With the Special One rendered jobless after just 17 months on the job, fans around the world are beginning to wonder if there is anything still special about Mourinho. The fact that he was fired before the important EFL Cup final match against Man City, a game that could give Spurs their first topflight trophy, speaks volumes. The board of Spurs does not trust Mourinho to deliver on Saturday.
Tottenham Hotspur have already been kicked out of the FA Cup by Everton. The Lillywhites under Mourinho were also ungracefully knocked out of the Europa League. They held a 2-0 first-leg advantage over Dinamo Zagreb, but bottled the second leg 3-0 in Croatia (3-2 agg). Spurs are 7th in the Premier League and could miss out on European football unless they win at least 4 of their remaining 6 games. With these poor results, the club definitely had gotten enough of Mourinho’s stewardship and are in search of a permanent replacement.
So with the Special One out, and the inexperienced one Ryan Mason in till the end of the season, the question is who will replace Mourinho permanently?
According to betBonanza Bookmakers, German tactician and Manager of RB Leipzig, Julian Nagelsmann, is clearly the favourite to become the next permanent manager of Spurs. The 33-year-old has a 22% chance of getting the job. Last season, he guided Leipzig to the UEFA champions league semi-finals, beating Spurs handsomely 4-0 in the Group stages in front of Daniel Levy, owner of Spurs. This season, Leipzig is just 7 points off the top of the German Bundesliga. With Hansi Flick set to leave Bayern at the end of this season to take over the German national team, Spurs could face stiff competition for Nagelsmann from Bayern Munich. The German could decide to remain in the homeland.
betBonanza Bookmakers also predict Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers as joint-tie at the top with a 22% chance. The former Liverpool manager has been pretty consistent in recent seasons. Last season, Leicester narrowly missed out on the champions league after losing to Man United. This year however his Rodgers’ team is in 3rd position with a game in hand, and well in contention for Europe’s top club competition. An investment in Brendan Rodgers for Spurs will be a cost effective way for Spurs to get a competent manager who has a working experience in the English top flight.
Third in contention is Eddie Howe of Bournemouth FC. Though Eddie has released a statement saying he is not particularly keen on Spurs, his reputation as a tactician which he demonstrated with Bournemouth in the premier league, is well intact. He won 3 promotions in 6 years for Bournemouth and kept them in the premier League with very little budget for 5 seasons till last year. betBonanza predicts a 12.5% chance to get the Spurs job.
Man United fans will definitely love this one. Club legend Wayne Rooney could also land the top job at Spurs. The Englishman is currently managing Derby County in the Championship and betBonanza predicts that he has a 2% chance of making what would be the deal of his managerial career. Though the fact that Derby County are themselves battling against relegation is a dent on Rooney’s resume.
Liverpool fans will be thrilled to know that Steven Gerarrd could pip all the above for the job and make a comeback to the English Premier league. The Liverpool legend guided Rangers to a first Scottish Premiership title in ten years in his first job in senior management. Besides, in March, former Kopite, Steve McManaman said that Steven Gerrard could be a future Tottenham manager. Stevie G has a 4.8% chance of becoming the next permanent manager at Spurs.
Fans may also fancy the chances of former Liverpool, Chelsea, and Real Madrid Boss, Rafa Benitez at 9%, as the Spaniard recently left China where he has been cooling off. German legendary world cup winner and former coach Jurgen Klinsmann also has a 9% chance of getting the job. While Wolves FC, Nuno Espirito with a pretty consistent premier league pedigree behind him is predicted to have a 9% chance.