The writing is on the wall for Igor Tudor who won’t see out the season at Tottenham, and Spurs have chosen their ‘dream’ next manager, but convincing him to join is another matter entirely.
Tudor has overseen the worst start by any Tottenham manager ever, with four defeats from four so far. His spell has extended the club’s losing streak to six games, which is the worst in Spurs’ 143-year history.
With the players not buying what he’s selling and the fans disconsolate, Tottenham are only going one way under the Croatian and that’s down into the Championship.
The BBC recently revealed Tottenham owners ENIC are reluctant to intervene, and instead will leave the decision on whether to make another mid-season managerial change to chief executive, Vinai Venkatesham, and sporting director, Johan Lange.
Nevertheless, TEAMtalk have consistently reported on Tottenham drawing up a list of candidates headed by Robbie Keane who they believe could step in on short notice and guide the club to safety.
The latest from David Ornstein has echoed our reporting, with the trusted journalist confirming Spurs are ‘actively working on options to replace Igor Tudor as head coach if they decide another change is needed in the dugout.’
What’s more, transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, insisted Tudor’s position is now in “serious, serious” danger.
“He remains at serious, serious risk,” confirmed Romano on his YouTube channel. “Igor Tudor’s position is not safe at all.”
Tudor will be in the dugout for Tottenham’s trip to Anfield on Sunday, But with so many players missing and confidence levels on the floor, anything except a heavy defeat would be a miracle.
A predictable loss to Liverpool is expected to be the final straw, and according to Romano, Tottenham have identified their absolute priority and ‘dream’ candidate to take the reins.
“If there is a dream candidate for Tottenham now, it’s Roberto De Zerbi,” declared Romano. “He’s seen as the ideal candidate for the Tottenham job.”
“Tottenham would love to hire De Zerbi, but at the moment, this depends on several things and it’s not easy.”
“But the name of De Zerbi is a name we should always keep in the dream targets for Tottenham as manager.”
De Zerbi is readily available to hire after leaving Marseille in February. However, taking to X, Romano claimed the Italian’s appointment – at least regarding a mid-season change – is viewed as ‘unlikely’.
Any move for De Zerbi would see the Italian given a long-term contract. It would not be a case of hiring the Italian until the end of the season and then discussing a new deal in the summer.
But for obvious reasons, De Zerbi would want assurances over Tottenham’s Premier League status before signing on the dotted line.
As such, the likeliest scenario right now appears to be Tottenham sack Tudor after the Liverpool game on Sunday, hire an interim until the end of the season, then attempt to appoint De Zerbi in the summer if they’ve remained in the Premier League.
Romano went on to state the other big name Spurs would love to hire is Mauricio Pochettino, though he’s obviously not a candidate to step in right now given he’s preparing for a World Cup on home soil with the USA.
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