Tottenham turn focus to divisive former Chelsea boss in next manager hunt

Maurizio Sarri has emerged as a candidate to replace Jose Mourinho at Tottenham, according to reports.

Tottenham dismissed Mourinho on Monday, just a few days before their Carabao Cup final clash with Manchester City. Form in the Premier League has been on a downward spiral and the two parties have now separated. Spurs will soon need to find a replacement.

For now, former midfielder Ryan Mason has been placed in caretaker charge. However, it is clear that Tottenham will need a more high-profile name to guide them next season.

According to Football Italia, one name they are considering is Sarri. The Italian previously spent one season in the Premier League with Chelsea and could be offered the chance to return to London.

It is claimed that Tottenham made contact with Sarri’s representative Fali Ramadani on Monday after they sacked Mourinho.

The ex-Blues boss is out of work after leaving Juventus at the end of last season. However, he is still technically under contract with the Turin-based club.

Hence, anyone who wants to take him as their manager must pay out what remains of his contract. But Sarri is eager to get back in work.

He may prefer to stay in Serie A and has been linked with the head coach role at Roma, which is expected to become vacant at the end of the season.

But now Tottenham are trying to hijack those talks to get a feeling of whether Sarri could be their man.

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Their main target is believed to be Julian Nagelsmann, who is one of the most promising young coaches around. However, the RB Leipzig boss also has admirers at Bayern Munich.

Another suggestion was Brendan Rodgers, although it may be tough to prise him away from Leicester City. Hence, Tottenham may need to cast their net wider.

Sarri is now on their agenda and although both parties have other options, it is something they could think about.

Sarri previously divided opinion at Chelsea for his style of play. However, his time their culminated in success as they won the Europa League.

Sarri claims Juventus are 'cursed' in Champions League after last 16 exit

Juventus head coach Maurizio Sarri says mistakes cost his side as they were knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon.

A similar story followed at Juventus where he won the league and cup double, but was knocked out in last season’s Champions League by Lyon.

Favouring a 4-3-3 formation, Sarri has a distinctive style which wasn’t warmly received by all members of the Cheea faithful. However, the 62-year-old’s approach may be more popular at Tottenham than Mourinho’s was.

Nagelsmann not in contact with Bayern

As things stand, it seems Sarri is just one of many options and not their preferred candidate. That remains Nagelsmann.

Their hopes of securing his services took a hit when Hansi Flick announced his intention to leave Bayern at the end of the season. That would open up a vacancy for one of the biggest jobs in Europe.

But Nagelsmann recently denied that he had been in talks with the Munich club.

“On Twitter, I saw a few funny messages by our fans which journalist will be the first to ask a question on yesterday’s hotspot topic. That’s why I’ll answer that before we start. Nothing has happened since the last presser,” Nagelsmann said

Last Wednesday, Nagelsmann said “there have been no talks and there are no talks” with Bayern.

On Sunday, the German coach, who is the favourite to succeed Mourinho at Spurs, also claimed he does not know what Bayern want.

“There are and were no discussions and no offer. That’s why I don’t know what Bayern’s wish is.

“I have said I don’t want to start a war with my employers – that’s still the case,” said Nagelsmann.

READ MORE: Tottenham star laughs with journalists after Mourinho sacking