Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy is reportedly lining up a stunning raid on a Premier League rival to secure the club their next manager, as pressure continues to mount on Ange Postecoglou in north London.
Spurs’ disastrous season domestically continued on Sunday as they crashed to a 2-0 defeat at London rivals Fulham, their 15th league loss which leaves them sitting 14th in the table with nine games to go.
Judging by his team selection prior to the game at Craven Cottage, Postecoglou appears to have placed all his eggs in the Europa League basket ahead of a two-legged quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Australian left out the likes of Micky van de Ven, James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and skipper Son Heung-min as Tottenham were comfortably beaten in the end, with former Spurs star Ryan Sessegnon grabbing the home’s second.
That defeat left more calls for Postecoglou’s head, while the Tottenham chief admitted that the amount of times his side has lost this season has been unacceptable.
The latest setback has once again sparked talk over who could take over, with TT previously confirming that the likes of Andoni Iraola, Thomas Frank and Edin Terzic are all firmly in the mix.
And, according to a fresh report from GiveMeSport, it’s Bournemouth chief Iraola who is Levy’s choice to replace Postecoglou, if he decides to pull the trigger.
The Cherries are enjoying a superb campaign under the Spaniard and went unbeaten against Tottenham twice this season, winning on the south coast and earning a recent draw in north London in a game where they largely outplayed the hosts.
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The report adds that contact has already been made with Iraola, despite Bournemouth planning to hold discussions over an improved contract for the 42-year-old.
There have been suggestions that Iraola would be open to the possibility of heading to the capital, if the opportunity presents itself, with Tottenham’s hierarchy confident that his head will be turned enough to make the switch.
GMS adds that Cherries owner Bill Foley is poised to hold face-to-face talks with Iraola to understand his plans for the future, with a lucrative new contract on the table to fend off Spurs’ interest.
Iraola was appointed as Bournemouth head coach in June 2023 and is reported to have a release clause of £5million written into his contract, which would present no issues to Tottenham.
As for Postecoglou, he will continue to play on his own words that ‘he always wins a trophy in his second season’, as success in the Europa League would mean direction qualification for next season’s Champions League.
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