The battle to become the new Tottenham Hotspur manager is likely to come down to Julian Nagelsmann and Arne Slot – but they are not close to appointing anyone right now.
That is according to journalist James Olley, who was speaking to ESPN following the decision to sack Cristian Stellini as interim boss this week.
Tottenham has been without a permanent manager for almost a month following Antonio Conte’s departure. And that wait is under the microscope once again, with Stellini failing to steady the ship in North London.
Tottenham manager search looks set to come down to Nagelsmann and Slot
A host of names have been linked with the job. And you really get the feeling that Daniel Levy simply cannot afford to get the next appointment wrong after such a disappointing few years on the pitch.
Julian Nagelsmann is arguably the marquee name in contention. And reports have suggested that Nagelsmann is open to restarting talks with Tottenham after backing away from discussions with Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Arne Slot is winning a lot of admiration for the work he has done with Feyenoord. They look to be on the cusp of winning the Eredivisie title.
And Olley has suggested that Spurs’ search looks set to end with one of those two options.
“They want Julian Nagelsmann, and Feyenoord’s Arne Slot is another one they like,” he told ESPN. “There are one or two other names in the picture. But I think it’s probably between those two as things stand. But they’re not close to an appointment, chiefly because Nagelsmann was quite heavily linked to the Chelsea job.”
It is worrying that Spurs do not appear to be close to an appointment. Obviously, the task will be easier in the summer. Slot, for example, is unlikely to leave Rotterdam for anywhere, particularly Tottenham, when his side are on the verge of winning the title.
But they will have been working behind the scenes, finding out who would be interested in the post. So the fact that they are not close is a concern.
Appointing Nagelsmann would be a statement. But Tottenham fans are probably not particularly fond of statement appointments at this stage.
Slot meanwhile, would need to be backed over a longer period if he is going to get the role. He has shown what he can do.
But clearly, Tottenham is not an overnight fix.
