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How should West Ham United feel about the impending appointment of Roberto de Zerbi at Premier League relegation rivals Tottenham Hotspur?

Well, on the downside, things surely can’t get any worse for Spurs.

Then again, as Igor Tudor’s seven-game, post-Thomas Frank reign showed, sometimes the floor of ‘rock bottom’ can give way; Tottenham slipping into the sewers beneath.

In De Zerbi, Tottenham are hiring an ex-Brighton coach who took the Seagulls to a best-ever, sixth-place Premier League finish in 2022/23. As a spokesman for the West Ham United board told Hammers News, ‘let’s hope [De Zerbi] needs time’ to get his methods across.

How worried should we be about De Zerbi joining Tottenham? 😟

Time is certainly something Tottenham don’t have a lot of. The Italian has agreed a five-year deal, per Sky Sports, but his spell could conceivably end after just seven games if he fails to arrest the slide.

The positive, from a West Ham perspective, is that De Zerbi hardly came flying out of the blocks at Brighton.

West Ham United will hope Tottenham don’t start well under Roberto de Zerbi

Replacing Graham Potter after he was headhunted to lead Chelsea’s Clearlake project in late-2022, it took De Zerbi five games to record a Premier League victory.

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An enthralling 3-3 draw with Liverpool on his debut was a sign of the excitement to come, admittedly. But it was followed up immediately by 1-0 and 2-0 defeats by Spurs and Brentford, then a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest, and eventually a 3-1 loss at Manchester City.

West Ham have picked up 12 points more than Tottenham since Callum Wilson netted the winner in North London two months ago. If De Zerbi makes the same start at Spurs as he did at Brighton, the reigning Europa League winners will go into matchday 36 with only 32 points to their name.

As Joe Cole pointed out last week on the Dressing Room podcast, West Ham will knock Tottenham into the bottom three if they beat Wolves in their matchday 32 curtain-raiser at home to Wolves next week.

There is a very real chance, then, that De Zerbi will start life in the Spurs dugout in a worse position than either Frank or Tudor. For all their many, many faults, Tottenham are yet to slip into the relegation zone this season.

“If I am being honest, the first couple of weeks were horrendous,” Brighton captain Lewis Dunk said in a 2023 interview with The Telegraph, reflecting on that difficult start under De Zerbi.

“[The changes he made] were baffling. The first meeting when he went in, I was so confused; who to look at, what to listen to. [But] you slowly pick up.

“Training changed dramatically. We worked on a lot of different stuff and the first couple of weeks were a really hard transition. It was a carnage two weeks.”

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Marseille impact offers hope for 17th-place Spurs

From another perspective, De Zerbi’s principles were clear to see from the very start. That 3-3 draw with Liverpool offered a tantalising glimpse into the high-pressing, rotational football with which Brighton would secure Europa League qualification a few months down the line.

If a slow start, points-wise, at Brighton gives West Ham hope of avoiding the drop at Tottenham’s expense, a more recent, more explosive start at Marseille may set claret and blue nerves jangling.

L’OM finished a lowly eighth in 2023/24. But, with De Zerbi at the helm, they picked up 12 of the first 15 points available en route to a second-place finish.

The fate of Tottenham, and West Ham for that matter, may depend on which version of De Zerbi they get.

With a personality as spiky as his VO5-styled hair and patience thinner than Tomas Repka’s, De Zerbi seems as likely to light the fuse at Spurs as he is to chuck the dynamite at the dressing room wall in a fit of rage and blow everything up.

West Ham United’s relegation rivals from North London have a new head coach; Roberto de Zerbi officially appointed as Igor Tudor’s replacement at Tottenham Hotspur.

And if you are wondering how Spurs managed to convince such a highly-regarded manager to take over a team hovering nervously above the relegation zone with only seven games remaining, well, we can offer you 12 million reasons as to why.

It is claimed that Tottenham agreed a £60 million package with Roberto de Zerbi.

How worried should we be about De Zerbi joining Tottenham? 😟

The former Brighton and Hove Albion boss was initially reluctant to take over a club in such a desperate state – ex-West Ham United assistant Edin Terzic had reservations about the Spurs job for similar reasons – but a mammoth, £12 million-a-year, five-season contract was enough to assuage those concerns.

