‘I am sure’: Club CEO suggests he’s really not expecting his 41-year-old manager to join Tottenham

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Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro has suggested that Xabi Alonso will stay with the club next season – in news that may disappoint a number of Tottenham Hotspur fans.

Carro was speaking to AS in Spain about the future of Xabi Alonso following an outstanding start to his managerial career in senior football.

Alonso took the Bayer Leverkusen job earlier this season with the side languishing down the bottom in the Bundesliga. Now however, they are flying.

They have risen considerably in the top-flight. And they are now preparing for a Europa League semi-final against Roma.

Carro expects Xabi Alonso to stay

Unsurprisingly, the 41-year-old’s work in Germany is not going unnoticed. Reports from the Daily Mirror have suggested that Tottenham have made Xabi Alonso their top target as they continue their search for Antonio Conte’s permanent successor.

However, Carro has suggested that he is expecting to still be working with Alonso again next term.

“He has a contract with us until 2024. He is happy here and we are happy with him,” he told AS. “We are enjoying working together and I am sure we will be with him next season. And hopefully there are many more, but in soccer you can’t look much further.”

Xabi Alonso is still finding his feet as a manager. Leverkusen is his first job in first-team football. So it would have been a gamble for Tottenham to turn to him this summer.

But there is reason to think that there is something special about him. He worked with so many of the world’s best managers during his illustrious playing career. And he has now started to prove himself in the dug-out.

No manager made Tottenham fans love their side quite like Mauricio Pochettino over the last few decades. He was a young coach clear in his ideas. And Xabi Alonso appears to tick some of the same boxes.

There are others on the market who offer similar. So it is not the end of the world for Tottenham if Alonso stays put. But it will be a real disappointment if the Spaniard does indeed remain in Germany this summer.