Conte, now Gattuso - Why can't Tottenham find a manager?

Martin Macdonald

• 18 Jun 2021 13:00 BST

Tottenham have now been looking for a new manager for nearly 10 weeks since they decided to part ways with Jose Mourinho in April.

The Portuguese boss had been in charge of Spurs since November of 2019 but was unable to return the club to the Champions League, while he received criticism against for his apparent pragmatic style compared to that of previous coach Mauricio Pochettino, who led to the club to the Champions League final.

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After Mourinho's dismissal, Ryan Mason was put in temporary charge while chairman Daniel Levy got to work on finding a long-term manager.

However, with every passing day Spurs are becoming more of a laughing stock as for a variety of different reasons a variety of prominent head coaches have been linked with the role only for no appointment to come.

So, who has been linked, and why have they not got the job?

Gennaro Gattuso

Former Napoli head coach Gennaro Gattuso took over at Fiorentina just a few days after being sacked by the Partenopei only to be sacked again by the Viola only 24 days into his role.

The Italian reportedly fell out with the club hierarchy over transfer targets, while the club did not like the influence of agent Jorge Mendes on recruitment.

Shortly after that, his named popped up as a candidate for the job at Tottenham.

However, that speculation only lasted a day or two as after negotiations started, Tottenham fans started a #NoToGattuso hashtag on Twitter which made the Spurs hierarchy think twice about the decision.

Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust tweeted:

“As ever, it isn’t wise for us to comment on speculation.

“However, we can and do communicate supporter sentiment to the decision makers at the Club, and have done so very clearly on this occasion.

“We are aware of and acting on your concerns around potential managerial candidates.”

Antonio Conte

Antonio Conte is coming off a brilliant season with Inter in which he led the club to the Scudetto and ended Juventus' decade long dominance of Italian football.

Even with that success, though, he would leave at the end of the campaign after Inter directors informed him the squad would need to be trimmed down in order to ease the club's rising debt.

At least one of Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez, Achraf Hakimi or Nicolo Barella will probably sold, and Conte wanted to strengthen the squad, not weaken it.

After his departure from Inter he would be contacted by Spurs, wishing to bring the Premier League winner back to England.

However, much like the talks with Inter, Conte was not given assurances over a transfer budget as well as, reportedly, the future of wantaway striker Harry Kane.

Paulo Fonseca

Paulo Fonseca was informed before the conclusion of the 2020/21 season with Roma that he would not be kept on for the next campaign, with Mourinho selected as his replacement.

The pair came very close to swapping jobs as new Spurs director Fabio Paratici met with Fonseca, only for Spurs to pull out of the deal.

Maurio Pochettino

This one was never likely to happen, as Levy courted Mauricio Pochettino to try and bring back the manager he let go just two seasons ago.

Pochettino is at Paris Saint-Germain now, and although he may be unsettled after failing to win Ligue 1, a return to Spurs probably wasn't on the agenda.

Julian Nagelsmann

Julian Nagelsmann is clearly destined for big things as a head coach and that is why he will be in charge of one of the biggest clubs on earth, Bayern Munich, at the age of just 33.

Spurs through their hat in the ring to try and prise him from RB Leipzig but it was unlikely the German was going to leave for a club not in the Champions League.

The lack of Champions League football is indeed proving to be a speedbump for Tottenham in their pursuit of a new manager.