Five candidates who could replace Antonio Conte as Tottenham manager
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On Sunday evening, almost a week after the decision had reportedly been made, Tottenham Hotspur officially, and finally, parted company with Antonio Conte by mutual consent.
Despite the relationship between Conte and the club going south quite rapidly, there is still room for optimism for Spurs supporters with the club sitting just about tucked inside the top four and aiming UEFA Champions League qualification once again.
The club have already confirmed that Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason will be in temporary charge but it has also been reported that a decision on a permanent, long-term appointment may not be made until the end of the campaign.
This is a look at five of the leading candidates to take over from Conte on a permanent basis and a look at which of the candidates appears the most well suited to the role.
The likes of Ruben Amorim and Roberto De Zerbi have also been the subject of speculation and are perhaps two of the most well suited, up and coming candidates. However, the top five in the odds list, led by Nagelsmann, does not include Amorim and De Zerbi, fairly surprisingly.
*NOTE: Odds are the best odds found on Oddschecker at the time of writing.
JULIAN NAGELSMANN
A lot more surprising than Conte’s departure at Spurs was the sudden sacking of Julian Nagelsmann, immediately replaced by former Chelsea and PSG boss Thomas Tuchel, a couple of days earlier.
Nagelsmann remains one of the most exciting young coaches in European football having led Hoffenheim to a surprise UEFA Champions League qualification, RB Leipzig to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals and now already a Bundesliga winner all by the age of 35 with unique and distinctive patterns of play and coaching. However, he may be tempted to reinvigorate himself and his reputation with a fairly significant step down in quality and expectation with Tottenham.
Tottenham’s rather flexible squad, brought about by several managers having a major input on incoming and outgoing transfers, would be suited to Nagelsmann’s well renowned tactical flexibility and ability to use various formations.
At the time of writing, it has been reported by several media outlets, including The Daily Mail in England, that Nagelsmann and Tottenham have already been in contact and the German has been installed as the favourite for the job with the bookies.
Odds: 13/8
MAURICIO POCHETTINO
In many walks of life, ‘never go back’ is a fairly common phrase and sentiment but for many Tottenham supporters, and maybe even Mauricio Pochettino himself, a reunion could be the dream outcome.
Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham just a few months after steering the club to a first ever UEFA Champions League final in 2019, where they lost to Liverpool in Madrid. When Pochettino first arrived at White Hart Lane in 2014, the club hadn’t experienced consecutive top four finishes in over 30 years. However, within two full seasons in charge, Tottenham went on to record three successive top three finishes.
Since departing Spurs, Pochettino has gone on to become the ‘winner’ that many accuse him of not being by winning trophies at PSG that would be catastrophic if he failed to do so, thus highlighting the generally flawed and lazy logic of the ‘serial winner’ or ‘serial loser’ trope.
Whilst it could and probably should be argued the Argentine departed north London too soon, it would also seem foolish to go back to a club that kicked him out and, at the time, thought it could do better.
Odds: 5/1
CRISTIAN STELLINI
Due to surgery on a gallbladder in early February, Antonio Conte was unable to attend a run of Tottenham matches. Cristian Stellini, one of his assistant coaches, took charge of several Tottenham matches in his absence and their performances and results took an up-turn.
They defeated reigning English champions Manchester City by a goal to nil as well as enjoyed comfortable London derby victories against Chelsea and West Ham. In the middle of that run of wins, Conte returned to the dugout for Tottenham’s 4-1 demolition at the hands of relegation battling Leicester City.
However, Stellini’s run in charge did end quite badly with a 1-0 defeat at Bramall Lane to Sheffield United in the fifth round of the FA Cup. The 48 year-old has only ever had one managerial role with a senior side and that came in 2017 when he was sacked early on by LegaPro club Alessandria.
Despite that lack of experience and poor result in the cup, Stellini has two months of this Premier League season to salvage a top four finish and UEFA Champions League qualification and, who knows? Daniel Levy may be inclined to give him the job on a long-term permanent basis, albeit that seems very unlikely.
Odds: 10/1
LUIS ENRIQUE
Luis Enrique’s most recent job was in charge of the Spain national team. The former Barcelona coach took La Furia Roja to the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2020 but they were knocked out in the Round of 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on penalties by Morocco in Qatar.
Enrique, despite their surprise early exit to eventual semi-finalists by Morocco in that final tournament, earned plaudits for his improvement and evolution of the Spanish side, producing impressive performances and results, occasionally blighted by blunders in both boxes.
Enrique won the treble with Barcelona in the 2014/15 campaign and is well renowned for that. Being appointed as the Tottenham manager requires a very different set of skills and will lead to a very different level of expectation.
His coaching level and the clear improvement of some players whilst with both Barcelona and Spain will be appealing to Levy and co ahead of their decision in the coming weeks and months. There will be concern that, for all of his merit, the Morocco game at the World Cup felt a bit ‘Spurs-y’ if you pardon the expression.
Odds: 12/1
SERGIO CONCEICAO
As mentioned, there is a Portuguese Primeira Liga manager that would seem a perfect fit for Tottenham in Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim. Therefore, it is relatively surprising to see Sergio Conceicao tipped up higher than him in the odds.
That isn’t to diminish and undermine Conceicao’s genuinely impressive achievements as manager of Porto. His title winning side of 2022 was one of the most dominant teams in Primeira Liga history and he has led the club to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League in four of his six seasons.
The reason as to why Conceicao might not be the ideal fit for Spurs is because of his style of football. The 48 year-old Coimbra-born former Vitoria and Nantes boss has a more reactive style of play, in comparison to more open and attacking intent which Spurs supposedly desire in the wake of the likes of Conte, Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo.
Odds: 14/1
