Is Ajax’s Erik ten Hag suited well to manage Tottenham Hotspur?
By Gary Pearson
Nagelsmann, Spurs’ first choice to replace Mourinho, is about to take the plunge with Bayern, an appointment that had an air of inevitability.
Brendan Rodgers, another in Ley’s crosshairs, is committed to his project at Leicester. And why wouldn’t he be with the exceptional progress he’s already made with the Foxes, a top four spot almost assured.
Gareth Southgate and Roberto Martínez’s names have recently popped up on the radar. But both managers are unavailable until after the Euros, though neither, in my humble opinion, are the right fit for the job.
Another win for Ten Hag, whose direct competitors for the role are, as I write this, dropping like a lump of raw honey in a piping hot cup of coffee.
Ten Hag also has the pedigree and experience Levy requires in his next appointee. You’ll vividly and pleasantly recall Ajax’s participation in the 2019 Champions League semifinal, in which the miracle in Amsterdam manifested.
Ajax have scored 89 goals in 30 matches this season, 24 more than second place PSV. While the Eredivisie is a far superior league, Ten Hag’s attack-first ideology is clear.
But let’s remember he is Spurs third-turned-first choice. Levy can’t afford to rush into this decision, as getting another manager appointment wrong, on the back of the catastrophic decision to vouch for Jose, would be irreparably cataclysmic.
Concurrently, time is of the essence to secure a new manager, which creates yet another quagmire for Levy.
Prematurely sign Ten Hag because he is the best manager currently available or wait and potentially lose out on him while losing valuable time to start the off-season rebuild?
Suffice to say Levy better get this one right.