DYNAMIC SHOWMAN IS THE DISRUPTOR WHO CAN SHAKE UP SPURS

IF there is one appointment aside from Mauricio Pochettino who would excite and unite Tottenham supporters, and potentially ease the pressure on chairman Daniel Levy, it is Julian Nagelsmann.

- Dan Kilpatrick

The 35-year-old was sacked by Bayern Munich while skiing in the Alps last week, and is now the front-runner to succeed Antonio Conte at Spurs.

Levy considered Nagelsmann as a successor to Pochettino in 2019, and when Jose Mourinho’s Spurs tenure was unravelling in spring 2021, the German’s representatives made it known to the club that he would potentially be open to the job and had once owned a replica Spurs shirt.

Levy was again interested, particularly after dismissing Mourinho, but soon learned Bayern had paid a world record 25million euro fee (£22m) to poach Nagelsmann from RB Leipzig for the following season.

The Spurs chairman will not want to miss another chance to hire one of the world’s best coaches but could face competition from Real Madrid, among others, for Nagelsmann in the summer.

Nagelsmann ticks every box for Spurs. His teams press high, demand possession and get the ball forward quickly — fulfilling Levy’s desire for a manager who plays “free-flowing, attacking and entertaining” football — and he has an impressive record of promoting young players.

A disciple of Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel, Nagelsmann built his reputation on remarkable overachievement with clubs on a budget, saving 1989 Hoffenheim from relegation as a fresh-faced 28-year-old — the youngest manager in Bundesliga history — before taking them into the Champions League.