Tottenham Hotspur have "invited" a manager to hold discussions over potentially replacing Ange Postecoglou, with the tactician also responding to this approach behind-the-scenes.
Ange Postecoglou future uncertain despite Europa League campaign
Spurs booked their place in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday after a very hard-fought 1-0 win away to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Dominic Solanke's cooly-taken penalty was enough to hand Postecoglou a precious win and keep his hopes of winning silverware alive, following a torrid Premier League campaign where Spurs are on course for their worst ever finish.
However, some reports suggest that Postecoglou could be sacked regardless of what happens in Europe, so the Australian's future still very much hangs in the balance amid repeated links to other managers.
Chairman Daniel Levy's shortlist of potential replacements for the 59-year-old includes names like Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner, Brentford's Thomas Frank, Fulham's Marco Silva and Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola, according to recent rumours.
Iraola has been tipped as Tottenham's top target to succeed Postecoglou, but Bournemouth won't make it easy for the Lilywhites after his impressive campaign in the Cherries dugout.
Bournemouth owner Bill Foley wants to extend Iraola's deal and is working to do so, having hailed his boss as "excellent", meaning Silva has emerged as an alternative frontrunner for the Tottenham job (talkSPORT).
The Telegraph also reported this week that Iraola is more inclined to remain at Bournemouth, despite the £10 million release clause in his contract, and this is echoed by journalist Duncan Castles.
Tottenham invite Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola for talks
Speaking on The Transfers Podcast, Castles reports that Tottenham have approached Iraola over the manager's job, inviting him for discussions, but the 42-year-old has seemingly rejected their advances in favour of staying on the south coast.
“Interestingly, my guidance on this is that Tottenham's approaches to Iraola have been rebuffed by the manager," said Castles.
“He has been invited and told to speak to them about that position, and has actually declined to do so.
“And instead, he has been having conversations with Bournemouth, informal conversations with Bournemouth for several weeks now, about not only continuing on his current contract, but signing a new contract to extend there."
With a move for Iraola looking less and less likely by the day, perhaps Glasner could be an excellent option. The Austrian, lauded for his "exciting" approach by Steve Parish, has guided Palace to an FA Cup semi-final and earned plaudits for his work at Selhurst Park since joining from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Glasner also boasts a Europa League winner's medal on his CV, having won the competition with Eintracht in 2022, with pundit John Wenham also calling the 50-year-old a "far more exciting" appointment than Iraola.
"He is far more exciting than most names that have been linked," said Wenham to Tottenham News, "He is someone I would be happy for Tottenham to appoint. I think with better players he would excel, and I find him more exciting than Marco Silva or Thomas Frank, to be honest."