Could the appointment of Jose Mourinho be a precursor to the sale of Tottenham Hotspur?

If you’re a Spurs fan who has been off the grid for the last few days, you’ve missed a lot.

Mauricio Pochettino was fired, and Jose Mourinho is now the manager of Tottenham Hotspur. It has been a dramatic week of quick, drastic change at Spurs. Daniel Levy did what he thought had to be done, but his decision has caused a great deal of pain for a fan base that truly loved Pochettino.

It’s possible that he chose to dismiss Poch because of some other motivations as well. According to ESPNFC, ENIC are interested in selling the club, and appointing a “high-profile” manager like Mourinho could be seen as the first step in that process.

“Hiring a manager with his pedigree and global brand has been floated as a first step on the road to potentially selling the club.” says the report. “Sources told ESPN FC that Tottenham owners, ENIC Group, are interested in selling, and the high-profile hiring of Mourinho will make them more appealing to a prospective buyer. With their new stadium, position in London, track record of Champions League play in recent seasons, Mourinho adds further polish to a potentially compelling investment.”

This idea that ENIC is looking to sell is something we’ve heard for quite a few years now, ever since the plans to build the new stadium were announced. Nothing has materialized of yet, but this still seems like something that will happen down the road. ENIC isn’t some family that owns Tottenham out of love, it’s an investment company.

As of May 2019, the club is valued at $1.6 billion (£1.3 billion), according to Forbes. That’s a lot more than Spurs were worth when Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy first took over in North London back in 2001.

Yes, the stadium was built partially so the club could make more money to spend on wages and transfer fees and such, but it was also built to help raise Tottenham’s profile for a future sale. Spurs are such an attractive purchase because they can boast a world class stadium and a world class training facility in London.

If things with Mourinho go well, they’ll also be able to boast a world class manager, one who has a proven track record of winning trophies, something ownership is clearly becoming increasingly desperate for.

The worry here is about who would take over if a sale did eventually happen. No reasonable Spurs fan wants to see the club they love so much bought by an oligarch similar to Roman Abramovich or by a representative of a human rights-abusing country like Qatar or Saudi Arabia. People have their issues with Levy and with ENIC, but it could be a lot worse.

These kind of things take a while to develop, so don’t expect any sale being completed any time soon.

The club won’t be as attractive if Mourinho doesn’t step in and help turn around the player’s form on the pitch. That starts this Saturday at West Ham United.