Tottenham coaching search: Julian Nagelsmann is out, could Arne Slot, Xabi Alonso or Luis Enrique get the job?

Another day, another loss for Tottenham, who went down with a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, but those are becoming expected after the team moved to their third manager of the season. It’s critical that they make the correct decision on thie next manager but one thing that the club knows is that whoever is patrolling the sidelines come next year, it won’t be Julian Nagelsmann. After being fired from Bayern Munich, Nagelsmann was one of the top choices is Tottenham’s managerial search due to his ability to build a team and his tactical knowledge. As of Friday, however, the club is no longer pursing him.

Someone of Nagelsmann’s mold is what the club needs since the summer should include a teardown of the team’s foundation to hit a hard reset. After adding Scott Munn to the front office from City Football Group to oversee the sporting director and head coach, chairman Daniel Levy seems like he’s relinquishing control over front office decisions. Then again, he seemed to do that a couple of years ago as well, but he ended up with Fabio Paratici needing to resign from the director role after losing his appeal on a ban from soccer activities for his role in Juventus‘ improper financial dealings.

Frankly, it’s a mess that Nagelsmann doesn’t need to take the risk of wading into unless all of the variables lineup in his favor, but considering the visibility and potential of the role, it is one that should be of interest to quite a few managers in the world. Former manager Mauricio Pochettino is off the market after reportedly agreeing to terms with Chelsea to take over. Roberto De Zerbi is someone who has been linked but, like Nagelsmann, leaving Brighton for anything other than a top tier job doesn’t make much sense. But if they can’t lead the club into its future, who can?

Ryan Mason

It’s time that Spurs begin thinking outside of the box. Mason hasn’t been great as an interim manager but he was also dealt an impossible hand as the second choice for a temporary job. Someone who the players can connect to and capable of motivating them, if Mason is given the job and aided by a number two that can help him grow tactically, it could be a move that helps Spurs return to their ethos. Mason is Tottenham through and through, a former academy graduate and player whose career was spent entirely with Spurs until a stretch right at the end from 2016-2018. And when a head injury forced him into early retirement he immediately returned to Spurs in a coaching capacity.

At its best, Tottenham was a club that leaned on the academy and developing young talent. While Oliver Skipp is getting time with the first team, that academy pathway has dried up over recent years leading to the club playing like a group of individuals and not a team. Some of this isn’t all on academy players as a team can become disconnected after five managers in under four years. Taking time with a young manager would show that Spurs are recognizing that they’re not close to competing at the moment while seeing out a transitional phase.

Arne Slot

Another manager who has been linked with the role is Feyenoord’s manager Slot. Overseeing a team that likes to play on the front foot and control the game through attacking, Slot would bring fun soccer to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That’s something that has has been lost during the reign of defensive managers recently. The team needs an identity and that’s something that Slot can instill if given time while also improving players around the club.

It would take a lineup rebuild for the players to adjust to Slot’s passing style but that would be needed anyway. Bringing a manager with credentials after leading Feyenoord to the Europa Conference League final and the top of the Eredivisie to overtake Ajax would also be a boon for the club. It would still be an adjustment to life in the Premier League but Erik ten Hag, who jumped from Ajax last season to Manchester United this year, has shown the blueprint that Slot could follow. Emulation can be the best way to succeed and Tottenham need to get in line with what the more successful clubs in the Premier League are doing.

Xabi Alonso

Similarly to Slot, Alonso is someone who is overseeing an attacking side with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. But there would be a few hurdles to bringing him to the club. Not only could his current club qualify for Europe this summer while Tottenham won’t have European soccer, but he could also be impacted by what happens to Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid because he could be among the top candidates to move to the club, given his history starring in midfield for the club, though recently Madrid have suggested that they’re fine keeping their manager through next year, even if they are eliminated from the Champions League.

Without only a limited proven track record in top flight soccer, he’s a manager that comes with risks, but as Alonso has shown in Germany, he’s getting the hang of things quickly. Alonso also has the credentials as a former player to garner respect in day one on the job.

Luis Enrique

While Luis Enrique was involved in Chelsea’s coaching search, he ended up not joining the club which could provide Spurs with an opportunity. Luis Enrique is one of the most qualified coaches out there, winning a treble with Barcelona while managing the superstar attacking trio of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez before a stint focused on developing a new generation of talent with Spain. A winner who is able to employ multiple tactics, under Luis Enrique, Spurs would know what to do in possession. Like Nagelsmann there would need to be a lot of promises made to entice Luis bEnrique, but the club wouldn’t be doing their due diligence in this coaching search without at least talking to him about the role.

His vertical passing style can suit where the team wants to go but it comes down to if a deal could be made.

Looking elsewhere?

With names like Vincent Kompany also linked before he signed a new contract with Burnley, it appears that the club are looking in the right direction for the next manager. But, for things to work that manager will also need to have a good relationship with the sporting director who has yet to be hired. If Munn and Levy can nail those decisions, the club can quickly turn some of these issues around but if they move for more stop gap solutions, it will only set things back further than they already have been. The only way to eliminate “Spursy” from the vocabulary of many is by winning but the club can’t win without being aligned moving forward.