Former West Brom boss Ryan Mason is being lined up as a potential interim boss should Tottenham Hotspur sack Thomas Frank, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
Mason failed to turn West Brom into Skybet Championship promotion contenders.
But the now sacked Baggies boss could now achieve an individual return to the Premier League.
Former Manchester United coach Eric Ramsay has since taken charge at West Brom, landing the role after SportsBoom revealed he beat off competition from Jon Dahl Tomasson to secure the Hawthorns hotseat.
Frank continues to limp on as beleaguered Tottenham Hotspur manager after a worrying run of results, including Sunday’s dismal late defeat to strugglers West Ham.
But the knives are out for the former Brentford supremo after less than seven months.
Some stellar names are among the favourites to replace the affable Dane at N17 if Spurs’ hierarchy decide on another change.
Xavi Alonso, recently binned by Real Madrid, ex Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino and even Manchester United flop, Ruben Amorim, lead the race to fill any soon to be created vacancy.
And while Mason is way down the pecking order, especially after his unsuccessful short tenure at the Hawthorns, our sources have learnt he is viewed as a safe pair of hands by Spurs’ hierarchy in the short term.
Indeed, Spurs issued a glowing ‘thank you’ tribute to ‘Mase’ on their website when he quit for West Brom.
GROWING SCRUTINY
Mason, 34, whose name continues to crop up with Frank under scrutiny, spent seven years in Spurs’ coaching structure before leaving for West Brom.
Having seen Manchester United turn to one of their own, initially with Darren Fletcher and then Michael Carrick-who masterminded a stunning 2-0 win over derby rivals, City-it is thought Spurs could do the same.
Mason, who played for Spurs and Hull City before a dreadful head injury ended his career, stepped onto Tottenham’s coaching team in April 2018, working closely with the club’s Academy.
When Jose Mourinho was sacked three years later, Mason, who won one senior England cap, became interim head coach. At 29, he became the Premier League’s youngest manager.
He won four of his seven matches, including an EFL Cup defeat to Manchester City, before reprising his role after the departure of Antonio Conte in 2023.
Now, he could be lined up for a third spell should Frank’s unhappy reign be cut short.