Tottenham’s managerial search took yet another twist after they aborted their attempts to appoint Paulo Fonseca at the last minute and opened talks with Gennaro Gattuso.
Gattuso has emerged as the latest contender to be named Jose Mourinho’s permanent successor in Spurs’ drawn-out hunt following their shock Fonseca U-turn.
Former Roma boss Fonseca had agreed to join Spurs and begun discussions with new managing director of football Fabio Paritici about their plans for the squad and the makeup of his coaching staff.
However, with confirmation of Fonseca’s appointment seemingly imminent, Spurs have walked away from Fonseca.
Spurs insisted financial issues were not behind their change of heart and it was simply a call to go in a different direction made by the club’s hierarchy.
read also:Why I’m leaving Real Madrid – Ramos
The sudden availability of Gattuso is believed to be one factor in Spurs’s decision.
Paritici has previously been interested in Gattuso while he was managing director at Juventus and was keen to appoint him had they been unable to lure Massimiliano Allegri back to the club.
The former Italy midfielder, who had a famous 2011 touchline bust-up with former Spurs coach Joe Jordan during his AC Milan days, appeared set to spend this season at Fiorentina having joined them last month after leaving Napoli.
But he left Fiorentina on Thursday after just 23 days following a dispute with his new club over transfer plans connected to his agent Jorge Mendes.
Gattuso has also managed Sion, Palermo, OFI Crete, Pisa and Milan.
The 43 year-old has become the latest to emerge as a leading target for the job in Spurs’s roller-coaster search since Mourinho’s exit two months ago.
Bayern Munich-bound Julian Nagelsmann, Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers and Ajax’s Erik Ten Hag all proved out of reach before Spurs stepped up their search.
They held talks with Mauricio Pochettino who was keen on a return to Spurs but Paris Saint-Germain activated a one-year extension to his contract.
Antonio Conte then appeared set for the Spurs job following his departure from Inter Milan before talks with the former Chelsea manager also broke down.