Spurs: Dejan Kulusevski hails Ryan Mason as manager

Top four is seemingly off the menu in north London ahead of the summer but the search for a new manager continues.

Tottenham Hotspur winger Dejan Kulusevski has hailed interim manager Ryan Mason who has stepped in amid the ongoing search for a new manager.

Who could become the next manager?

European football is still there to play for Spurs in their final three games of the campaign, however, it may not be the level of competition they were hoping for.

Indeed, having dropped out of the Champions League earlier in the year, Spurs will have had their targets set on going again next season.

But it does not seem likely the north London club can force their way into the top four this time around with Newcastle United and Manchester United having pulled clear of the Lilywhites.

Whether that will have any bearing on who could become the future Spurs boss or not will remain to be seen.

Reports would suggest the number one target now for Daniel Levy is Julian Nagelsmann with talks ongoing over a potential deal for the German.

However, one man who has made it clear that he would be open to potentially becoming the next permanent boss is Mason.

And speaking to the club’s media, Kulusevski has hailed the 31-year-old for his impact since taking the reins in north London:

“I like Ryan a lot, he knows how it is to be in our shoes because he played here just a couple of years ago. It’s good when you can speak with someone like him because he’s a fantastic guy,” the £110k-per-week Swede said.

Should Mason have replaced Conte?

The rot in north London have begun before the exit of Antonio Conte, however, replacing him with his assistant manager was clearly not the correct route.

Cristian Stellini stepping in as the interim boss did not work with the same issues at play following Conte’s departure.

There have been signs of this under Mason, sloppy first-half displays against Manchester United and Liverpool cannot be ignored and shows Daniel Levy that upgrades are needed over the summer.

However, there have also been a lot of positives to take with Mason’s appointment seeing Son Heung-min return to much-improved form after what has been a seriously difficult campaign on the pitch for the South Korean.

The win against Crystal Palace was impressive and there were bright spells in the games against United and Liverpool, which can’t help but make you think whether Mason should have been made manager in the first place.

Had Mason taken over from Conte, perhaps they would have taken all three points against Everton and Bournemouth which would have kept their top-four hopes alive

Looking back even further, with Conte’s issues off the pitch evident, perhaps Mason could have provided Spurs with a competent manager to take over from the Italian amid his health struggles.

Although Nagelsmann is reportedly the favorite, it would be interesting to know where Mason lies in Levy’s thinking.