Harry Kane has paid his respects to "truly remarkable man" Gian Piero Ventrone following the Tottenham fitness coach's death.
Tottenham confirmed on Thursday that Ventrone, who joined the club last November as part of Antonio Conte's backroom staff, had passed away.
Ventrone was nicknamed 'The Marine' because of his tough training sessions, yet he was well respected by Tottenham's players.
Kane was among those to pay tribute to Ventrone on social media, saying he will forever be grateful for the advice received from the Italian.
"A truly remarkable man. I'm devastated by the passing of our coach Gian Piero," Kane posted. "My love and strength is with his family at this time.
"His words and wisdom will live on with me for the rest of my life and I'm just grateful I had the opportunity to spend time with him. RIP Prof."
Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Ventrone died on Thursday in Naples at the age of 62 after a battle with leukaemia.
Ventrone spent a decade at Juventus and also worked for Catania, JS Suning, GZ Evergrande and Ajaccio, prior to reuniting with Conte in north London.
He was credited with helping to drive a radical improvement in the Tottenham players' fitness, with forward Richarlison among those to benefit following his arrival from Everton.
"Since I arrived at Tottenham, Gian has been a huge inspiration to me," the Brazil international said. "He always said that I would help him a lot during the season.
"But who helped me was him... much more than he can imagine. Today we woke up to the terrible news of his passing and we are all devastated.
"We will continue to play for you, my friend, who taught us to never give up! Thank you so much and rest in peace!"
Ventrone had two stints at Juventus between 1996 and 1999 and 2001 and 2004, helping to shape the side that won the Champions League in the first of those spells.
The Italian giants paid their own tribute on Thursday in a statement on their official website.
The statement read: "We will always remember his attention to detail, his work philosophy, and perhaps his greatest talent, the understanding that football – and especially the fundamental components of conditioning and athleticism – was gradually entering a new era.
"A new era that, in part, he helped write."
Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure
Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.
In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.
He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.
"It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.
"It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."
Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.
Nurnberg 3-0 Juventus: Motta's men thrashed in first pre-season friendly
Thiago Motta's first game in charge of Juventus ended in defeat as an unfamiliar Bianconeri side was thrashed 3-0 by 2. Bundesliga outfit Nurnberg on Friday.
The likes of Timothy Weah, Nicolo Fagioli and Dusan Vlahovic were limited to substitute roles as Motta selected a young side at Max-Morlock-Stadion, with the latter hitting the post with a second-half penalty at 1-0.
Caspar Jander had earlier given Nurnberg a 19th-minute lead, and they put some gloss on the scoreline with two late strikes after Vlahovic's missed spot-kick.
Substitutes Dustin Forkel and Tim Janisch both converted from inside the penalty area in the final four minutes as Motta's reign began in disappointing fashion.
The Bianconeri are next in action versus Brest on Saturday, with a further friendly against Atletico Madrid in the diary before they begin their Serie A campaign at Como on August 19.
Data Debrief: Juve's second string miss their chance
It's fair to say few of the youngsters selected by Motta made a big impression, with the Bianconeri only managing two shots to Nurnberg's seven before they rang the changes at half-time.
No Juventus starter created a chance in Bavaria, and things did not get much better when Motta made his changes, with Vlahovic in particular enduring a disappointing outing.
He only had 18 touches, one of them coming when he struck the woodwork from 12 yards.
Postecoglou urges Tottenham fans to be patient amid transfer 'misinformation'
Ange Postecoglou has urged Tottenham fans to have patience when it comes to bringing new players in during the transfer window.
Spurs have signed just two new faces so far, with Archie Gray joining from Leeds United in a deal reportedly worth up to £40million, and Lucas Bergvall signing from Djurgardens.
Alongside the two 18-year-olds, Timo Werner has also been resigned on loan for the upcoming season. He enjoyed an impressive start after initially joining in January, as he contributed two goals and three assists, but his season was ended prematurely by injury.
While the Spurs faithful are keen for their club to bring more reinforcements, Postecoglou asked for their trust as the club works towards adding to the squad.
"At this time of year, it's pretty hard for supporters because they don't have all the information, and it's fair to say there's plenty of misinformation out there," he said in a press conference.
"We're working hard to bring players in, and it's a process that you sometimes have to be patient with. But in terms of what we set out to do, that's still the plan, and you have to stay disciplined with that.
"Sometimes the timings don’t work out, and it doesn’t happen as quickly as you want, and you don't get them [players] in at the right time, but I think it's really important you stay disciplined and not run off and chase other things.
"So, what we started with at the start of summer is still there, and I wouldn't want to put timelines on it. A lot of that is out of our control, and we just need to be patient.
"From where I sit, at the moment, we're still in that phase where what we identified is still what we're after."
Spurs will face Japanese side Vissel Kobe in their next pre-season match on Saturday.
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