The Mail now reveal that there is no relegation clause in De Zerbi’s deal.

As West Ham know all too well, following the Avram Grant-led relegation of 2010/11, a failure or a refusal to prepare for the drop can have sizeable financial results.

West Ham United’s relegation rivals Tottenham bet the farm on Roberto de Zerbi

Avram Grant’s West Ham finished rock-bottom in 2011. According to The Guardian at the time, his refusal to walk away before their relegation was confirmed eventually saw Davids Gold and Sullivan hit with a pay-off bill totalling £3.5 million.

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Three-and-a-half million for finishing bottom of the Premier League. Nice work if you can get it.

Club legend Tony Cottee felt West Ham paid the price for not sacking Grant far sooner, when survival was still possible. There were presumably big financial reasons why the former Chelsea and Portsmouth boss remained in situ until the final day, departing literally moments after the final whistle.

The absence of a relegation clause in Roberto de Zerbi’s Tottenham contract, then, leaves Spurs in danger of having to fork out an eye-watering pay-off themselves if the Italian cannot arrest an alarming slide. A £12 million manager hired on a five-year deal; Daniel Levy would be quaking at the prospect of having to buy out the remainder of such a contract.

De Zerbi’s Tottenham reign could be over after two months

Speaking to the official Tottenham website, De Zerbi insisted that he arrives with a ‘long-term’ vision in mind. Such promises, in football, are so frequently only paper-thin.

If Spurs do go down – West Ham have accumulated 12 more points than them since Callum Wilson’s winner on January 17th – it would be very hard to imagine a coach as ambitious and highly-regarded as De Zerbi spending a Friday night in a Preston branch of Premier Inn.

It is also hard to imagine Tottenham retaining £15 million-a-year manager in the Championship.

As BBC Sport point out, their revenue could fall by a staggering £250 million in the second-tier. Add in a potential De Zerbi pay-off – he immediately becomes one of the best-paid managers in the whole of the Premier League – and Tottenham’s prospective annual losses could take a sharp turn towards the £300 million mark.

Whatever happens, Roberto de Zerbi is set to become an extremely wealthy man.

Tottenham Hotspur look set to add a new dimension to the Premier League relegation battle by appointing Roberto De Zerbi – and now West Ham’s owners have delivered their reaction.

West Ham are just a point and a place below bitter rivals Tottenham in the fight for Premier League survival.

With seven games to go, every big decision matters with the Hammers and Spurs battling one another – as well as Leeds and Forest – for survival.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham side have been transformed since the turn of the year, closing a 12-point gap on Spurs to just one.

West Ham owners ‘hopeful’ but clearly concerned about Spurs appointing De Zerbi

And the Hammers will climb out of the bottom three, and push Tottenham into it, if they beat Wolves at home a week on Friday.

There is no love lost between West Ham and Spurs at the best of times – but the stakes have never been higher than they are right now.

How worried should we be about De Zerbi joining Tottenham? 😟

That’s why there is so much interest at the London Stadium when it comes to Tottenham appointing Roberto De Zerbi to replace the hapless Igor Tudor for the run-in.

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Now West Ham’s owners have reacted to relegation rivals Spurs appointing De Zerbi – admitting they are ‘hopeful’ it goes a certain way.

De Zerbi’s appointment has divided opinion across the board and even among Hammers fans.

Some feel the combustible, strong-willed and fiery Italian could be akin to pouring more fuel on the Spurs flames in north London, which would obviously be good news for the Irons.

Others believe those characteristics – and his demanding nature – will spark a response that could keep Tottenham up – very possibly at West Ham’s expense.

Given the two old rivals are in a direct battle to avoid demotion to the Championship, Hammers News put it to West Ham’s board whether they were worried by Spurs hiring De Zerbi.

The top spokesman for West Ham’s owners exclusively told Hammers News that they can only hope it goes one of two ways for Tottenham.

West Ham owners: Let’s hope De Zerbi needs time at Spurs

“Some managers hit the ground running,” the most senior spokesman for West Ham’s owners exclusively told Hammers News.

