On Sunday afternoon, Tottenham parted ways from Igor Tudor without a replacement lined up.
The Croat was brought in as Thomas Frank’s replacement but lasted just 43 days at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium helm.
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Tudor oversaw five defeats in his seven games in charge as Spurs lost to Arsenal, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest in the league, and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Attention now turns to his replacement and Spurs have outlined that an update on a new head coach will be made in due course.
eSPORTY understands the 2025 Europa League winners have no one currently lined up to take over.
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The next man at the helm will have a huge task on their hands with Spurs sat just one point above the relegation zone following their 3-0 loss to Forest last weekend.
There will be no shortage of suitors to take over the Spurs reins, and eSPORTY assesses the credentials of some of the candidates in line to succeed Tudor in north London.
Roberto De Zerbi
eSPORTY understands Spurs are willing to offer the former Brighton boss a big relegation survival bonus to take over now.
The Italian is also out of work following his Marseille exit last month and has been Spurs’ top choice to take over in the summer but the north Londoners now want to accelerate the appointment given the club’s relegation plight.
However, there has been little buy-in from De Zerbi, with the 46-year-old keen to wait until the end of the season before deciding his future.
Another 4-2-3-1 manager, he’d light a fire under these under-performing Spurs players, something that has been found wanting in recent months.
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Adi Hutter
Former Monaco boss Adi Hutter is also a candidate to get the Spurs job, although he appeared to rule himself out of contention on Sunday night.
“In recent days and weeks, I have been more and more often associated with different clubs,” Hutter told Sky Sports.
“But as I already said immediately after my time in Monaco, I would like to work as head coach again at the beginning of the new season at the earliest.
“My attitude on this topic has not changed since then.”
The 56-year-old has been out of work since leaving his role at the Stade Louis II helm back in October, and this would certainly appeal to the decision makers in the capital.
Hutter plays forward-thinking attacking football in a 4-2-3-1 set-up, a system that suits the current Spurs crop.
A lack of Premier League experience and enthusiasm to take the job now may hold the Austrian back, though current Spurs left-back Ben Davies could be drafted in as Hutter’s assistant in order to avoid a potential repeat of the Tudor debacle.
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Ben Davies
Alternatively, Davies is reportedly being considered as interim-manager in a Ryan Mason MK:II situation.
The Welshman is earning his coaching badges with the club and is a hugely respected member of the Spurs squad.
Davies, who hasn’t played since suffering a serious ankle injury against West Ham in January, would act as player-manager for the remainder of the season.
The 32-year-old knows the league well and is doing his coaching badges, but has zero managerial experience. Giving the defender the keys would be a huge risk.
Mauricio Pochettino
He’s magic, you know? If Spurs could somehow lure Mauricio Pochettino away from the USMNT and back to the club, then the Argentine would have to perform his greatest trick yet to keep Spurs up.
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Pochettino is still fondly remembered by supporters, even after taking on the Chelsea job for a year. The issue, however, is his Stars and Stripes contract.
The 54-year-old, who watched his USA side fall to a 5-2 loss to Belgium over the weekend, will leave his role after the World Cup. It would take something special to lure Pochettino back to England before the summer.
Even so, Pochettino has previously hinted he’d be willing to manage Spurs even if they are relegated, while he’d be an appointment to fix a fractured fan base.
Sean Dyche
Sean Dyche was relieved of his Nottingham Forest duties last month, and the former Tricky Trees boss has been linked with a return to Premier League management with Tottenham.
Spurs reportedly sent a Dyche SOS late last week, but it’s a call that went unanswered. Speaking exclusively to eSPORTY, the ex-Burnley man spoke about a chance encounter with a football fan in a pub in London.
“This guy goes: ‘Oh, you’re meant to be in talks with Spurs’,” Dyche stated. “And I said: ‘Well, I’m sat next to you having a pint of Guinness – it’s unlikely’.”
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Dyche would likely want the job beyond the final seven games of the season. And considering Spurs have tried the pragmatic approach with Frank at the helm, his appointment wouldn’t go down well with the fanbase.
