Julian Nagelsmann is giving serious consideration to taking the Tottenham job after pulling out of talks to become the next Chelsea manager, according to reports in Germany. The 35-year-old was surprisingly axed by Bayern Munich last month despite being top of the Bundesliga table and boasting a 100 per cent record in the Champions League. He quickly emerged as one of the leading candidates for a host of vacant – and potentially soon-to-be-vacant – jobs around Europe, namely Spurs, Chelsea, PSG and Real Madrid. Nagelsmann was keen to take a short break before picking his next club, however, and rejected initial approaches from Tottenham and Chelsea after they parted company with Antonio Conte and Graham Potter respectively. He did hold talks with the west Londoners over taking the reins in the summer and Chelsea appeared to be in pole position to land the young tactician in part due to his relationship with the club’s technical director Christopher Vivell, who he worked with at RB Leipzig. But on Friday news emerged that Nagelsmann had opted to withdraw from the Chelsea interview process – though the club insist it was they who pulled the plug on talks.
Now BILD are reporting that the former Hoffenheim coach is instead leaning towards taking over at Tottenham and talks with the north Londoners are hotting up. Although he turned down Chelsea amid doubts over the direction of the club, he is inclined to accept an offer from Tottenham. Nagelsmann is not the only manager in the frame to take over in north London, with the club also keen to speak to the likes of Feyenoord boss Arne Slot, Burnley coach Vincent Kompany and Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou. One manager they have not spoken to is former boss Pochettino – despite his name being sung by fans in the stands – and the Argentine has now emerged as the favourite to take over at Stamford Bridge.