Hotspur HQ

Tottenham Hotspur are clearly focused on bringing in Roberto De Zerbi as soon as possible to be both the long term manager hire and the one who potentially saves them from relegation with just one point separating them from rivals West Ham United in the drop zone.

De Zerbi is far from the most popular option for Spurs fans, but Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham are smitten with him. And though, like the other proven hires, he was initially uninterested in taking the job immediately, Spurs appear to be throwing as much money as possible to convince him to join.

At this point, De Zerbi to Spurs is close, but if he doesn't end up coming back and talks fall through, the the field of candidates is very slim. Mauricio Pochettino is the clear dream choice for the fans, but he can't go to Spurs until after the World Cup ends. The rest of the linked names are people who haven't coached in ages like Tim Sherwood and Glen Hoddle; even Ben Davies made it on the list.

Go back to Thomas Frank?

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown is, like Sherwood, a notorious gum flapper on the air waves, and he said on talkSPORT's White and Jordan show that he thinks Tottenham Hotspur should go back to Thomas Frank, "Look... I know people say you should never go back, but Thomas Frank might be allowed back in the building to actually say, 'Okay, let's try and pick up where we left off'. I know that they lost a few games, but it was certainly a lot better than we saw from recent games."

No. Just no. Under no circumstances do Spurs need Frank back, and while Roberto De Zerbi has serious concerns regarding the people he brought in to Marsielle and is a volatile personality who is set to make (probably) way too much money, he might still be a better hire than going back to Frank.

Keown is totally off base here. Although Tottenham were not much better under Igor Tudor, they were clearly more organized and started playing better the longer they were away from Frank, though obviously the 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest damages that perception.

But Frank is the reason behind this mess. The team started to play worse and worse under him than they were under Ange Postecoglou or even to start the season under his ideas. Going back to Thomas Frank is unconsciable, and the only way it makes sense for Martin Keown to suggest it is that he is a former Arsenal player and wants to sabotage Spurs. Because there is no realistic intellectual argument in which this makes sense. Sadly, you can't put it past Vinai Venkatesham to think along those lines, given he used to work for the Gunners. (I kid, kid...sort of.)

Tottenham Hotspur are getting close to their next manager after parting ways with Igor Tudor, and it appears they will be able to get their No. 1 choice after all. For some reason, Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham have been obsessed with bringing Roberto De Zerbi back to the Premier League, where he had a briefly positive tenure at Brighton before completely falling out with the club over transfer strategy.

De Zerbi most recently coached Marseille as Tudor's successor, and his volatile personality and willingness to bring in any player, regardless of allegations of morally reprehensible and criminal behavior, rubbed many the wrong way. His time at OM was wildly unsuccessful, more famous for dust ups and controversy than success on the pitch.

And yet Tottenham Hotspur have been desperate to hire him. Initially, De Zerbi wanted to wait until after the 2025/26 season ended to choose his next job, and he also didn't seem to keen on Spurs overall. Unlike Mauricio Pochettino, he apparently wanted to see Spurs stay up in the Premier League before considering the position.

Tottenham are going to pay Roberto De Zerbi a lot

So what is changing his mind? As Fabrizio Romano reports, Tottenham have a five year contract on the table for Roberto De Zerbi with a "top salary". He has "always" been their "priority", and it was Fab, after all, who first reported in January after RDZ left Marseille that he was the top choice. The two parties are now in "regular contact" to hammer out a deal.

Basically, Tottenham have resorted to throwing so much money at De Zerbi that he cannot possibly say no. There are serious concerns about De Zerbi being able to turn a team around this quickly, and since De Zerbi is known for very public and quick break ups with clubs and he was not interested in the job if Spurs did not stay up, then he could very well sink them down and leave after collecting a huge payday.

Because you also have to think that if Spurs are paying him a "top salary", then they are also paying him some big clauses if he stays up - or giving him the ability to leave the club if they go down and still cash in.

Tottenham Hotspur and Igor Tudor agreed to part ways mutually this weekend, which is a move that surprises not a single Spurs supporter. Tudor has been through a tumultuous time on the pitch, inherting a shambolic side that Thomas Frank absolutely ran into the ground. And with the passing of his father just a week ago, it is entirely understandable that Tudor would want to step away.

