Robbie Keane is the preferred Tottenham Hotspur option to get them out of the complete mess they find themselves in, with Igor Tudor expected to be sacked after suffering his fourth successive defeat since taking on the interim role in north London.
Spurs collapsed to a 5-2 defeat at Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, a game in which they found themselves 4-0 down after just 22 minutes following some catastrophic goalkeeping from Guglielmo Vicario’s replacement on the night, Antonin Kinsky, and some woeful defending.
Indeed, Kinsky was hooked after just 17 minutes in Madrid, with Tudor clearly seeing enough after making a huge call to replace Vicario in the first place.
Having lost his first three Premier League games in charge, leaving Tottenham sitting just a point above the relegation places with only nine games remaining, there was some hope of respite in a competition where the club have performed very well this season.
However, Spurs were ripped to shreds by a rampant Atletico side, with Tudor looking a completely beaten man on the sidelines and facing being shown the door after barely a month in charge.
Indeed, TEAMtalk correspondent Graeme Bailey told us: “The club’s hierarchy are now in talks having previously decided that Tudor would get until after the Atletico second leg…but the first leg defeat has forced a rethink.
“Tottenham’s hierarchy are in regular contact with the Lewis Family, whilst Daniel Levy – still a significant shareholder in ENIC is being kept informed and aware of the situation.
“As it stands the club are continuing to do work, as they have been for more than a week, on options to replace Igor Tudor – the hierarchy are aware that the squad have not reacted to Tudor as they hoped.
“Robbie Keane has been spoken to, but he is also a top target for Crystal Palace and has been linked to Celtic, heading into the summer.
“Spurs are considering all options and we understand a host of agents and intermediaries have contacted them about potential replacements. But Keane is very much a preferred option.”
Keane was in the conversation to take the temporary reins after the sacking of Thomas Frank, but did not want to leave his job as manager of Hungarian side Ferencvaros for an interim role.
Other options to come in include Sean Dyche and former Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason, who has done the caretaker role twice before.
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One of the two managers Tottenham are banking on to take charge next season could be whisked away to Real Madrid instead, according to a report.
Elsewhere, a top Tottenham talent does not plan on leaving for Real Madrid in the summer transfer window, even if the north London outfit get relegated, according to a source.
Fnally, Spurs are ready to greenlight the surprise sale of a first-team regular to Juventus this summer after TEAMtalk learned of the Italian side’s response to the struggling Premier League side’s asking price.