Tottenham Hotspur are unlikely to appoint a new manager until the summer, though one name has emerged as a primary candidate…
Tottenham manager news – Fabrizio Romano provides Julian Nagelsmann update
The Telegraph recently revealed that Julian Nagelsmann was a key target for the north London outfit, having been sacked by Bayern Munich only last month.
Now, renowned transfer guru and journalist Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on the situation, claiming that while a move is far from close, he is among chairman Daniel Levy's shortlist.
He told Caught Offside:
"Tottenham have Julian Nagelsmann in their list alongside other candidates, for sure; but nothing is advanced or decided yet.
"Daniel Levy will take his time to make final decision, the board/directors situation also has to be clarified after Fabio Paratici resigned; this is a crucial step to decide on the new manager.
"Nagelsmann is not in a hurry to decide his future."
Will Nagelsmann become Spurs manager this summer?
Many around N17 have pined for the return of Mauricio Pochettino over the last few months but with much of the same playing squad still contracted, it's hard to envisage anything being different to the end of his tenure at the club.
Naglesmann, meanwhile, could offer a similar philosophy but one that can inject this lifeless outfit with some fresh impetus.
His favoured counter-attacking 4-2-3-1 system is similar to that of the Argentine's prime Spurs side, with the full-backs given license to bomb forward, thanks to the defensive stability in the engine room.
The wingers, such as Heung-min Son, become equally crucial as they come inside to support the sole striker and getting the South Korean closer to his talismanic partner Harry Kane will surely reap rewards.
This is perhaps why former Newcastle United and West Ham United goalkeeper Shaka Hislop has hailed the German as a perfect candidate for Tottenham.
"I think Nagelsmann is a good fit," he told ESPN. "I don’t know what it would cost and whether he would want it, but I think Nagelsmann would be a good fit for Spurs. Given his experiences at Bayern, he would deal with the difficulties of Daniel Levy."
His youthful age, at least in coaching terms, is more of a positive than a negative as he's able to truly connect better with his players with his "awesome" and "outstanding mentality," according to Sky Germany reporter Philipp Hinze, who has also hailed him as a "mastermind."
That mix of player management and tactical nous is exactly what Tottenham's next manager needs to have, with Antonio Conte perhaps falling short in both regards on numerous occasions.
Having departed the Bavarian giants with an impressive 71.4% win rate and an average of 2.31 points-per-game, via Transfermarkt, there will be few better candidates available on the managerial market this summer, so it's on Levy and his staff to make the right offer to lure the 35-year-old to north London.
Given the evidence above, he could indeed be the breath of fresh air that the club desperately needs to move forward. He completely transformed RB Leipzig as a club and now Spurs could be the next to undergo an on-pitch makeover under the eye-catching stewardship of Nagelsmann.