Meanwhile, Spurs are desperate to make sure they do not go down, and with just one point separating them from the drop zone after a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in direct competition the week before, they are begging for anyone credible to come in and help.

The problem is that the pickings are slim. Spurs top choice is Roberto De Zerbi, but he is, thus far, uninterested in joining the club before the season ends and they assure they are safe. Adi Hutter is also taking the same stance of not joining a team - and probably especially not a team at threat of going down like Spurs - before the season ends. Mauricio Pochettino is tied up with the United States.

Sean Dyche wants a bigger contract

Relegation specialist Sean Dyche seems like an ideal option, but aside from not sounding too keen on the job himself, there are certain logistic details that make hiring the former Nottingham Forest coach even more unrealistic than a reunion with his predecessor Ange Postecoglou.

Not only would Tottenham Hotspur have to pay Dyche extra since he had coached Forest earlier this year, but Sami Mokbel of BBC Sport reports that the big stumbling block a specific contractual demand that Dyche has in mind.

Sean Dyche apparently wants an 18 month long contract in order to take the Tottenham job, meaning he, like the other coaching candidates - including the unproven Robbie Keane - wants assurances that he is getting a long term job.

Since Dyche has the meddle and has been in plenty of successful Premier League relegation fights before, he'd probably be less scared than Roberto De Zerbi and Adi Hutter of taking the job in the middle of an ongoing relegation fight.

But whereas Spurs want to hire De Zerbi right now AND keep him as a long term option, Dyche doesn't really have the upside of being a long term option for a Premier League Big Six job. Spurs want Dyche to save them from relegation; they don't want him around for 18 months. Dyche understandably wants to angle for that bigger deal with more of a payout and use his demand as a relegation specialist for future job security, but Spurs are not going to get into that game.

Tottenham Hotspur and Igor Tudor mutually parted ways over the weekend, so now the Lilywhites have to find their next coach before the season ends. After losing 3-0 to Nottingham Forest the previous weekend, relegatoin is within sights, making Spurs next appointment all the more critical.

As far as long term options go, a reunion with Mauricio Pochettino is the preferred candidate for the fans, but the team continues to pine hard for Roberto De Zerbi. There are ongoing negotiations to convince De Zerbi to join the team immediately despite the former Brighton manager's ostensible lack of interest in joining a club before the season ends - let alone a Spurs side whose Premier League future is not secure.

With Sean Dyche too expensive due to a buyout fee from Nottingham Forest and apparently uninterested in the job, the only proven manager on the table whom Spurs have spoken with is Adi Hutter. He was a decent enough coach for Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Monchengladbach, and Monaco.

Adi Hutter rejects Tottenham

However, Hutter is not interested either. Per Sky Sport Austria, the experienced manager has released a public statement declining the Tottenham Hotspur rumors by stating that he has no interest in coaching a team in the current 2025/26 campaign.

Hutter said, "In recent days and weeks, I have been increasingly linked with various clubs. However, as I already stated immediately after my time at Monaco, I would prefer not to work as a head coach again until the start of the new season at the earliest. My position on this matter has not changed since then."

So it looks like Adi Hutter is taking the same stance that Roberto De Zerbi is, which is entirely understandable. He wants to take a rest and weigh his options in the summer based on the best job available, and jumping right into the Tottenham situation is a huge risk, especially for someone like Hutter who has never managed in neither the Premier League nor a relegation fight before.

Whereas Spurs are doing whatever they can to throw the kitchen sink at De Zerbi in an effort to convince him to change his mind from what is a very reasonable position shared by other coaches, it is unlikely they would do the same for Hutter, who was probably more of an emergency option anyway. But the fact that Hutter is effectively rejecting them is not good news either, and Spurs may have to gamble with someone like Harry Redknapp or even Ben Davies.

Tottenham Hotspur are back to square one. Understandably, Spurs and interim coach Igor Tudor have parted ways, but now the club have to sort amongst a host of unideal managerial candidates, and with the likes of Sean Dyche and Roberto De Zerbi apparently uninterested in the job, Adi Hutter is the only currently experienced, relevant coach with interest. The shortlist of candidates now includes people who have not coached in a decade like Tim Sherwood and Glenn Hoddle, and even Ben Davies is legitimately being considered as a candidate.

