A Tottenham Hotspur managerial target is stalling talks over a new deal at his current club, amid claims he’s high on the list of potential replacements for under-fire Lilywhites head coach Ange Postecoglou.
Tottenham's list of manager targets with Ange under pressure
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, while reportedly sticking with Postecoglou for the time being, is making contingency plans – in the event they do opt to hand the Australian his P45.
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2 ByEmilio Galantini
Tottenham had 11 senior players unavailable for their 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round, but Postecoglou has been handed a boost ahead of their Premier League clash with Man United on Sunday.
James Maddison, Destiny Udogie, Guglielmo Vicario, Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner are all back in contention for Spurs after resuming training this week (tottenhamhotspur.com), while Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Radu Dragusin, Dominic Solanke and Richarlison all remain out injured.
Man United (home)
February 16th
Ipswich Town (away)
February 22nd
Man City (home)
February 26th
Bournemouth (home)
March 9th
Fulham (away)
March 16th
All eyes are now on whether Postecoglou can resurrect Tottenham’s form with this influx of returning first-team stars, but if their form doesn’t pick up quickly, the 59-year-old will face more calls for his resignation.
According to some reports, Spurs are doing their due-diligence on possible managerial candidates for the future.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank would be a top target to replace Postecoglou (TEAMtalk), while the Italian media have reported that Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi has admirers within Tottenham as well.
Former Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzić, who guided the Bundesliga side to an unexpected Champions League final last term, is also thought to be among the potential contenders to succeed Postecoglou (TEAMtalk).
Another name who’s believed to be high on Spurs’ shortlist is Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola.
The Spaniard has marked himself out as a standout candidate amid his stellar job at the Vitality Stadium, leading the Cherries to seventh as they push for a Champions League place, which is all the more impressive considering their own injury problems right now.
Andoni Iraola stalls talks over new Bournemouth deal as Tottenham linger
As per The Boot Room and journalist Graeme Bailey, Spurs have been given some hope in regard to Iraola’s availability.
It is believed that Iraola has told Bournemouth he doesn’t wish to open new contract talks right now, coming as Tottenham express an interest in him as one of the possible names to succeed Postecoglou.
The north Londoners sniffing around Iraola is said to be privately worrying Bournemouth officials, even if they’re confident he’ll eventually stay, with Man City considering him to replace Pep Guardiola before the manager put pen to paper on a new deal.
Liverpool also apparently had Iraola on their list of candidates when they were hunting for Jürgen Klopp’s heir, so he is a tactician who’s very highly-rated by elite Premier League sides.
Former City defender Nedum Onuoha, speaking on the BBC’s Planet Premier League podcast, is among the pundits who’ve heralded Iraola’s “incredibly impressive” work on the south coast.