The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke has suggested that one manager who Tottenham are reportedly keen on bringing through the door might be the man to replicate the kind of success that Mauricio Pochettino had during his time at the North London club.
Since Pochettino’s sacking in 2019, Daniel Levy and Tottenham have made one misstep after another, with all of their managerial appointments proving unsuccessful.
In fact, it could be argued that Ange Postecoglou was brought through the door in an effort to recreate the kind of atmosphere and style of play Pochettino delivered, but the results under the Australian have been extremely inconsistent.
It has been widely reported that Postecoglou is now in very real danger of being sacked, and various outlets have claimed over recent weeks that Andoni Iraola is Tottenham’s top managerial target.
Andoni Iraola compared to Mauricio Pochettino
The appeal of Iraola is understandable, with the Spaniard transforming a Bournemouth side, who were one of the favourites to go down when he took over in 2023, to Champions League contenders.
He has done so playing an attacking, front-foot style of football, and Pitt-Brooke sees parallels between the 42-year-old and where Pochettino was in his career when he made the move from Southampton to Tottenham in 2014.
The journalist said on The Athletic FC Podcast: “There just seems to be a consensus in football that he is the next he is the next new, exciting young manager.
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“I think he is at that sweet spot where he’s only 42, so he’s young enough to be original, brave and really convinced about the strength of his ideas, but he’s also experienced enough that his ideas have been tested.
“He did really well in Spain at Rayo Vallecano and then he’s come over to Bournemouth and done well, so from a Tottenham point of view, if you’re thinking who reminds us most of Mauricio Pochettino in 2014, then Iraola is the obvious choice.”
Andoni Iraola is thought to be open to Tottenham move
It remains to be seen what the Cherries boss decides to do at the end of the season but reports about Tottenham’s chances of prising him away from the Vitality Stadium have been positive.
It was claimed a few weeks ago that sources close to Iraola believe he is open to taking the Spurs job. However, it emerged just a couple of days ago that Tottenham have not held any direct talks with Iraola’s camp so far.