Tottenham will go head-to-head with Chelsea by interviewing Luis Enrique over their vacant managerial role.
Spurs are looking for a new boss after sacking Antonio Conte on March 26 to leave his assistant, Cristian Stellini, in charge of the side until the end of the season. That decision came a week before Chelsea parted company with Graham Potter and placed Frank Lampard in charge until the end of the season.
Those changes mean that Tottenham and Chelsea are in a period of limbo until the end of the season and are both shopping in the same market for a new manager. Enrique is of interest to both clubs after leaving his role as Spain boss following the World Cup.
The 52-year-old made his name at Barcelona, where he won two LaLiga titles, the Champions League and three Copa del Rey titles between 2014 and 2017. He stepped down from the Spain job after his side were knocked out of the World Cup in the last-16 by Morocco on penalties.
Enrique flew into London earlier this month to hold talks with Chelsea over succeeding Potter as manager. He was interested in taking the job straight away and was reportedly irritated that the Blues decided to appoint Lampard as interim boss until the end of the season.
That perceived snub could come back to haunt Chelsea, with The Telegraph reporting that Spurs have now invited Enrique to London for talks. The club are aware of the competition with Chelsea and are keen to touch base with Enrique before he makes a decision on his future.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Which manager should Tottenham go for? Comment below.
Enrique is not understood to be Tottenham’s first-choice yet, with the club also considering former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann, Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot and Vincent Kompany, who has just sealed promotion from the Championship with Burnley. Ex-Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino remains popular with fans but is not thought to feature on the club’s shortlist.
Chelsea are also eyeing Nagelsmann, who is happy to wait until the summer to make his decision after a shock sacking by Bayern last month. The German has already spoken to Chelsea and is one of the leading contenders for the job.
Sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley are in charge of vetting Chelsea candidates, while co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali are also involved. Tottenham’s process is being led by chairman Daniel Levy, with the future of managing director of football Fabio Paratici up in the air.
Paratici has been put on leave by Spurs after his ban from football activities was extended across the globe. The Italian, who has been caught up in the charges levelled against his former club Juventus, will discover the outcome of his appeal on Wednesday.
Spurs are fifth in the Premier League, three points behind Newcastle, who also have a game in hand, following their 3-2 defeat by Bournemouth on the weekend.
