Tottenham Hotspur chief Daniel Levy may already be looking at potential replacements for Ange Postecoglou after the club exited both domestic cup competitions earlier in the week - with reports linking Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola with a move to the club.
The loss to Aston Villa on Sunday in the FA Cup saw Postecoglou bow out of both domestic cups in the space of three days, and with a poor standing in the Premier League, he's under immense pressure in the capital. As a result, other managers have been linked - and that could see Iraola come to the helm as a result of his superb work at Bournemouth this season, with reports from Italy suggesting that the Athletic Bilbao legend could be on Spurs' shortlist over the summer.
The Spaniard has been one of the managers of the season
The report by Inter Live states that Tottenham's loss to Liverpool in the semi-final of the League Cup was a 'blow', and with only the Europa League left for Spurs to win before they complete a 17th trophy less season, chairman Levy is considering sacking Postecoglou at the end of the season.
As a result, there are candidates being drawn up to replace the beleaguered Aussie boss - with Iraola being one of them. The Bournemouth gaffer has been noted as doing 'very well' at the Vitality Stadium, where they currently occupy seventh place in the Premier League table - which would be enough to qualify for the Europa Conference League as long as both domestic cup winners finish in the top six of the division, due to the results in domestic cup competitions dictating who plays continental football.
Spurs, meanwhile, are currently 14th in the Premier League, nine places below their fifth-placed finish last time out - and not only do leaders Liverpool have more than double their points, but they are also at least 14 points from a Champions League place.
Fulham boss Marco Silva and Inter Milan gaffer Simone Inzaghi have also been linked with a move to north London via the report, but Iraola has been linked for quite some time and his exploits in the Premier League have not gone unnoticed even by reports from abroad.
Iraola Would be an Attractive Appointment For Tottenham
His Bournemouth side have taken the league by storm
That is the benchmark for where Tottenham wish to be at present, and Iraola's attractive brand of football - alongside his development of players such as Milos Kerkez, Antoine Semenyo, Justin Kluivert and Dean Huijsen, amongst others - has massively increased his profile in the last 18 months, being called 'one of the best managers in the game'.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Andoni Iraola has won 30 of his 71 games in charge of Bournemouth.
Iraola came to Bournemouth at the start of last season in place of Gary O'Neil, and although it took the Basque star 10 games to win his first clash in the Premier League, the south coast outfit shot up the table from there with seven wins and one draw from nine - setting them up to finish 12th at the end of the campaign.
It shouldn't be a surprise that Bournemouth have continued in that fashion this season, even despite losing star goalscorer Dominic Solanke to Tottenham - and Iraola would see a return to his former star should he make the move to north London.
Statistics courtesy of WhoScored. Correct as of 10-02-25.