Tottenham are scouring the market looking for possible replacements for Ange Postecoglou, who looks increasingly likely to be sacked, but one candidate has ruled himself out
Andoni Iraola is reportedly keen to stay with Bournemouth for at least another season, rather than jump ship to Tottenham this summer. Spurs are considering their options in the event that they part company with Ange Postecoglou and Iraola is one of the managers they are understood to be interested in.
Postecoglou is under huge pressure heading into the second leg of Spurs’ Europa League quarter final against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday. Tottenham are 15th in the Premier League, having won just one of their last six league games – and that came against bottom side Southampton.
Much like fellow strugglers Manchester United, Spurs’ entire season rests on the Europa League, where they travel to Frankfurt following a 1-1 draw at home last week. But with the season winding down in shambolic fashion in north London after a 4-2 loss to Wolves on Sunday, there is increasing speculation that Postecoglou could be sacked, even if he wins the Europa League.
Iraola has been linked with the club, alongside Fulham boss Marco Silva, Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner and Brentford’s Thomas Frank. But it seems as though Iraola will have to be discounted as a potential candidate to succeed Postecoglou, with The Telegraph reporting he is ready to commit his future to Bournemouth.
The Spaniard, who took over from Gary O’Neil in June 2023, is under contract until the summer of 2026 and reportedly wants to continue the project. The Cherries are eighth in the Premier League following their 1-0 win over Fulham on Monday night and are firmly in the race for a European place, with permutations potentially lowering the bar for entry next season.
Bournemouth are pushing for him to sign a new contract and the club’s upward trajectory is in stark contrast to Spurs. Postecoglou has shown obvious signs of frustration in recent weeks and is clear that he won’t change his approach, no matter how bad it gets.
“I came to this club with a clear purpose and vision of what the club needed and what I could offer,” he said recently when addressing the pressure he’s under. “That is to change the way the team plays, to obviously rejuvenate the squad because it was a squad that was coming towards the end of a cycle and to bring success.
“As long as I’m in this position, that’s always my focus, irrespective of whatever noise there is or what there may or not be in the future. I don’t see that that should diminish my burning ambition, my desire and my determination to make that happen.
“Anything you achieve in life usually comes with a struggle. Certainly everything I have achieved in my life has come with a struggle from a professional perspective. This is just another struggle, but never through this struggle have I lost the will to fight for what I think is the right thing to do and I’ll continue to do that.”