The inevitable has finally been confirmed. Antonio Conte is no longer the head coach at Tottenham, with the club announcing his departure from North London by "mutual agreement" on Sunday.
This decision came in the wake of his astonishing outburst following Spurs' 3-3 draw with Southampton, a game that saw Harry Kane and Co. throw away a 3-1 lead to drop two points. The highly-rated tactician went on an epic rant, slamming the players and throwing digs at the ownership, highlighting the lack of success under ENIC Group and Daniel Levy's stewardship.
Cristian Stellini, Conte's no.2, has been named the interim boss until the end of the season, with Ryan Mason stepping up as his assistant. Nonetheless, the process of finding Antonio's successor is underway, and according to the Daily Mail, the club are reportedly eyeing 10 different managers for the hot seat.
The first name on this list — and arguably the priority target — is Julian Nagelsmann, the adored young German tactician who was recently sacked by Bayern Munich. The 35-year-old is currently out of a job following his surprise departure from the Allianz Arena and will be the subject of great interest from Spurs.
Nagelsmann has long been admired by Europe's biggest clubs, including Tottenham. However, given the uncertainty regarding Carlo Ancelotti's future at Real Madrid, Los Blancos could make a move for the German, which would complicate things for Daniel Levy's side.
Thomas Tuchel was one of the main targets but the former Chelsea boss has now replaced Nagelsmann at Bayern Munich. However, Luis Enrique and Mauricio Pochettino, who are out of work, remain available.
The latter would be a welcomed appointment as the Argentine enjoyed a lovely five-year spell in charge of Tottenham from 2014 to 2019. However, there appears to be hesitancy to reunite with Pochettino given how his first stint ended.
A couple of Premier League bosses have also made this list, the most high-profile being Roberto de Zerbi. The Italian is racking up rave reviews at Brighton and is establishing himself as one of the best young tacticians in the game, but given that he only joined the Seagulls in September, Tottenham might struggle to lure him away. Fulham's Marco Silva, Nottingham Forest's Steve Cooper, and Brentford's Thomas Frank are also being eyed.
Eintracht Frankfurt's head coach Oliver Glasner is also being considered, and for understandable reasons. Given that Spurs invested significantly in Conte's project, the Noth London outfit are contemplating hiring the Austrian as he shares a few tactical philosophies with the Italian.
Surprisingly, Ruben Amorim, the man who guided Sporting CP to a remarkable UEFA Europa League round of 16 win over Arsenal, wasn't mentioned in the aforementioned report. Instead, the Premier League side are said to be eyeing countryman Sergio Conceicao, who is the current manager of Portuguese giants Porto.
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou also got a mention but the Australian doesn't look to be a realistic candidate for the Tottenham job.
While the board will be working overtime to have a new head coach in time for the summer, the main focus will be on the remainder of the season. Despite their dip in form and embarrassing draw away to relegation-battling Southampton, Harry Kane and Co. are still fourth in the table and are chasing a top-four finish.
However, Newcastle and Brighton could overtake Spurs if they win their game in hand. As a result, Stellini must guide the club back to winning ways immediately, starting this weekend in their trip to Everton.
