Tottenham could be forced to pay more than £10million to Bayern Munich if they want to appoint Julian Nagelsmann as their next permanent manager.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is on the hunt for a new boss after sacking two managers in the last two months. Antonio Conte was dismissed in March and his former assistant Cristian Stellini, who was in charge on a caretaker basis, was shown the door last month.
Ryan Mason is Tottenham's current caretaker manager but is not expected to be appointed on a permanent basis, despite beating Crystal Palace 1-0 at home on Saturday afternoon. That has left Levy to compile a shortlist for the Spurs job.
It's believed Nagelsmann is at the top of that shortlist. The 35-year-old is considered as one of the best young managers in Europe and has previously coached Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, losing his job at the latter club just two months ago.
Despite being sacked by Bayern, Nagelsmann is still on the club's payroll because he was placed on gardening leave when Thomas Tuchel replaced him in March. According to The Telegraph, Nagelsmann will still be on gardening leave come the summer.
As such, Bayern could be owed compensation if Tottenham hire Nagelsmann. It's believed that figure could be in excess of £10m, and Spurs will also need to meet his wage demands. He is reportedly pocketing between €8m (£7.1m) and €9m (£8m) per year at Bayern.
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Nagelsmann is interested in the Tottenham job, but the good news stops there for Spurs fans. The German will not consider a job offer until he knows who Tottenham's next director of football will be. Fabio Paratici left the position last month.
Scott Munn was recently appointed as Tottenham's chief football officer, but he is not a replacement for Paratici. Nagelsmann will only accept Tottenham's advances if he believes he can win silverware. Spurs have not lifted a trophy for 15 years.
Nagelsmann will also want clarity over Harry Kane's future. The England captain has just 13 months remaining on his existing deal and is a transfer target for Manchester United. Ironically, Bayern are also interested in the prolific striker, who turns 30 in July.
Where Tottenham finish in the Premier League this season will also have an impact on their managerial search. Saturday's victory against Palace has pushed Spurs up to sixth in the table, although Brighton in seventh are just two points behind them with three games in hand. Mason's side need to finish in the top seven to qualify for Europe.
Nagelsmann has already dropped out of the running to be the next Chelsea manager because the job wasn't right for him, with former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino tipped to succeed current caretaker Frank Lampard.
If Nagelsmann rejects Tottenham, among the other candidates on Levy's shortlist are Feyenoord's Arne Slot and Celtic's Ange Postecoglou, while former Spain manager Luis Enrique has also been linked.
However, Mirror Football understands Levy has given the green light for a move for Xabi Alonso, whose compensation package at Bayer Leverkusen is considerably less than that of Nagelsmann.
