Tottenham Hotspur are considering a move to appoint Sporting CP boss Rui Borges as the replacement for Thomas Frank, according to Sports Boom.
The north London outfit sacked the Dane after just eight months in charge this week following a loss to Newcastle at home, which left the club five points above the relegation zone with just two wins from their last 17 games in the Premier League.
Croatian Igor Tudor has been put in temporary charge until the end of the season, with the club eyeing a move to hire either Mauricio Pochettino or Roberto De Zerbi in the summer, but should the stars not align, they have a wildcard option that is being considered too.
Tottenham Consider Rui Borges as Next Manager
Borges, who replaced Ruben Amorim's successor, Joao Pereira, at Sporting last season and led the Lisbon side to the Portuguese title has seen his reputation grow over the last 12 months.
Sporting currently sit second in the table in Portugal, behind FC Porto, but Borges' tactical adaptability and man-management skills have caught the attention of the Spurs hierarchy, as they take a look at options to take over at their club next season.
The 44-year-old is under contract until 2027 at Sporting, and the club have guarded themselves against interest from top clubs by inserting a €20m (£17.3m) release clause into his contract. But after helping the side qualify for the Last 16 of the Champions League automatically in a fine campaign, which included defeating the European champions PSG, he is attracting plenty of interest.
Spurs are desperate to appoint Pochettino or De Zerbi this summer, but the Argentine is currently in charge of the USMNT ahead of the World Cup, while De Zerbi resigned from his role at Marseille earlier this month after being thrashed 5-0 by PSG in Ligue 1.
Both managers remain above Borges in the pecking order, but Tottenham bosses are keen to sound out Borges about the role just in case they're unable to land either of their prime targets.
Rui Borges An Unnecessary Gamble
Tottenham are keen to avoid getting another managerial appointment wrong, but they also need to ensure this doesn't happen again on the pitch next season.
Ange Postecoglou finishing 17th was papered over by the fact he won the Europa League, but Frank has left Spurs in 15th and now Tudor must get them up the table quickly to make sense of his arrival.
If Borges comes in, it's a major gamble considering he doesn't have the most top-level experience and wouldn't be someone who excites the fans, and it feels like a gamble the club just can't afford to take right now.