“Others do need time, though.

“Let’s HOPE he (De Zerbi) needs time!”

This team stays up ahead of Spurs 😎

Only debate is Dinos or Todibo….

It’s clear to see West Ham’s board have concerns about the potential uplift the appointment will have for Tottenham.

Whether De Zerbi can make an instant impact in a relegation scenario has been at the heart of most debates.

That’s why a club president’s claim on new Spurs boss De Zerbi raises concern for West Ham with the last man to employ the ex Brighton boss lavishing him with praise.

Another worrying factor for West Ham is the fact De Zerbi will get a whopping £10m bonus if he keeps Tottenham up.

Both clubs have difficult fixtures in their last seven, with West Ham’s a touch tougher than Tottenham’s – on paper at least.

De Zerbi is in line to be in charge for the trip to Sunderland after the international break and he will be starting life in the Tottenham hotseat in the relegation zone if West Ham do the business against Wolves two days before.

Relegation run-in remaining fixtures:

If West Ham are not concerned about relegation rivals Spurs appointing Roberto De Zerbi, then they should be.

That’s if comments from the last man to employ him are anything to go by.

West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur are locked in a fight for Premier League survival heading into the last seven games of the season.

One point separates the Hammers and Spurs and Nuno Espirito Santo’s side know victory over Wolves next Friday night will see them climb out of the drop zone, dumping their rivals into it at the same time.

President’s claim about De Zerbi impact raises concern for West Ham

Given his dismal record, it was in West Ham’s interests that Igor Tudor continued as Tottenham manager for the run-in.

After his departure, the Hammers will clearly have more than one eye on his replacement, which is now expected to be fiery tactician Roberto De Zerbi.

How worried should we be about De Zerbi joining Tottenham? 😟

The appointment has divided opinion, even among Hammers fans with some feeling the combustible Italian could prove to be a flop, therefore helping their bid for survival.

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Another train of thought at West Ham is that De Zerbi will get Tottenham working hard and capable of picking up the wins needed to stay in the Premier League at their expense.

So a club president’s claim on new Spurs boss De Zerbi will raise serious concern for West Ham.

Marseille chief Pablo Longoria was the last man to employ De Zerbi until his departure by mutual consent earlier this season.

What Longoria said about De Zerbi will be gravely concerning for the Hammers and music to the ears of Spurs.

Because he says De Zerbi made an immediate and astonishing impact at his club.

New Spurs boss De Zerbi made immediate and unprecedented impact says last man to employ him

“In the summer I congratulated him, because I’ve never seen a club and a team completely change on the pitch in so little time,” Longoria said.

Somewhat ironically, De Zerbi was on West Ham’s shortlist to replace David Moyes.

This team stays up ahead of Spurs 😎

Only debate is Dinos or Todibo….

But he ended up joining Marseille instead for a tumultuous spell in charge.

Those comments will understandably ring alarm bells in the West Ham boardroom given Spurs were the team they had pinned their hopes on finishing above.

There will also be worries over the whopping £10m bonus De Zerbi will receive to keep Spurs up.

Obviously every club and their circumstances are different, so looking at De Zerbi’s record in his first seven games at previous clubs has limited value.

It does however give an idea of the type of impact he makes.

Much has been made of the fact he struggled initially for results at Brighton, with Lewis Dunk admitting the first few weeks were ‘carnage’.

But what of De Zerbi’s record in his first seven games of his last job?

Those statistics also don’t make great reading for the Hammers – and very much the opposite for Tottenham, who will be comfortably safe if he pulls off a repeat.

Because De Zerbi won four, drew two and lost just one of his first seven games as Marseille manager.

Do the same at Tottenham and they will end up on 44 points.

West Ham will clearly focus on what they can control – which is beating Wolves at home next time out in the Premier League.

Do that and De Zerbi will feel the pressure instantly with Spurs in the bottom three ahead of a difficult-looking trip to Sunderland two days later.

Relegation run-in remaining fixtures:

West Ham have suffered a potentially huge blow in the battle for survival as rivals Spurs close in on a £70m deal to land Roberto De Zerbi with a record clause.

