Journalist Paul Brown is sceptical over whether Julian Nagelsmann would take the managerial vacancy at Tottenham Hotspur in light of potential alternative job opportunities emerging in the summer.
What's the latest news involving Julian Nagelsmann?
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has issued an update on the future of Julian Nagelsmann on the Here We Go podcast, stating: “Tottenham have Julian Nagelsmann as one of their priorities, he’s one of their top targets in terms of a new manager. Before reaching an agreement he wants some guarantee on a new director. They don’t have a Director of Football, and he wants to know if Tottenham will go in that direction to have a new Director of Football or not.”
The Daily Mail claim that Brentford technical director Lee Dykes has been earmarked to replace Fabio Paratici at Spurs, while Johannes Spors has also been linked with the sporting director vacancy.
As per The Telegraph, it could cost Spurs over £10 million in compensation costs to hire Nagelsmann as manager, as he is on gardening leave from Bayern Munich, meaning he is still technically employed by the German giants.
Intriguingly, The Mirror have recently claimed that Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso is also a serious contender for the Tottenham vacancy, with chairman Daniel Levy understood to be willing to clear any compensation to hire the 41-year-old, potentially providing an alternative to Nagelsmann.
Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Brown is unsure why Nagelsmann would take the reins at Tottenham, given the likelihood of other high-profile jobs becoming available in the off-season.
Brown told FFC: "I think Spurs would love to have a coach like Nagelsmann going there, but if you're Julian Nagelsmann, why would you take that job right now? There is no point; you wait a few weeks until the summer; some of the genuinely big clubs around Europe, some of the real giants, might have jobs available. If you're Nagelsmann, you'd certainly be interested in taking those over Spurs. That's not to say he's going to say no."
What next for Tottenham Hotspur?
Tottenham's manager situation has dominated headlines in recent times, making it easy to forget that the Lilywhites actually still have three Premier League matches left to play this term, which will go a long way to deciding what situation their boss will arrive into come the summer.
Spurs sit sixth place in the Premier League table on 57 points, six behind Manchester United, who are on 63 and have played one match less than their divisional rivals.
With that in mind, it makes finishing in the top four a near-impossible task for Tottenham. Nevertheless, their remaining fixtures against Aston Villa, Brentford and Leeds United could still pave the way for qualification to compete in either the Europa League or Europa Conference League next season.
Caretaker boss Ryan Mason will be intent on rallying his troops to finish 2022/23 in a strong fashion following a year of turbulence on and off the field.