Premier League club Tottenham will ‘step up’ their pursuit of Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou after the Scottish Cup final, according to reports.
Tottenham sacked Antonio Conte in March and replaced him with Cristian Stellini, who was swiftly relieved of his duties and replaced by Ryan Mason.
Daniel Levy made former Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann his number-one target before turning his attention to Feyenoord’s Arne Slot.
After a couple of weeks of rumours and reports, , with Tottenham feeling ‘used’ by the Dutchman in a ploy to get a new Feyenoord contract.
Ex-Spain head coach Luis Enrique has been in the running since Conte’s dismissal but is not the favourite as things stand.
With Slot and Nagelsmann no longer in the frame, Celtic manager Postecoglou has emerged as the favourite alongside Brendan Rodgers, who was sacked by Leicester City in April.
Big Ange has won the Scottish Premiership in both of his seasons at Parkhead and is eyeing a domestic treble when his side take on Inverness in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday.
Amidst the links to Tottenham, the Australian manager was recently asked about his future at Celtic. He said: “My ambitions right now are to enjoy tomorrow and have a good game and try to win a cup final to have a special year. It’s not every year that you get the chance to win a treble.
“If anyone thinks that I am thinking anything other than that then they don’t know me.
“I’m aware of it (Tottenham interest) because everyone keeps asking me about it. But in the past I’ve been pretty clear that’s just not the way I think and work.
“We have a big cup final coming up in a week’s time so I’m not going to sit there and try and get distracted by things that are fascinating for other people than myself.
“That’s what my focus is and will continue to be. We’ve got a couple of big games, we’ve had a fantastic season, and we’ve got the opportunity to make it a really special one.”
Spurs’ incoming chief football officer Scott Mann is a fellow Aussie and ‘knows Postecoglou personally’, which could hand the manager a huge boost if he does wish to take on his first Premier League challenge.
It is noted that Spurs were hoping to appoint an ‘up-and-coming manager’, which the Celtic boss is not, but his ‘canny recruitment, charisma and high-octane style of play’ has impressed the club’s hierarchy.
With Spurs initially targeting Nagelsmann, Slot and Enrique, some fans may feel underwhelmed by this appointment, which will be viewed similarly to Nuno Espirito Santo’s arrival in the summer of 2021.
It will be important to back him, as opposed to turning on him as they did with Nuno, if he is brought in by Levy, who is under an immense amount of pressure to get this appointment right.
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