Tottenham Hotspur may well be in the market for a new manager before too long.
Indeed, Ange Postecoglou is likely to be sacked at the end of the season after dragging Spurs down to being a bottom-half side this term.
Tottenham have a few managerial targets in mind – Marco Silva has been linked to Spurs lately.
However, Andoni Iraola is Tottenham’s top target after a fantastic season at Bournemouth.
Iraola has been ‘brilliant’ for Bournemouth this season, but Iraola is expected to stay at Bournemouth.
Speaking on The Transfers Podcast, Duncan Castles has been discussing Spurs’ links to Iraola, and he says that the Spaniard has actually already declined the chance to speak to Tottenham.
Andoni Iraola has rejected Tottenham
Castles shared what he knows about Iraola and Spurs.
The journalist says that Spurs have actually asked Iraola to have a chat recently, but the Bournemouth boss has been quick to knock Spurs back, instead opting to speak to Bournemouth about staying at the Vitality Stadium instead.
“He’s been talked about as a candidate to replace Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham for months now, mainly because Tottenham has been the most obvious well-financed Premier League club who have been, there’s been an expectation that they might change coach in the, through this season and in the summer. Interestingly, my guidance on this is that Tottenham’s approaches to Iraola have been rebuffed by the manager.
“He has been invited, I’m told, to speak to them about that position and has actually declined to do so. And instead has been having conversations with Bournemouth, informal conversation with Bournemouth for several weeks now, about not only continuing on his current contract, but signing a new contract to extend there. The club understandably love him, not just because of his results on the field, but because of his personality, the way he works.
“They find him a really useful coach to have in terms of building a squad, handling that squad and dealing with the media on a regular basis. They’re currently on course to qualify for Europe with an eighth place finish. They’ve won 32 and drawn 19 of his 81 matches in charge.”
Tottenham’s previous managerial searches
Tottenham’s search for a new manager has seemingly already started, and it’s already hit something of a dead end.
Spurs have been knocked back by Iraola, while Tony Khan has made it clear he wants Marco Silva to stay.
Tottenham have hit a brick wall already in their managerial search, and we’ve been here before.
Back in 2021, Spurs went all around the houses looking at different managers, only to be rejected by a number of candidates.
Meanwhile, Spurs also looked at a number of managers in 2023 before settling on Ange Postecoglou.
Ultimately, Tottenham would end up hiring Nuno Espirito Santo and Postecoglou after these failed managerial searches, and they will be hoping for a much smoother process this time around.