Out of all the former Tottenham coaches linked with returns to the club, here are three names who could actually keep Spurs up.

Ange Postecoglou

It seems almost unthinkable for Ange Postecoglou to return to Tottenham after the way in which he was fired at the end of the 2024/25 season, and it's not like Spurs were crushing it in the Premier League last year either. Plus, a lot of the issues Spurs are having stem from Big Ange.

But it is undeniable that Spurs were playing better football under Ange than under Thomas Frank, and it is telling that the longer they were under Frank and the further away from Ange, the worse it got. Players like Cristian Romero loved playing for Postecoglou, and the fans loved his attitude. Sometimes, you just need good vibes and the right mentality to stay alive, and Big Ange definitely can do that.

Harry Redknapp

Ryan Mason is a former Tottenham Hotspur manager and does not have the worst track record in the world, so he merited consideration here, but Harry Rednkapp is an even bigger name and an even wilder idea to come back into the dugout.

It's been a long, long time since Redknapp coached Spurs, but he was actually a good manager and is still well liked by supporters, especially the, shall we say, more experienced ones. Redknapp knows how to fight in the Premier League, and his old school vibes and way of relating with the players in a no nonsense manner may be exactly what this team needs.

Mauricio Pochettino

The only way Mauricio Pochettino comes back to Tottenham is if he suddenly feels a pull at his heartstrings and abandons the United States national team, because the USMNT sure as heck didn't shell out cash for Poch to double dip club and country duties before a World Cup in which they are the primary host nation.

Pochettino doing this is almost impossible, but in some fantasy world, Poch comes skylining into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and saves this sad bunch from relegation before turning them into a top four powerhouse again. Spurs fans can dream, right?

Tottenham Hotspur and Igor Tudor understandably agreed to part ways on Sunday, and there must not be any illness towards the now relieved interim manager. Tudor walked into a situation that was impossible for him to fix, and after the passing of his father last week, which he learned of shortly after the game against Nottingham Forest, most assumed that the coach would step away from Spurs to attend to even more important matters.

Now, Spurs are after the next manager to replace Tudor, and they only have days to find a short term option to close out the season. Tottenham need to hire someone who can save them from relegation, which is an even more real threat after the blowout loss to Forest.

With Mauricio Pochettino busy with the United States national team and Sean Dyche seemingly uninterested, Adi Hutter is the only well known coach linked to Tottenham Hotspur. Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham are still going after Roberto De Zerbi, but it would be a shock if he took the Spurs gig before the season ended.

Tottenham could hire Robbie Keane

Tottenham have been linked to a host of familiar and somewhat strange names, including former manager Harry Rednkapp, pundit Tim Sherwood, and even current defender Ben Davies. Well, talkSPORT transfer insider Ben Jacobs is here to reveal two more names to add to the Tottenham Igor Tudor replacement list: former Spurs striker Robbie Keane and former interim manager Ryan Mason.

Although Keane and Mason are not at the top of anyone's true wish list, they are certainly better candidates than people like Glen Hoddle and Sherwood who have not been credibly coaching in the Premier League for a while. The only former Spurs manager who truly interests fans is Mauricio Pochettino, but at least Mason has been coaching within the last decade, contrary to Hoddle and Sherwood.

Keane is a more interesting hire, and Jacobs actually reports that Crystal Palace, who could very well leave at the end of the season after a year of tumult, are looking at the Ireland international as a top candidate for their own coaching job. But naturally, Jacobs reports that Keane wants a long term job, and it seems like Poch and De Zerbi are the clear frontrunners in that regard.

But if Mason and Keane want to come back to Spurs in a short term role and play the hero before going back to join a team for a longer tenure, then they are valid options, At this point, Spurs are beggars, and while they have some room to choose, if the alternative is Sherwood or Hoddle, then Keane and Mason don't sound too bad.

