglou's future is entirely out of his hands.
According to a report from insider Fabrizio Romano, via Spurs Connect, bringing back executive Fabio Paratici to the Tottenham front office is still one of the priorities for the club in the summer 2025 offseason.
Ange Postecoglou doesn't control his own future
Paratici's future and impending return are as big of a storyline as the questions around Postecoglou's future, and they are absolutely interrelated. Tottenham's Europa League title triumph has more of Paratici's fingerprints on it than Postecoglou's when you look at the quality of players he brought in and how important they were in bringing this trophy home for Spurs.
So Daniel Levy and Tottenham have a lot of trust in Paratici and what he thinks. Paratici isn't stupid, and he knows exactly what level of success to attribute to Postecoglou and where to blame him for this historically woeful Premier League season. Unlike fans and writers like me, Paratici is going to be objective with how he assesses the managerial situation at Tottenham.
But he's going to be subjective in one sense, if brought in as the sporting director again. He will get plenty of say and privilege from Levy in order to be convinced back, and he will know that he has the opportunity to pick whichever manager he wants from those available. And that could end up being the most decisive factor in what leads to Postecoglou's dismissal or retention.
It could all be in Paratici's hands. Most of the speculation has focused on Paratici hiring someone new or being a part of the decision-making team IF Postecoglou is fired, but even before a decision is made on Big Ange, if Tottenham are indeed prioritizing Paratici's return and are actively working to bring him in right at this second, then there is no doubt that they are having two-way conversations about Postecoglou and if Paratici sees a future with him working alongside the current Tottenham boss.