Tottenham consider Ange Postecoglou return before Roberto De Zerbi hire
Tottenham Hotspur briefly considered re-appointing former manager Ange Postecoglou before ultimately hiring Roberto De Zerbi to save their Premier League season.
The north London club found themselves in urgent need of leadership following the swift departure of Igor Tudor.
Tudor left the struggling side after a highly disappointing few weeks in charge.
With the team unexpectedly battling to maintain their top-flight status, the board were forced into taking immediate action.
Short-term solutions explored
The managerial market proved difficult to navigate during the middle of a tense relegation dogfight.
Preferred long-term targets such as Mauricio Pochettino and Oliver Glasner remain unavailable until the summer window.
This lack of viable immediate options led decision-makers to evaluate a sensational return for their former boss.
Journalist Alasdair Gold revealed that a short-term reunion with the Australian manager was genuinely discussed at board level.
“They did look at other short-term options as well,” Gold explained on his YouTube channel.
“I am told that they, very briefly, did consider a short-term return for Ange Postecoglou and when I say brief, I mean literally, that really shouldn’t be made into anything more than that.”
Financial hurdles and survival goals
Any potential deal to bring the familiar face back to the capital faced significant financial complications.
“If you’re an organisation and you’ve just paid someone a huge amount of compensation, you’re probably not to look to bring them straight back in and give them another job with more money,” Gold added.
A return may also have been viewed as a major tactical risk given his recent struggles near the bottom of the table with Nottingham Forest.
The hierarchy instead opted to hand a comprehensive five-year contract to the highly rated Italian tactician.
The former Brighton head coach is now tasked with securing enough immediate points to guarantee survival.
If successful, he will be given the summer off-season to fully implement his demanding possession-based system.