Ryan Mason
Could Ryan Mason return to Spurs for a third interim stint?
Mason has previously held the position, (in)famously doing so for the 2021 EFL Cup final against Manchester City.
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The 34-year-old left Tottenham last summer to take over as West Brom head coach, a position he held until January, departing with the Baggies 18th in the Championship.
While fans would want to see Pochettino return, Mason is a former Spurs favourite that would unite supporters. Out of work, too, the Premier League side wouldn’t be required to pay any compensation to appoint Mason.
eSPORTY understands there’s been no contact between top brass at Spurs and Mason.
Tim Sherwood
Is Tactics Tim the man to rescue Tottenham? Sherwood has thrown his hat in the ring on more than one occasion.
Sherwood took over as Spurs head coach in December 2013, taking over following Andre Villas Boas’ exit.
And to Sherwood’s credit, he won 14 of the 28 matches he oversaw. A 50 per cent win rate was commendable.
The former Blackburn and Spurs midfielder hasn’t managed since leaving his role as Aston Villa head coach in October 2015. Such a substantial time out of the game hardly bodes well for his chances of taking over.
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Robbie Keane
Another former Tottenham fan favourite remains in with a chance of succeeding Tudor in north London, although he hasn’t been contacted by the club.
Keane is currently in charge of Hungarian side Ferencvaros, a position he has held since January 2025.
And for all intents and purposes, the Irishman is performing well at the Ferencvaros Stadion. His side sit second in Hungary’s top tier, three points off league leaders Gyori, albeit with a game in hand.
Conversely, Ferencvaros would be reluctant to lose Keane at this stage of the campaign as they seek a 37th top-flight title.
The Irishman also favours a three-man back line, and supporters will have been glad to see the back of the system now that Tudor has departed the club.
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Ange Postecoglou
When Ange Postecoglou stated that season three was better than season two at Tottenham’s Europa League parade last summer, few could have foreseen the campaign panning out the way it has.
It’s been full of drama, that goes without saying, but, to some, it’s been lacking a main character. Might the protagonist of the European success swoop in to save the day?
Well… it’s unlikely. The board were happy to pull the trigger on the Australian’s time at the club last summer, and to bring Postecoglou back would mean to concede they were wrong to sack Big Ange in the first place.
Meanwhile, eSPORTY understands the 60-year-old wouldn’t be open to a short-term deal.
Even so, he delivered a trophy with this squad, one that has arguably been improved upon since his exit.
While he wouldn’t be a popular appointment in the same way Pochettino would, Postecoglou knows this squad and still commands the respect of the players.
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Glenn Hoddle
Some supporters want to see a man who knows the club take over the reins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Glenn Hoddle is a club legend having both played for and managed Tottenham during his career.
Spurs fan Otto told Sam Matterface and Perry Groves on The Sunday Session: “Glenn Hoddle needs to come in.
“He’s been around football, he’s always been around football, he’s always on TV, he’s presenting, whether it’s England playing, whether it’s Premier League, he’s around football.”
The 68-year-old is still highly thought of in north London but in turn; Hoddle hasn’t managed since leaving his role as Wolves boss in 2006.
Hoddle works as a pundit, so remains in the game in some capacity, but managing 20 years after his last gig would be a substantial risk.
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Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp told eSPORTY earlier this month that if former chairman Daniel Levy was still in charge, the ex-Tottenham manager would have returned to the club already.
Redknapp has talked up a potential return on a number of occasions, with former Spurs striker Jermain Defoe among those he’d look to bring back to the club to help with their plight.
Like Hoddle, Redknapp has been out of the game for quite some time. The Englishman’s most recent role was in charge of Birmingham City in 2017. The new stadium was just a pipe dream the last time the 79-year-old oversaw a Spurs match back in 2012.
Probably one to avoid, especially with a number of more ‘current’ options on the cards but if anyone can bring a squad in disarray together, it’s ‘Arry.
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