Tottenham’s unedifying search for a permanent manager took a new twist on Thursday, with Ralf Rangnick backing Julian Nagelsmann for the top job.
The dismissal of interim boss Cristian Stellini earlier this week has ensured that the search for Antonio Conte’s successor will go down in infamy. The logic to hire the Italian’s trusted confidante as the caretaker boss always looked muddled and so it proved to be.
Daniel Levy was forced into action after Spurs slumped to a humiliating 6-1 defeat at Newcastle that served a potentially fatal blow to their top-four hopes. The Tottenham chairman accepted responsibility for his own mistakes - even if fans on social media were in a less than accepting mood.
Platitudes are meaningless at this point to an exasperated fanbase desperate for some light at the end of the tunnel. Salvation from Mauricio Pochettino now looks highly unlikely, with the Argentine now set to do the unthinkable by rocking up at rivals Chelsea.
Pochettino was the easy choice. The fan favourite that would have dissipated any negative feeling for the foreseeable. He now looks almost certain to be off the market, pushing Levy further towards a corner he has needlessly backed himself into.
Nagelsmann is perhaps the consolation prize of all consolation prizes for Spurs fans. There is an acknowledgement that his dismissal from Bayern Munich was hugely unjust, with his reputation as one of Europe’s elite young managers surviving his departure from Bavaria.
Luring him to North London would be a signal of intent that, despite their recent struggles, Tottenham are still an attractive proposition to the game’s best thinkers. There are still plenty of stumbling blocks in hiring the 36-year-old, most notably the compensation they would need to pay Bayern to acquire his services.
But Nagelsmann has already proven he is willing to be picky, publicly snubbing the vacant Chelsea role, before Pochettino eased into pole position. And so the advice of Nagelsmann’s mentor may go a long way, and Rangnick has given him just that.
“I think Tottenham are an exciting club in more ways than one,” the ex-Manchester United interim boss told Sky Sports. “They probably have one of the most modern, beautiful stadiums in the world at the moment.
“They have one of the best training centres there is at the moment and Daniel Levy, who has been running the club for many, many years.”
Perhaps even more interestingly, Rangnick - a respected team builder - appeared to throw his hat in the ring to join Nagelsmann, citing the need for a new Director of Football following the departure of Fabio Paratici.
And while Rangnick’s reputation in the dugout took a hit thanks to his spell at Old Trafford, his eye for a player remains. The Austrian played a key role in the development of the Red Bull stable of clubs and was responsible for scouting a number of players.
It was why United had initially been keen to keep him on in a consultancy role, to help bridge the gap between his tenure and the start of Erik ten Hag's. Ultimately that didn’t materialise, with the 64-year-old instead signing on to become the Austrian national team boss.
But a look at the calibre of player Rangnick had proposed United went for during his short stay shows the kind of thinker Tottenham could bring on board. “It was clear to everyone that there was a need in many areas,” he told BILD after leaving United.
“That’s why we were already discussing players like Josko Gvardiol and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig. Those were names that were realistic.
“We also talked about Alvaro Morata, Luis Diaz, Dusan Vlahovic and, as I said, Erling Haaland when they were still on the market. But the club decided at that time to rebuild the team under the new coach.”
Other than Morata, who divides opinion after his poor Chelsea showings, Rangnick picked out a group of stars who would have all been unquestionable transfer hits. Tottenham could do with hitting on transfers, with their league position showing - that for all of their struggles - they aren’t too far away from mounting a challenge.
The idea of teaming Nagelsmann’s tactical prowess with Rangnick’s well-honed recruitment could be a recipe too tantalising for Levy to pass up.
