Forget Richarlison: Levy has quietly made one of the best signings of Spurs reign – Our View

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So far this summer, Tottenham supremo Daniel Levy has overseen some of the biggest deals of his Spurs reign, but none more so than the appointment of Gianni Vio.

The north Londoners hired the 69-year-old as their Set Pieces Coach back in July, with the intention of making Tottenham more threatening from dead-ball situations.

In previous years, Spurs have often failed to threaten the opposition from set piece deliveries, although that now seems as if it’s starting to change.

What’s the story?

Well, you only need to look at Tottenham’s start to the Premier League campaign to see how Vio has made an impact.

Antonio Conte saw his side score a fine freekick in the 4-1 win over Southampton, as Eric Dier flicked on a whipped cross from Heung-min Son.

The Italian – who was described as “one of the best” during his time at Leeds back in 2017/18 – had an influence as Harry Kane scored a late headed equaliser against Chelsea last weekend in the 2-2 draw.

As one fan on Twitter pointed out, you could see how the movement of Ben Davies and Dier helped to free up space for the Tottenham No.10 to head the ball past Edouard Mendy.

Now, Spurs have again benefitted from a set piece, after Kane nodded home from close range following a smart corner routine.

Son played a low delivery into the head of Ivan Perisic, whose flick-on managed to take out a number of Wolves players and allow Kane the simplest of finishes.

In what was a gritty game – where Tottenham certainly weren’t at their best – the influence of Vio won them all three points.

Tottenham have a diamond in Gianni Vio

Amazingly, Vio is said to have nearly 5,000 different set pieces in his repertoire – according to the Evening Standard – while he also helped Italy win EURO 2020 before his move to N17.

He is arguably the finest in his role across Europe, and his efforts at Hotspur Way could win Spurs an extra five or ten points this season – at this rate anyway.

While Richarlison and Yves Bissouma were the headline additions, the under-the-radar addition of Vio could be the shrewdest move of Levy’s reign so far.