Tottenham ditch pursuit of Gattuso after huge fan backlash

Joe Williams
Gennaro Gattuso Tottenham
Gennaro Gattuso

Tottenham have ended their pursuit of Gennaro Gattuso as their search for a new manager goes on, according to reports.

Former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca had seemed nailed on to become the new boss in north London only for Spurs to break off talks at the last minute.

Fonseca was primed to become Jose Mourinho’s successor after new football managing director Fabio Paratici identified him as his first choice.


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Discussions had progressed nicely and the 48-year-old, who met with Paratici for talks this week, was ready to join the north London club until they pulled the plug on Thursday.

Former AC Milan boss Gattuso was then heavily linked with the job with reports claiming he was the leading candidate to replace Mourinho following his surprise exit from Fiorentina.

Gattuso had only been in charge of La Viola for 23 days and Paratici was keen to take him to Juventus before his departure from the Turin club.

But now The Athletic claim that Tottenham ‘will not be appointing’ Gattuso as their new manager and their ‘protracted search for a new manager will continue’.

It is understood that ‘conversations took place’ but that the Italian ‘will not be getting the job’ after a ‘huge backlash from Spurs fans’.

Tottenham fans reportedly started a #NoToGattuso hashtag on social media last night alongside alleged comments from Gattuso about ‘women in football, same-sex marriage and racism’.

The former Rangers midfielder has history with Spurs, having been involved in a touchline bust-up with assistant manager Joe Jordan in a Champions League game with AC Milan in 2011.

It is another twist in a remarkable managerial search for Spurs, who sacked Mourinho eight weeks ago, making it their second-longest post-war recruitment process.

Spurs, who finished last season with 29-year-old Ryan Mason in temporary charge, were in advanced talks with former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, who worked with Paratici at Juve, before again calling off talks after realising he did not fit their profile.

They have also courted former boss Mauricio Pochettino, but were unable to get him out of his current club Paris St Germain.

Gattuso took over at Fiorentina last month following his sacking by Napoli at the end of last season for missing out on Champions League qualification, but left on Thursday after reported disagreements over which players they were going to sign.