Gennaro Gattuso to Tottenham? Italian becomes latest manager-in-waiting as Paulo Fonseca talks collapse

Tottenham are reportedly close to appointing Gennaro Gattuso as their new manager after an astonishing day of managerial drama.

Spurs appeared on the verge of naming former Roma coach Paulo Fonseca as boss after entering into talks with the Portuguese last week. 

But the Athletic reports that those negotiations have now broken down and the north London club have moved on to Gattuso, hours after his departure from Fiorentina was announced. 

Gattuso led Napoli to fifth place in Serie A last season before departing to take the Fiorentina job. 

However, the Florence club announced on Thursday morning, 23 days later, that the former Italy midfielder had left the role.

The move came after Gattuso and his agent Jorge Mendes reportedly couldn’t agree with the club hierarchy over a transfer strategy. 

This latest twist in the Tottenham manager hunt saga has left our heads spinning at FFT towers.

It has been almost two months since Jose Mourinho was sacked and the search for a new permanent boss began. 

Since then, Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte and now Fonseca have held talks with the club before dropping out of the reckoning.

Therefore, the idea of Gattuso being unveiled, Spurs scarf held above his head at the Tottenham Stadium, has to fall into the ‘believe it when we see it’ category for now. 

It would certainly be an intriguing appointment, should it go through.

Known for his robust tackling and ferocious work rate as a player, Gattuso’s coaching style at Napoli was rather different, focused more on a swashbuckling attack.

After succeeding Carlo Ancelotti in the job midway through the 2019/20 campaign, he led Napoli to their first Coppa Italia title in six years at the end of the season.

He missed out on Champions League qualification by one point last term due to a heart-breaking final day draw against Hellas Verona, but only champions Inter Milan and attack-focused Atalanta netted more than their 86 goals in the league.

Gattuso’s route to the top as a manager hasn’t been as easy as some of his former Milan team-mates like Filippo Inzaghi and Andrea Pirlo, who were ushered straight into jobs at top clubs AC Milan and Juventus.

He only lasted a few months in charge of Swiss side Sion, Serie B outfit Palermo and Greek team OFI Crete early on.

He finally enjoyed some success by leading Pisa to Serie B in 2015/16 through the third tier play-offs but walked out on the club, only to return a month later and oversee a poor season where they were relegated and finished bottom.

He then returned to Milan to take over the Under-19s, but was promoted to the senior job six months later following Vincenzo Montella’s sacking and led the Rossoneri to sixth and fifth-placed finishes before departing at the end of 2018/19.

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