Tottenham miss out on ‘long admired’ target as search for new manager continues

Tobias Gavelle
Thomas Tuchel on the touchline for Chelsea

Spurs are still looking for a new head coach and recently missed out on favoured candidate Thomas Tuchel after he took charge of Bayern Munich.

According to The Athletic, Spurs were huge admires of former Chelsea boss Tuchel, but never entered into advanced talks with the German.

Tuchel took charge of Bayern Munich after the Bundesliga giants dismissed former coach Julian Nagelsmann in March.

Tottenham meanwhile, are still without a manager and have yet to replace Antonio Conte after his sacking during last months international break.

The Italian’s former assistant Cristian Stellini is currently the interim head coach at Spurs and oversaw the 1-1 draw with Everton on Monday.

Spurs will be looking to avoid a repeat of their managerial crisis in 2021, when they missed out on Nagelsmann, German head coach Hansi Flick and current Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag.

Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca got to the final stage of the interview process before being denied and fan protests gave the club cold feet over hiring Gennaro Gattuso.

In the end Spurs hired Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo just days before the start of pre-season.

A poor run of results saw Nuno get the sack after less than four months in charge and left Tottenham making a desperate move for ex-Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.

Conte’s tenure ended in further turmoil, berating the club and the players following a 3-3 draw with Southampton in a game Spurs had led 3-1.

Conte said after the draw: “It is easy in this way. Tottenham’s story is this, 20 years there is the owner and they never won something but why? The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay here. I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench. You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation in every moment. Until now I try to hide the situation but now, no, because I repeat I don’t want to see what I have seen today.”

Tuchel would likely have been seen as a great appointment for Spurs, despite the potential embarrassment of hiring their third ex-Chelsea coach in a the past few years, following Conte and Jose Mourinho.

But now the North London club will now face a competitive field in their search for a new manager.

With Chelsea also on the market following Graham Potter’s sacking and Real Madrid likely to be after a new coach in the summer, Spurs face the prospect of more attractive projects being available to the top managers.

READ MORE: Chelsea manager search down to two-man shortlist; either ‘increasingly likely’ to replace Potter