A Bundesliga manager has no interest in leaving his current club to take over at Tottenham Hotspur despite Daniel Levy making an approach, according to a report.
Tottenham are on the search for a successor to Antonio Conte after parting company with the Italian tactician recently. For the time being, his assistant Cristian Stellini is in charge of first-team matters. However, someone else is likely to be appointed on a permanent basis.
In that regard, Tottenham have been considering a return for their former boss, Mauricio Pochettino. Alternatively, they could take advantage of Bayern Munich recently sacking Julian Nagelsmann
But another manager from the Bundesliga has also been on their radar, it has been claimed. According to WAZ, Spurs chairman Levy has recently sanctioned an approach for Wolfsburg’s Niko Kovac.
The Croatian coach has been in charge of Wolfsburg since May, after previously having spells in charge of his country’s national team, plus Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich and Monaco.
Tottenham might have been willing to lure the 51-year-old – who enjoyed a playing career with the likes of Hertha Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich – to the Premier League for the first time in his career. Yet Kovac immediately turned them down, according to the report.
Indeed, WAZ claims that talks “never even started”, because Kovac has strict “principles” whereby he would refuse to walk out on a club midway through a contract. His current terms in Germany are due to last for another two seasons after this one.
Therefore, he remains committed to Wolfsburg and has made it “impossible” for Tottenham to appoint him.
Tottenham shortlist still leads with Pochettino and Nagelsmann
It also seems unlikely he would be interested in taking the Tottenham job in the summer if they haven’t got anyone else in by then.
Consequently, it seems logical that Spurs will now turn their attention back to other candidates, especially Nagelsmann and Pochettino.
Other links have included Luis Enrique and even Zinedine Zidane. But the aforementioned duo still seem to be the favourites for the role as things stand.
Tottenham will hope to instil some stability and certainty in the weeks to come. For now, though, it is up to Stellini to keep their pursuit of European qualification on track.
At the time of Conte’s dismissal, Spurs retained a top-four place. However, some of the clubs below them have games in hand after the international break.
Kovac’s Wolfsburg, for what it’s worth, are currently seventh in the Bundesliga standings. After 25 matches of their season, they are just outside the European places.
But Kovac clearly believes he has a project to build over there, which is why any efforts by Tottenham to take him will be unsuccessful.
