Crystal Palace have experienced some problems when it comes to recruitment ever since Dougie Freedman left for Al-Diriyah in March 2025.
The Glaswegian made a name for himself as one of the best recruiters in football while at Selhurst Park, largely building the side who won the FA Cup as he helped to sign the likes of Eberechi Eze, Daniel Munoz, Maxence Lacroix, Adam Wharton and Ismaila Sarr for minimal fees.
Steve Parish has seemingly moved away from the policy of snapping up unproven talents for small fees since the Scot departed, instead spending heavily on established players such as Yeremy Pino, Jorgen Strand Larsen and Brennan Johnson, the latter of whom arrived in a £35m move from Tottenham in January.
Now, as Tottenham sleepwalk towards relegation after a string of misses in the transfer market, the north Londoners have opened talks with Dougie Freedman in a bid to turn the situation around.
Tottenham approach Dougie Freedman 12 months after Crystal Palace exit
The length of the contract Freedman signed in Saudi Arabia was never disclosed, but the 51-year-old could soon be heading back to London to work against Crystal Palace.
The Independent believe Spurs have made contact with the former Crystal Palace player, coach, manager and director as decision makers in N17 aim to revamp the club.
It is unclear how Freedman personally views the prospect of working at Tottenham, but the Independent mention that sporting directors within football view the role as appealing due to ‘the chance of having a blank canvas to reinvigorate a giant club’ who are currently on their knees.
Crystal Palace’s 3-1 win at Tottenham last time out in the Premier League left Spurs teetering dangerously above the relegation zone, sitting one point above West Ham, who are 18th.
The Hammers also have seven wins from the last 11 under Nuno Espirito Santo, so Spurs are in real trouble amid a run of six consecutive defeats.
Nottingham Forest – who put Parish to shame when backtracking on ticket prices – could save Tottenham from the drop, however, having recorded just one win in the last eight games.
Steve Parish has to try and convince Dougie Freedman to return
Seeing Freedman at Tottenham would be painful for any Crystal Palace fan after his tremendous work in south London, but it would be made worse if Parish did not even try to bring the Scot back to SE25.
The likes of Larsen and Evann Guessand – who Crystal Palace are obligated to buy for £28m if he records five more goal involvements while on loan from Aston Villa – have proven to be strong additions, but the current policy does not seem to be a sustainable one.
If the deal for the Ivorian becomes permanent, we would have spent £111m on Larsen, Guessand and Johnson, not to mention £26m for Yeremy Pino last August – who is yet to prove his worth.
Yeremi Pino of Crystal Palace
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
Spending like this cannot continue, and there will be a time where the Eagles need to return to the policy which saw Eze and Michael Olise arrive for a combined fee of £24m, not to mention Jean-Philippe Mateta and Chris Richards for lowly sums of £10m each.
Freedman – who Manchester United also looked at hiring – proved himself to be the master of these deals while at Crystal Palace, so Parish has to at least try and see if he would be open to returning.