:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69429911/1312757410.0.jpg)
According to multiple sources, Tottenham Hotspur have identified their new managerial target, and it’s a man who parted ways with Roma this spring. According to Gianluca DiMarzio, new Spurs Director of Football Fabio Paratici is negotiating with Paulo Fonseca to be the Tottenham’s next manager. The deal is reportedly already very far along in negotiations with an announcement potentially coming in a matter of days.
Three years contract for #Fonseca with @SpursOfficial ⏳@SkySportNewsHD @SkySports @SkySport
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) June 9, 2021
Fonseca, if you’re not familiar with him, was the man in charge at AS Roma. Yes, the same Roma that sacked him to hire former Spurs boss José Mourinho. According to Fabrizio Romano and Alisdair Gold, incoming Director of Football Fabio Paratici has Fonseca at the top of his list:
Yes I'm on a day off so of course stuff happens. Told Paulo Fonseca is indeed Fabio Paratici's top target to become the new Spurs head coach. Not a done deal but the incoming Italian wants him at Tottenham. Certainly an interesting choice for the club and the Premier League.
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) June 9, 2021
Tottenham are discussing with Paulo Fonseca on a three-years contract. Fonseca is 100% open to accept Tottenham job, if Spurs will definitely decide to appoint him in the next hours. ⚪️
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 9, 2021
He’s so appreciated by Fabio Paratici as candidate. #THFC #Spurs @SkySport @DiMarzio
So how good is Fonseca? Truth be told, we don’t really know. He had 72 matches at Roma and, overall, his side wasn’t bad. He also inherited a mess and Roma were injury-plagued. The dossier on him is that he loves playing an attacking style and his defenses were honestly pretty good once everyone got healthy.
On the flip side, the optics of this hire, after this amount of time, cannot be spun in a positive light. Spurs have now been without a full-time manager for over 50 days. We’ve heard names like Erik ten Hag, Antonio Conte, and former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino be discussed. To spend all of this time and land on Fonseca is underwhelming at best. He might be a good coach, but the here and now is almost certainly going to be met with backlash from the fanbase. Yes, this looks to be Paratici’s guy and Levy is handing the keys over to the new Director of Football trusting him to find the right man.
Now, despite the tweets and language, this isn’t a done deal. Di Marzio usually doesn’t miss these but he isn’t perfect. Romano isn’t doing his usual “Here we go” at the end of his tweet meaning he’s heard this is a thing but that’s about it. Gold it the one I’m looking at the most and he seems to agree that talks are happening and Paratici is pushing for this to be the hire. It’s a quickly developing story and we’ll get everything we can for you as it becomes available.