Staying in the Premier League may about to become a lot more difficult for West Ham after major developments at Tottenham Hotspur overnight.

The Hammers and their bitter rivals Tottenham are separated by just one point heading into the final seven games of the relegation run-in.

So West Ham have more than a passing interest in Tottenham’s managerial situation after the departure of the hapless Igor Tudor.

West Ham blow as Spurs hand De Zerbi a huge survival bonus

Spurs’ on-off move for fiery and enigmatic coach Roberto De Zerbi looked dead in the water last week when the Italian snubbed the north Londoners, making Adolf Hutter the favourite.

But there has been a big blow for West Ham as Spurs are now closing in on a staggering £70m deal to land De Zerbi and it contains a record clause which will worry the Hammers.

This team stays up ahead of Spurs 😎

Only debate is Dinos or Todibo….

Tottenham have been trying to convince De Zerbi to take the job for the last seven games but the former Brighton boss has been reluctant, wishing to wait to see if the club stays in the Premier League.

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De Zerbi was actually on West Ham’s shortlist to replace David Moyes but ended up joining Marseille instead.

A passionate presence on the touchline and tactically innovative, Spurs landing De Zerbi would legitimately worry anyone connected with West Ham.

Any new manager bounce could condemn the Hammers to the Championship.

It gets worse for West Ham too.

Because widespread reports, including from respected sources in Italy such as Gianluca Di Marzio, claim De Zerbi is on the brink of agreeing to join Tottenham after being offered a record £10m survival bonus.

Tottenham’s £10m survival carrot is bad news for West Ham

That is on top of a whopping £12m annual salary on a five-year contract – making his move to Spurs worth £70m, according to the likes of Goal.

Ten million English pounds is some carrot to dangle to keep Tottenham up.

Is this the WORST prediction of the season? 😂

Rob Earnshaw predicts West Ham to get just 3 more points…

So West Ham will – and should – be concerned.

Should, as is expected, De Zerbi accept the offer then he will be the highest paid manager around bar Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta.

West Ham can actually dump Spurs into the bottom three if they beat Wolves at the London Stadium after the international break.

So De Zerbi could take charge of Tottenham for a difficult trip to Sunderland with the club in the relegation zone.

While West Ham have been on an upward curve and have been showing plenty of fight, Tottenham’s biggest problem has been a lack of it.

De Zerbi does not accept anything less than 100 per cent effort from his players and is known to be ruthless.

West Ham can expect to be taking on a rejuvenated Spurs in the last seven games on that basis alone.

Danny Murphy believes Tottenham are at a big disadvantage to West Ham in the relegation battle.

But he did state a change of manager for Spurs could be the key to them staying up.

Leeds and Nottingham Forest are not out of it by any means so it is still a four-way fight for now.

The Hammers just need to make sure they don’t rely on Tottenham being as bad as they have been this year because things could be about to change.

Relegation run-in remaining fixtures:

Danny Murphy has predicted the outcome of the Premier League relegation battle and named the major disadvantage facing Spurs in the fight with West Ham.

Just one point is separating West Ham and bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur going into the final seven games of the Premier League relegation run-in.

The fight for survival has been between the Hammers, Spurs, Nottingham Forest and Leeds of late.

But after defeats to Aston Villa and Forest respectively last time out, many believe it may now be a straight shootout between West Ham and Tottenham to avoid dropping into the Championship.

Murphy: West Ham’s togetherness will keep them up over Spurs

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will climb above Tottenham Hotspur with a win over Wolves when the action resumes after the international break.

That would mark some turnaround which highlights the big difference between the Irons and their rivals from north London.

This team stays up ahead of Spurs 😎

Only debate is Dinos or Todibo….

While West Ham have been on the up with just three defeats from their last 13 games, Tottenham have fallen off a cliff and are yet to win a domestic game this year.

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That has seen Nuno’s Hammers close a 12-point gap on Tottenham to a solitary point with seven games to go.

While Spurs potentially being relegated for the first time in half a century has been making all the headlines, most feel the north Londoners will find the wins needed to survive.

