Tottenham Hotspur have expanded their new manager search to include former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde, while there is still interest from the Premier League side for Ralf Rangnick and Ajax manager Erik ten Hag.
Spurs fired Jose Mourinho in April and quickly appointed Ryan Mason as interim coach until the end of the 2020/21 season. But their search for a permanent successor to the Portuguese has been much more challenging, with no clear candidate now within the framework.
Talks with former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte fell through, while an agreement with ex-Roma coach Paulo Fonseca was apparently terminated at 11 o’clock. Spurs also withdrew from talks with Gennaro Gattuso after a #NoToGattuso backlash from fans on social media.
It has also been claimed that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and the new football manager Fabio Paratici have different priorities for what they are looking for in a head coach.
Valverde has been out of work since being sacked by Barcelona in January 2020 / Alex Caparros / Getty Images
Levy is said to favor a more expansive and attacking style of football, while the former Juventus official Paratici has a more conservative and pragmatic approach.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano has reported that Spurs are in contact with “many candidates”, with the previously mentioned Valverde the latest name added to the picture.
The 57-year-old, who has taken a break since he was in Barcelona in January 2020 when his team was top in La Liga, is said to have been ‘contacted’ by Spurs, but the talks are only at an early stage. Rangnick and Ten Hag have been interesting for a long time but offers for both would be “complicated.
Tottenham board back in touch with many candidates after Gattuso talks collapsed. ⚪️ #THFC
Ernesto Valverde’s new names were approaching – not yet advanced. Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag have always been appreciated, both are on the list – but “complicated”.
Crazy but … race still open.
– Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 18, 2021
Valverde won La Liga during each of his only two seasons in charge at Camp Nou, after getting the job in 2017 after impressing in his second spell training Athletic Bilbao. His only job outside Spain so far has been two separate spells at perennial Greek champions Olympiacos.
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