Spurs now reportedly want to appoint 55-year-old who’s made his team ‘extremely entertaining to watch’

Add as preferred source on Google

Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with Benfica manager Roger Schmidt in recent days.

On Wednesday, journalist Rudy Galetti claimed Spurs are eyeing the 55-year-old in case Antonio Conte leaves.

Conte’s current Tottenham deal runs until the end of the season but the north Londoners do have the option to extend it by a year, according to the Telegraph.

The outlet has also claimed that Spurs will commence contract talks with the Italian during the World Cup.

But it seems that they are making plans just in case Conte decides to leave north London at the end of the season.

Writing on his own website, Galetti claims Conte is set to meet with the Tottenham hierarchy over the coming weeks.

They will apparently discuss their plans for the January transfer window, as well as the possibility of renewing his deal.

But as a contingency plan, Tottenham have identified Schmidt as the ‘ideal profile’ if Conte does end up leaving.

Tottenham target Schmidt – factfile

Schmidt began his coaching journey in 2004, when he became player-manager at fifth-tier Delbrucker SC.

Two years later, he hung up his boots and took the managerial reins on a permanent basis.

Schmidt, who also worked as an engineer, quit the profession as he became manager of SC Preußen Munster in 2007.

Over the years, Schmidt worked his way up the managerial career ladder.

In 2011, he took the Paderborn reins for a year, before joining Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg.

Stints at Bayer Leverkusen, Beijing Gouan and PSV Eindhoven followed before Schmidt became Benfica manager this summer.

In September, Total Football Analysis wrote an in-depth article about Schmidt’s Benfica.

‘Benfica have been extremely entertaining to watch under Roger Schmidt,’ they wrote.

‘The German manager has introduced dominant tactics which ensure a controlled approach to all phases of possession.

‘When defending, they are extremely aggressive without allowing the opposition a lot of chances.

‘In addition to interesting tactics, they have an extremely talented and promising squad.

‘With the UEFA Champions League beginning this week, they are certainly a team to watch in the competition.’

Schmidt has just guided Benfica through the group stage of the Champions League as Group H leaders.

They topped their group above Paris Saint-Germain, while Juventus dropped down to the Europa League.