But Danny Murphy has named the major disadvantage facing Tottenham in the relegation fight with West Ham.

Murphy has stated he feels Spurs will be the ones to drop, highlighting the fact West Ham and Forest have togetherness, organisation and ‘a bit about them’ whereas ‘capitulating’ Tottenham simply do not.

“They (Tottenham) look all over the place,” Murphy said on talkSPORT.

“They showed a bit of resilience second half of Liverpool. Other than that, the games I’ve seen have been pretty woeful. And they don’t look together…

‘Capitulating’ Tottenham destined for drop over West Ham says Murphy

“When you’re fighting down on the bottom, the one thing you’ve got to have is a resilience and togetherness and a desire to defend. The really worrying thing (against Forest) was the capitulation. The energy didn’t go the other way, which it should do when you’re 1-0 down in terms of your reaction. They shrunk. They shrunk and it looked, there was a bit of fear in them, which is understandable because they’ve struggled at home so badly. And the expectation of the crowd is there, the disgruntlement’s there and it takes a strong mindset to play through that.

“Defensively, you have to be clued up, switched on, do the basics right. And they don’t. They don’t. And that’s the coach’s fault..

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“I don’t know, I’ve got a feeling no (Spurs won’t stay up) at the minute…

“When I watch Forest second half against Tottenham, they didn’t half have a good shape without the ball. Really good shape.

“West Ham now under Nuno. They’ve got a good shape, good platform. I know Villa beat them. Villa are a good side. You know, you can go to Villa when you’re playing well, never mind when you’re (down the bottom) and get beat.

“But that was only West Ham’s second defeat in seven. So they’ve got a bit about them. They’re having a go. And the reason I think Tottenham, if they keep the manager, will go is because I don’t see anybody who’s just about to get fit or sitting on the bench waiting in the wings who’s got the capability of grabbing a game and calming everybody down and getting them playing…

“I’ve looked at all the teams’ fixtures down there and I think they (Tottenham) are struggling.”

Murphy was keen to stress a change of coach from Igor Tudor could give Spurs the spark to turn it around.

Adolf Hutter looks set to become Tottenham boss, according to reports this week after Roberto De Zerbi turned them down.

West Ham will have more than one eye on who is appointed with fears a new manager bounce could condemn them to the Championship.

Relegation run-in remaining fixtures:

As if life wasn’t painful enough for Teddy Sheringham right now, he can’t even play a round of golf without former West Ham United defender James Collins mocking him over Tottenham Hotspur’s potential relegation from the Premier League.

It is nine weeks since Callum Wilson scored that winner at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the Hammers have picked up 12 more points than their bitter London rivals.

Suddenly, the prospect of relegation is not merely an exaggerated if wistful joke at Spurs’ expense, but a very real possibility.

This team stays up ahead of Spurs 😎

Only debate is Dinos or Todibo….

West Ham will leapfrog Tottenham if they beat Wolves in their first Premier League match back after the international break and the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Should results go West Ham United’s way on matchday 32, James Collins might not be receiving many more invitations to join Spurs icon Sheringham on the golf course.

West Ham icon makes Teddy Sheringham’s Tottenham anxiety even worse

Speaking via We Are Peak on TikTok, Sheringham lambasted the leadership – or a lack thereof – at a club sleepwalking towards arguably the most calamitous relegation in Premier League history.

“Right, I’m concerned. Not about the golf, not about my padel. No, I’m concerned about Tottenham Hotspur,” Sheringham begins fairly ominously.

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“I’ve just been playing golf with the boys. [Former winger] Simon Davis is a Tottenham fan. [But] ‘Ginge’ didn’t care, he’s a West Ham boy. He wants us to go down. He wants Spurs to go down rather than West Ham, doesn’t he?

“So he doesn’t care… but we’re concerned.”

Ex-West Ham assistant Edin Terzic is wanted by Athletic Bilbao, and is now actively canvassing opinion from the likes of Hansi Flick and Jupp Heynckes about a move to La Liga. Terzic was reportedly approached by Spurs before the disastrous and surely-short-lived appointment of Igor Tudor [The Athletic].

