Mauricio Pochettino would be the popular choice as Tottenham’s next boss.
Tottenham players are still in touch with him, the fans still chant his name and even the man in charge is friendly with him. But Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has major reservations about going back as he faces a huge decision in the context of the club’s future.
It now feels a matter of when and not if Antonio Conte departs with an exit strategy being drawn up before the end of the week. Tottenham have already been in the process of looking at successors because they were anticipating Conte’s departure when his contract expires this summer.
Pochettino is available as he waits for his next opportunity. Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel and ex-Spain coach Luis Enrique are both interested.
Sporting coach Ruben Amorim is one of Europe’s top prospects while Brighton ’s Roberto De Zerbi is already attracting admitting glances after the impressive job he has done at the AmEx.
Meanwhile, they have a season with ten games left, a Champions League place still very much up for grabs and it would be ridiculous to write it off now with so much at stake.
Ryan Mason has filled in as caretaker before and is well placed to do so again to allow Spurs breathing space before making a permanent appointment in the summer. But Conte got them over the line last season and that has probably kept him in a job during a season which has threatened to implode on several occasions before the Italian’s meltdown after Southampton on Saturday.
The home truths about “selfishness” and a losing mentality clearly hurt the dressing room and if he had not lost the players already, then he has now. Conte tried doing something similar last season after a defeat at Burnley and it actually proved to be a turning point in their season as it shook up the players, inspired an upturn and they finished in the top four.
There is still plenty of time and games left for a repeat this season and the obvious dilemma for Levy is whether to try and make the long term appointment now, try to get into the Champions League, or wait until the summer.
Tuchel is available now but has the potential of Real Madrid or Bayern Munich coming up in the summer so he might bide his time. Incredibly, if they did go for Tuchel he would be the fifth former Chelsea boss to take charge after Glenn Hoddle, Andre Villas Boas, Jose Mourinho and Conte.
Pochettino would definitely be a name on Real Madrid’s shortlist so may want to weigh up his options until the summer. He would be popular among players, most notably Harry Kane ahead of the biggest summer of his career with his future also in the balance.
Weighing heavily against his return is Levy’s reluctance to go back, sporting director Fabio Paratici is championing Enrique and the way it ended first time around. The highs were unforgettable but the ending turned sour.
Levy would ideally like a manager with Premier League experience but Enrique clearly plays good football, has a profile and would potentially go down well with fans.
Amorim has worked wonders at Sporting, beaten Tottenham in the Champions League and knocked Arsenal out of the Europa League.
Whoever comes in would inherit a squad in decline, Tottenham need new players and an overhaul to get them back too competing for trophies which is at the heart of the problem.
