Tottenham made ambitious move for manager far too successful for them before De Zerbi | OneFootball

Insider Miguel Delaney has revealed the pair of Premier League managers Tottenham tried before Roberto De Zerbi – one who’s far too successful to have said yes to them.

Spurs have burned through two managers already this season. After seeing the back of Ange Postecoglou in the summer, they hired Thomas Frank, who lasted just a few months when his struggles were ended and he was replaced by Igor Tudor.

His spell was only a few games long, and it’s now Roberto De Zerbi’s turn in the hot seat. He’s been given the difficult task of engineering Premier League survival, with Tottenham just one point above the drop zone.

De Zerbi was clearly very high on Spurs’ list of managers, as Delaney reports for the Independent that they went back to him ‘multiple times.’

But prior to them going back to him and the Italian accepting the job, there were others in the mix.

Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino remains held in high regard at the club, but as he was essentially ‘ring-fenced’ until his World Cup with the USA is over, he wasn’t a viable option.

Marco Silva was also reportedly in the mix, with an informal approach made to Fulham, but there was no deal able to be struck.

The biggest name Tottenham tried, though, was Unai Emery, with investigations made into whether the Aston Villa manager could be lured in.

It’s reported, though, that Villa ‘wouldn’t countenance letting him go’ and the Spanish boss himself would ‘have designs on returning to one of the absolute top-tier jobs’ were he to leave Villa Park.

In short, Emery is too successful to take the Tottenham job. He boasts four Europa League trophies and Ligue 1 among his career haul, and currently manages a Villa side fourth in the Premier League, 13 places above Spurs.

In any case, De Zerbi is seen as a good appointment in north London, with multiple sources stating the players ‘love’ him already.

It is suggested there’s a confidence in staying up. To do so, Spurs will have to outperform West Ham for the next seven games, as they’re the side posing them the most competition – just a point below them and having picked up four points in their last three games.

Between now and the end of the season, Tottenham play top-half sides Brighton, Villa, Everton and Chelsea.

Everton, Arsenal and Brentford are the only top-half sides the Hammers have left to play, so they may have the more favourable run, but not by much.