Exactly how short-term, though, remains to be seen.

Teddy Sheringham does not want Adi Hutter in for Igor Tudor

According to The Telegraph, former Eintracht Frankfurt and Monaco coach Adi Hutter has been lined up as an emergency solution. If you thought West Ham were poorly run, at least the Hammers have never had to replace an interim coach with another interim coach.

“Why has it all gone quiet at Tottenham Hotspur? It’s the international break, and it all seems to have gone quiet at Tottenham,” fumes Sheringham, who played nearly 200 games for Spurs between 1992 and his move to Manchester United in 1997.

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“Tell you what needs to be done, if this fella [Tudor] is getting the sack – which he should be – now I’m hearing they are having talks with another foreign guy [Hutter].

“What does this guy know about the Premier League? What does this guy know about Premier League players, about the stadiums, the pitches, about the players he’s got at his disposal?

“What the hell is going on at Tottenham Hotspur? Please, do not make this mistake again!”

For many, the relegation battle comes down to West Ham United against Tottenham Hotspur.

Assuming that Wolves and Burnley are already down, there is only one remaining spot at the foot of the Premier League table.

Nottingham Forest and Leeds are also in the battle, but West Ham and Spurs are slight favourites for relegation heading into the proverbial business end of the Premier League season.

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Spurs are a point above their London rivals but few would doubt that they are in a total crisis right now. West Ham, meanwhile, have much more momentum.

A win over Wolves next month would lift the Hammers out of the relegation zone for a few hours at least, but pundit Simon Jordan doesn’t think Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will do enough to beat the drop.

He does, however, say that Forest or Spurs being relegated would be a much bigger story.

Jordan thinks Spurs are a bigger club and that Forest chaos is more interesting

Speaking on talkSPORT, co-host Jim White asked Jordan if he still expected West Ham to get relegated.

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The former Crystal Palace owner said: “I do.

“Not because I want them to as West Ham fans seem to be alighting upon.

“If anything, if you want a media story, you want Forest or Spurs to go down and West Ham stay up because if Forest go down and West Ham stay up, it’s all about [Evangelos] Marinakis and Nuno Espirito Santo.

“If Spurs go down, it’s a huge story because you’ve got rid of Daniel Levy, you’ve got this huge stadium, this massive football club, so there’s much more interest in that than West Ham going down.”

Jordan probably isn’t wrong when talking about the landscape beyond the bubble here in east London.

Still, there’s little doubt that relegation from the Premier League only a few years after European success would still be a huge story and a painful one for supporters who have seen their club mismanaged every step of the way since that night in Prague.

The idea of the London Stadium, for all its obvious faults, could host Championship games next season is a major concern.

Spurs being relegated would have more of global interest, while Forest succumbing to it would allow people to further criticise the controversial Evangelos Marinakis.

Hopefully, West Ham can be the driving force in generating such an outcome.

Former West Ham United assistant Edin Terzic was reportedly on the radar of Tottenham Hotspur before the ill-fated appointment of Igor Tudor.

So, as the floundering Tudor hangs by a thread at free-falling Spurs, was there a possibility that the Hammers’ relegation rivals could turn to a man who spent two years alongside Slaven Bilic at Upton Park and the London Stadium?

According to The Athletic, Terzic was ‘informally approached’ by Tottenham in the wake of Thomas Frank’s overdue departure in February.

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As it transpired, the former West Ham United assistant did not want to take over a club without the benefit of a full pre-season, especially one in as much danger as Spurs.

The soon-to-be vacant Athletic Bilbao dugout, then, ticks far more boxes as far as Edin Terzic is concerned.

Ex-West Ham United assistant Edin Terzic set for Athletic Bilbao

While former Monaco and RB Leipzig boss Adi Hutter is now in the frame to take over from Tudor at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Diario AS report that Terzic has emerged as the leading contender to replace the legendary Ernesto Valverde at San Mames.

Valverde, who led Barcelona to successive La Liga titles in 2018 and 2019, recently announced that he will leave his beloved Athletic in the summer.

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President Jon Uriate has selected Terzic as his number one target, over Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.