To the surprise precisely nobody, Tottenham Hotspur and Igor Tudor have agreed to part ways mutually. Though the decision was expected to come on Monday, it arrived a day earlier, potentially buying Spurs a few more days to hire a new manager before the March international break ends and Spurs face Sunderland, with every single game being a must win of the highest order following Spurs 3-0 collapse to Nottingham Forest last weekend.

Tottenham are in dire straits, and there are not many available options who can credibly lead this team. Spurs are even being linked to the likes of Harry Redknapp, Tim Sherwood, and, somehow, current defender Ben Davies as possible coaching options.

But in his latest transfer update, Fabrizio Romano says that Tottenham Hotspur still view former Marseille, Brighton, and Sassuolo manager Roberto De Zerbi as their dream option. Even though De Zerbi made it clear to Spurs that he prefers to wait until after the season ends to take any job and would consider Spurs if they stay up, Fab states that Tottenham are trying to convince De Zerbi to join them right now before the season ends.

Tottenham are desperate for Roberto De Zerbi

They want De Zerbi to start as soon as possible and not only lead the club going forward, but they also want him right here and right now to save them from relegation. Their mission is to convince him to join, and Romano says that Spurs are doing everything within their power to convince him to take the job.

Although Tottenham are desperate and even a few of the fans against De Zerbi may take him for a short period if it means surviving relegation at all costs, the majority of Spurs fans would not want De Zerbi to join under any circumstances.

Various important supporter groups have released strong statements against the hiring of Roberto De Zerbi after he signed and often went out of his way to praise players with credible allegiations of serious misconduct such as sexual and physical assault. De Zerbi, therefore, goes against the values of most Tottenham fans.

Beyond that, he is not exactly a convincing long term hire either. De Zerbi has never made it a top club, and he has left most of his high profile coaching jobs fairly quickly due to an explosive temper and melodramatic fallouts. He has the ego of an Antonio Conte with half the results, and Tottenham need someone who has won, which is not De Zerbi. Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham essentially begging for De Zerbi is a recipe for disaster and something no Spurs fan asked for.

Tottenham Hotspur have, as everyone expected, announced a mutual parting of ways between themselves and interim manager Igor Tudor. Spurs were sliding further in the Premier League relegation battle after a 3-0 blowout defeat to Nottingham Forest in a relegation six pointer last weekend, meanwhile Tudor had just learned of the passing of his father shortly after the game.

Anybody taking on the unenviable task of turning around a Spurs side run into the ground by ego, incompetence, Thomas Farnk (sic), Johan Lange Time No Top Four, and Gooner in Chief Vinai Venkatesham is bound for a one way ticket to Burnout City. And so it is entirely unimaginable for someone going through a major personal loss to have to shoulder this Sisyphean task.

Spurs need to survive, though, and they need someone who can come in and right the ship. The problem is that their pickings are beyond slim, teetering into starvation mode. Roberto De Zerbi is, for some odd reason, Lange's and Vinai's top pick, and he's not touching this job with a ten foot pole until this summer when he knows Spurs are safe from relegation. Mauricio Pochettino is currenlty tied up with the United States national team before the World Cup. And Sean Dyche would rather crush pints than crush some sense into Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.

Tim Sherwood? Glen Hoddle?

So according to the Daily Telegraph's Matt Law, the five options for Tottenham Hotspur (aside from Adi Hutter, who may not be interested) to replace Igor Tudor as their manager are Tim Sherwood, Harry Redknapp, Glenn Hoddle, Chris Hughton, and Ben Davies.

A list of options cannot possibly get more random than that, and it says something that the most appealing name to the average fan would be Davies, who is currently on the team but out for the season with a fractured left ankle he suffered a couple of months ago.

The rest of the field is washed and out of football or all of those things plus busy exposing their lack of ball knowledge on assorted B level programming (here's to you, Mr. Sherwood). Spurs are teetering on the brink of disaster so, in one sense, nobody can make it worse, though perhaps someone like Sherwood may challenge that belief.

In any case, Tottenham's leadership duo of Vinai and Lange have brought the club to yet another low point, and unless if Adi Hutter, the only well known manager whom Spurs have actually talked to, is willing to take on this sinking ship for his first ever Premier League foray, then Spurs are going to end up with someone potentially worse than Tudor. But hey, at least it won't be Thomas Frank. Because nobody can be as bad as Thomas "We Will Lose Games" Frank was for Spurs.

