Roberto De Zerbi is the leading candidate to take over at Tottenham Hotspur following Igor Tudor’s sacking on Sunday.
Tudor departed after just seven games in all competitions and without a win in the Premier League.
With just seven matches remaining for his successor to avoid relegation, De Zerbi has emerged as their preferred choice if he can be convinced to take the job now, rather than waiting until the summer as he had originally mooted.
In order to sway that decision, Spurs are willing to offer him a bumper pay package on a five-year deal. They have also stressed plans to tear up the previous wage structure and focus on more prominent signings, so long as they stay up.
De Zerbi has been a long-term candidate in north London primarily because of the impressive, high-octane football he instilled at Brighton. He would have just days to work with the players ahead of the next game against Sunderland with many still away due to the international break, though there is also no Premier League action over Easter.
The Italian has been out of work since leaving Marseille earlier this year. His volatile relationship with the Ligue 1 club’s hierarchy has been noted at Spurs but they have decided there are still more pros than cons to his appointment.
They were determined not to listen to the clamour for a “club” man amid ongoing rumours linking the likes of Harry Redknapp to the job, or Jermain Defoe who has now taken a job at National League side Woking.
There is less competition for De Zerbi than there was, as he is no longer a candidate for the permanent Manchester United job. However, he still holds many of the cards in negotiating with Spurs, who are onto their fourth manager in under 12 months and who want the new coach in place as early this week as possible.
De Zerbi is certainly keen on the opportunity – it is just a question of when. Those close to him told The i Paper last week he was willing to “get his hands dirty” and he has been sold an ambitious plan for the future.
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The hunt for a second director of football to work with Johan Lange is underway, though it has hit a number of walls. Dougie Freedman, formerly of Crystal Palace, and Bournemouth’s Tiago Pinto were on their list but they are now having to look elsewhere.
Tudor’s sacking has forced the board into a sudden rethink. Part of the Croatian’s appeal lay in the fact he would buy them time after Thomas Frank’s exit to get their next candidate right. Mauricio Pochettino, Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva all have admirers at Spurs but none are available at this moment.
Despite the dire mood there is some hope behind the scenes that a raft of returning players in April could be the turning point Tottenham need to arrest their slump.
