Owen Hargreaves picks ‘dream’ Tottenham appointment, considers bottom-half PL boss

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Owen Hargreaves has told Optus Sport’s Analysis Show that Julian Nagelsmann would be the “dream” appointment for Tottenham, but also discussed Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers – and an outsider, in Southampton’s Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Nagelsmann and Rodgers remain the favourites to take over at Spurs. The German boss, 33, has also been linked with Bayern Munich and given that he is a boyhood Bayern fan and Hansi Flick is leaving the champions, Spurs might miss out.

Rodgers has starred as Leicester manager since making the controversial move from Celtic during the middle of the season to join the Foxes. Asked about a potential move to replace Jose Mourinho, Rodgers stated he remains focused on Leicester.

Southampton have impressed at times this season under Austrian manager Hasenhuttl. They started superbly under him, but injuries have hampered the Saints since. Hargreaves suggested all three as appointments for Spurs going forward.

“Nagelsmann would be amazing, he is one of the best young managers in the world,” Hargreaves told the Analysis Show. “But he is proven, he plays brilliant attacking football, creative and inventive.

“He has already been offered the Real Madrid job, he turned it down. He is a Bayern fan and Flick is leaving in the summer. If you’re Spurs, he is the first name on the list. Rodgers would be great but is he going to leave Leicester?

“Maybe Hasenhuttl, somebody along those lines – you can see that. Nagelsmann would be the dream, Brendan is a brilliant shout because he knows the league. Hasenhuttl could be an interesting one as well.“

TBR’s view – So, which of the three is most likely for Spurs?

Nagelsmann, as Hargreaves says, would be a dream. The pundit knows the Bundesliga having played for Bayern for much of his playing career and Nagelsmann would take Spurs forward. But the Bayern job is likely to prove more attractive.

Rodgers, like Nagelsmann, would be a stunning appointment. But Rodgers is hardly going to leave a club like Leicester who are close to Champions League qualification and probably have more spending power than Spurs, given the stadium debts.

Hasenhuttl, then, is the most likely. A manager that plays football the right way, he took Southampton into the top four at the start of the season – but injuries have since affected their form. The last time Spurs raided Southampton, it worked.