About a day earlier than expected, Tottenham Hotspur have announced a mutual parting of ways between themselves and interim manager Igor Tudor. Many had expected a decision to come on Monday after the weekend, but perhaps it was just too heavy and too obvious of a decision to sit on with Tudor experiencing the loss of his father last week and Spurs losing 3-0 to Nottingham Forest in a relegation six pointer.

After the events of the previous weekend, Tudor's days were always going to be numbered, but now the clown show in the front office has to regroup and somehow hire somebody before the season ends when all the top options are off the table.

Mauricio Pochettino isn't going to leave the United States men's national team before the World Cup, nor is he allowed to double dip responsibilities. Meanwhile, Roberto De Zerbi is entirely uninterested in taking any jobs until after the season and would only want Spurs if they stay up in the Premier League, which is the whole reason why Spurs are after a coach right now anyway.

Ben Davies could coach Tottenham?

With only Adi Hutter concretely linked, Tottenham Hotspur may have to go out of left field and hire someone. Names like Harry Redknapp and even Jermaine Defoe have been thrown around in rumors, but here's a new one for you: current Tottenham defender Ben Davies.

The Daily Telegraph's Matt Law wrote that the veteran Spurs center back and left back is one of the options left on the table. Davies, of course, re-signed with Spurs before the season started despite many thinking he would be done, and he actually played some games. But Davies fractured his left ankle in January against West Ham United, pretty much spelling the end of his playing career at the club.

However, Davies could transition immediately from player to interim coach. It would be a bizarre hire, but nothing can be worse than what Spurs are going through this season under Thomas Frank and then Tudor, who was not able to repair what is so beyond broken.

Maybe a strange hire and someone who knows the players well like Davies can galvanize something, but that's highly unikely. Bringing in a respect former player or manager of the club from the outside would likely be a better jolt than someone already in the building, but it speaks to the growing desperation at the club that Davies is being linked. But honestly, the saddest part is that he's better than some of the people who have been linked like TIm Sherwood.

There are so many Tottenham Hotspur fans clamoring for a reunion with iconic manager Mauricio Pochettino, and if it were up to them, Spurs would convince him as soon as possible to leave the United States men's national team and rescue them from Premier League relegation.

Obviously, that is a pipe dream, because with the World Cup just months away and Pochettino set to lead one of the host nations in a politically charged tournament, there is no way in the universe Poch abandons the United States team right now. There is no Fernando Hierro twist here.

However, even if Spurs have to sit through more Igor Tudor or roll the dice on Adi Hutter, the fans want to see Pochettino back on the bench for the Lilywhites in the 2026/27 season, and Poch has already made it clear that he would be loyal to Spurs and consider joining them even if they were relegated this season. And that's exactly the kind of character Spurs need.

Mauricio Pochettino got it handed to him

The thing is, Tottenham Hotspur supporters lost in the illusion of nostalgia and all that Mauricio Pochettino accomplished about a decade ago have to get a reality check. Poch may not be as effective now as he was then.

Over this international break with his A team in a key tune up match before the World Cup, the United States were blown to pieces 5-2 by Dodi Lukebakio and Belgium in a rematch of a World Cup knockout match from 12 years ago.

Pochettino is obviously not to blame for a malaise in United States soccer that has existed for years and years where overrated players are hyped up and then mocked when they inevitably fail, youth coaches are rewarded for incompetence, and player development is summed up in a bunch of failed Bundesliga stints.

At the same time, Pochettino hasn't exactly turned things around for the United States, and if he can't get a squad of unperforming, ego inflated players in a dysfunctional organization to win, then, boy oh boy, is he going to love what is in store for him at the 2026 version of Tottenham.

That being said, even if Pochettino is as lousy as he was for PSG or Chelsea, he is still going to be ten times the coach that Thomas Frank was, he is going to have a much better pedgiree than Igor Tudor, and he is going to have a much higher character than Roberto De Zerbi. He's still the best option. But Spurs fans have to avoid making that very same mistake of overhyping someone just to relish in their failure and realize that Pochettino is more flawed than savior nowadays.