Now, AS reports that Terzic has discussed a move to Spain with Barcelona’s ex-Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick, in addition to the iconic Jupp Heynckes. The man who guided Bayern to a treble in 2013 coached Athletic for two years just after the turn of the century.

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Igor Tudor faces Spurs exit as Chris Hughton rumours emerge

Unlike Tottenham – who need a manager, a saviour right here, right now – Terzic would have the luxury of taking over Athletic following the final game of the current campaign. Replacing Valverde, who won Athletic their first Copa del Rey title in 40 years, would be no easy task.

But far less risky than inheriting a poisoned chalice and taking one of the biggest clubs in English football into the Championship for the first time ever.

According to TEAMtalk, former West Ham full-back Chris Hughton has been considered by Tottenham as, well, an interim to replace the existing interim.

West Ham will fear a potential new manager bounce as relegation rivals Tottenham Hotspur close on a replacement for Igor Tudor after a U-turn from Roberto De Zerbi.

The Hammers and Spurs are locked in a relegation battle heading into the final seven games of the Premier League season.

Just one point separates West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur – and Nuno Espirito Santo’s side can climb above their rivals with a win over Wolves when the action resumes after the international break.

Tottenham’s woeful form since the turn of the year is in marked contrast to that of West Ham, who have closed a 12-point gap on the north Londoners to a solitary point in that time.

West Ham sweat over new manager bounce at Spurs

Igor Tudor has endured a disastrous spell as interim boss at Tottenham – so it is in West Ham’s interests that the Croatian’s tenure continues.

Now there is about to be a cat set amongst the pigeons in the relegation battle.

Where would West Ham be right NOW if we hadn’t sacked Graham Potter? 🤔

Let's here your views!

And West Ham will be sweating as Spurs are on the brink of appointing a new boss after a Roberto De Zerbi U-turn.

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Tottenham have reportedly agreed Tudor’s exit by ‘mutual consent’ after their 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest over the weekend.

Earlier this month there was concern among Hammers fans as Spurs closed in on free agent De Zerbi.

That turned to relief when the fiery and innovative Italian reportedly told Tottenham he would not consider the job until the summer – on the condition they remained in the Premier League.

However, a renewed push from Spurs for the ex Brighton boss resurrected West Ham’s worries that De Zerbi could come in and spark a revival at a pivotal moment.

It was claimed by Sky Sports News reporter Michael Bridge this week that De Zerbi was considering a new approach from Tottenham which included clauses that he could leave if they were relegated come what May.

Spurs on brink of new boss after fresh De Zerbi snub

In a new twist, though, De Zerbi has once again turned Spurs down – but West Ham’s rivals are banking on a new manager bounce from an alternative it seems.

Leading Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio reports that De Zerbi will not be taking charge of Tottenham’s last seven games and will wait until the summer before finding his next job.

Is this the WORST prediction of the season? 😂

Rob Earnshaw predicts West Ham to get just 3 more points…

But West Ham will have more than one eye on whether Adolf Hutter will get a new manager bounce.

The Telegraph claims Austrian Hutter, formerly manager of Monaco, is expected to sign up to replace Tudor ‘in the coming days’.

Hutter has managed in Austria, Switzerland, Germany and France.

The big worry for West Ham will be Hutter getting any kind of honeymoon period given what is at stake.

West Ham will have to ensure they finish at least one point above Tottenham, Forest or Leeds if they are to survive.

Because all three teams effectively have a one-point advantage over the Hammers due to superior goal differences.

While Tottenham were losing 3-0 at home to Forest, West Ham were comfortably beaten 2-0 at Aston Villa.

A win against Wolves next time out will put the Hammers on 32 points, two above Tottenham, level with Forest and one behind Leeds.

That will pile the pressure on with Spurs facing a tough trip to Sunderland two days later, Forest playing Villa and Leeds away at Man United.

Jamie Carragher has sent West Ham a message of hope for survival.

But it seems increasingly like West Ham will need at least 39 points to have any chance of survival – meaning three wins and a draw, or the equivalent, is needed in the final seven games.

Relegation run-in remaining fixtures: