Tottenham Hotspur are already on the hunt for their next manager, though it is never too early for Spurs to actively pursue an actual long term coach, seeing as how their complacency during the 2025/26 season cost them months and potentially a relegation battle when they could have identified a better suitor than Igor Tudor had they been more proactive when Thomas Frank first started to flounder.
Roberto De Zerbi appears to be the No. 1 target for Vinai Venkatesham and Johan Lange, judging by the fact that he was the only name really linked to Spurs in January before they suddenly hired Tudor as interim manager. And now, he is one of the first names linked to Spurs after Tudor's dreadful 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest.
Hiring De Zerbi will not be easy. While Matt Law and Jason Burt of the Daily Telegraph report that the recent Marseille and former Brighton manager is open to joining Tottenham Hotspur if they manage to stay up in the Premier League this season, the duo caution that should Liverpool fire Arne Slot, De Zerbi could be a contender for the 2024/25 Premier League champions.
Roberto De Zerbi could join Liverpool instead of Tottenham
While you have to think that Liverpool would prefer to go with 2023/24 Bayer Leverkusen invicinbles' manager Xabi Alonso, who was once a world class midfielder for them, the report about De Zerbi makes sense. RDZ was linked with a move to Anfield in the past, and he is an ambitious manager who will be wanted by other big clubs. And right now, Tottenham are probably the least desirable big club, seeing as how they are at real risk of relegation.
For Tottenham's Vinai and Lange, the Liverpool speculation is bad news, because it decreases their chances of landing De Zerbi and is a reminder that their top target is probably not pining for them. Few coaches would be.
But maybe the one great coach who would love to join Tottenham is their former manager Mauricio Pochettino. And for Tottenham fans, any speculation or hint of De Zerbi either not wanting Spurs or wanting another big suitor more would be great news, since many fans would love to see Pochettino back in the dugout. They want someone who identifies with Spurs, and De Zerbi, in many ways, does not come across like someone who does. He's also not as good of a manager as Alonso, so De Zerbi to Liverpool might be a net positive for Spurs in the end.