(Football news) Tottenham Hotspur appear to have pulled out of the race to appoint Julian Nagelsmann as next head coach. The former Bayern Munich manager is said to be respected by senior figures at the club but they don’t believe he is the right man for the job at this moment in time. The German was linked to both Spurs and Chelsea but both have pulled out of the race. Tottenham are continuing to search for Antonio Conte’s replacement and could consider acting boss Ryan Mason in the permanent role.

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso has also emerged as a potential candidate. The former Liverpool midfielder took over the Bundesliga side in October, taking them from relegation contenders to sixth in the league and they are also in the semi-finals of the Europa League. Another candidate the club are exploring is Vincent Kompally, who guided Burnley back into the Premier League last season but his five year contract will be a big hurdle to overcome. 

Chelsea had also pulled out of the race to appoint Nagelsmann in April as Mauricio Pochettino emerged as the frontrunner to take over the job. According to reports, there was friction between the two parties as Chelsea officials wanted to do a thorough due diligence before making a decision which irked Nagelsmann, who began resenting repeated interviews and requests for information. The German also had his doubts about taking over as Chelsea’s approach reflected a lack of clarity with regards to the direction they wanted to take.

Former Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick had previously said that Nagelsmann would be a good fit for Tottenham. The Austria manager said “I think Tottenham is an exciting club in many ways. They probably have one of the most modern, beautiful stadiums in the world at the moment. They have one of the best training centres, that is there at the moment and Daniel Levy, who has been leading the club for many, many years. 

“Although he is not a big spender, he knows the football business and would not put himself in the centre of the cameras. If Tottenham really want [Nagelsmann], then I think it would be important if a sporting director was still there to support him. It can be a very, very exciting story. There is room for improvement, a lot of room for improvement and yet this is not a club where the house expects you to be in the top one or two right away.” 

Tottenham striker Harry Kane said that he was not paying attention to the ongoing managerial speculation by saying “That’s down to the club. If I end up speaking to the chairman towards the end of the season I’m sure he’ll fill me in on what he’s thinking, but ultimately we have three more games. We don’t want to look too far ahead or get carried away. The club will make the best decision for everyone, the players, the fans, the club in general and we just have to wait to see what that is.”

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