According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Tottenham Hotspur have taken the initiative to contact Roberto De Zerbi to sound out his willingness to take over the team before the summer transfer window opens. As revealed by renowned journalist Alex Crook, the Italian manager still prefers to wait and is not considering taking charge of Tottenham early for the time being. However, as long as Tottenham can successfully avoid relegation and escape the Premier League relegation zone, De Zerbi remains the top candidate for the official manager position.
Before the start of the Champions League match against Atletico Madrid, Tottenham's management had already drawn up an interim manager shortlist with as many as eight candidates, preparing for a possible managerial change at any time.
This shortlist includes two capable managers, Marco Rose and Sean Dyche. The core challenge in inviting Dyche lies in the fact that he still has a compensation-related agreement with Nottingham Forest. If he takes up a new job early, this compensation agreement will become invalid, and Tottenham will need to bear high costs, making the cost of inviting Dyche extremely expensive.
To motivate the new manager to lead the team to achieve the relegation goal, Tottenham have clearly stated that they are willing to pay a substantial relegation bonus, which will be fulfilled as long as the team can successfully stay in the Premier League.
Other candidate managers discussed by Tottenham's management include Robbie Keane, Chris Hughton and Harry Redknapp. As of Sunday lunchtime, the club has not made any contact with these three managers. Notably, Robbie Keane has also been favored by Crystal Palace, and he himself hopes to secure a long-term coaching contract.
In addition, Ryan Mason, Ben Davies, Glenn Hoddle and Tim Sherwood have also entered Tottenham's sight for the managerial position. For Davies in particular, he may take on a dual role as player and coach to manage the team. The club has also put forward an alternative plan internally: even if none of the above candidates are appointed as the official manager, they can invite a coach with deep ties to Tottenham and a strong sense of team sentiment to join the coaching staff to assist the team in completing the remaining matches of the season.
Bruno Saltor will temporarily lead the team in training and be responsible for the daily preparation work until a new manager is officially confirmed.
Although Tottenham have not yet confirmed any new manager, the club has already carried out extensive preparations for the managerial search long before being eliminated from the Champions League, with sufficient contingency plans in place. The management believes that the team already has a comprehensive response plan and can smoothly complete the transition of managerial change.
