Tottenham Hotspur have reached out to the representatives of a “very versatile” manager to potentially replace the under-pressure Ange Postecoglou, with Spurs doing their due-diligence on future options if they decide to sack their current head coach.
Tottenham face AZ Alkmaar in Europa League second leg
On the field, Postecoglou’s side are gearing up for their highly-anticipated Europa League Last 16 second leg clash against AZ Alkmaar.
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Spurs go into the game bearing the task of overcoming a one-goal deficit from their first leg in the Netherlands, trailing 1-0 to AZ after Lucas Bergvall’s own goal handed the Eredivisie side a crucial advantage ahead of their trip to north London.
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Tottenham’s next five Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
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Fulham (away) |
March 16th |
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Chelsea (away) |
April 2nd |
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Southampton (home) |
April 5th |
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Wolves (away) |
April 12th |
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Nottingham Forest (home) |
April 21st |
The Europa League comes as Tottenham’s only chance to win any major silverware this season and end their 17-year wait for a trophy, but they’ll have to get the better of AZ without star winger Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Dragusin, Richarlison and January signing Kevin Danso, who picked up a hamstring injury against Bournemouth over the weekend.
“Yeah, Kevin got a hamstring injury in the last game so he is out. Ben [Davies] is back in, so that’s the only change from the weekend. Everyone else got through the game no problems,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham team news ahead of AZ.
However, the 59-year-old benefits from having all four of his “leaders” fit and available to play together, which has been rare this season, with Son Heung-min, James Maddison, Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario set to play a key role this evening.
“I think Vic was enormous for us in the first leg and he was big for us on the weekend as well,” said Postecoglou.
“You want your big, experienced players to perform in these games, for sure. We have relied a lot on our younger players who have really progressed really well, but I guess a night like tomorrow night, having the likes of Romero, Maddison, Vicario and Sonny out there, they are our four leaders and I don’t think we’ve had them on the park at all this year or very little anyway. Having all four of them, the whole leadership group out there, will definitely be beneficial.”
A good run in Europe could even be crucial for Postecoglou to keep his job, with reports suggesting that Tottenham are identifying managerial targets like Inter Milan’s Simone Inzaghi.
Another tactician who’s been linked with the potentially vacant post at the end of this season is Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.
The Spaniard has impressed onlookers after guiding his team to within touching distance of a Champions League qualification place, and he’s done well to cope with injuries to key players in his Bournemouth squad of late.
The Cherries want to tie him down with a new contract and fend off elite clubs who may be interested, according to GiveMeSport, and Spurs are very much interested in the prospect of appointing Rayo Vallecano’s ex-head coach.
According to the outlet, Tottenham have even made contact with Iraola via his agents, expressing their serious interest in the 42-year-old as an alternative to Postecoglou.
Bournemouth, though, will fight tooth and nail to keep hold of their highly-respected manager, as the south coast side plan talks to tie him down with fresh terms at the Vitality Stadium.
Called a “very versatile” manager who “earns the respect of the dressing room” by football analysts (X), his reputation for adapting to different scenarios and taking initiative could be very tempting for Spurs, as Postecoglou has often been criticised for not having those attributes and sticking to the same formula.
