Xabi Alonso emerges as first choice for Tottenham Hotspur job

Xabi Alonso now leads the pack to be the next manager at Tottenham. The current Bayer Leverkusen manager had a storied career as a player at Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. After retiring, he helped turn around Bayer Leverkusen with a fantastic run of form in the league.

Alonso arrived in Germany in early October. At the time, Bayer Leverkusen had one win in eight games. The five points sat the club in 17th in the Bundesliga table. Since then, Alonso’s Leverkusen rattled off 13 wins, four draws and five losses. Currently, Bayer Leverkusen is in sixth in the league table, which would be good enough for qualification to the Europa Conference League playoff round.

That success in revitalizing a squad is the remedy Tottenham so desperately covets. Spurs’ spiral over recent weeks is the culmination of what has been a massively inconsistent campaign. Ryan Mason is the club’s third manager this campaign, after Antonio Conte and Cristian Stellini both earned a sacking from Tottenham higher-ups. The club sits in sixth, but that could slump down to eighth if form from clubs around Spurs continues as is.

Bayer Leverkusen does not have the spotlight Spurs provides. Despite the small sample size, Alonso provided something Tottenham has dreadfully lacked, consistency with points. It would be a jump for the Spaniard, but he has experience in the league as a player.

Xabi Alonso named among others for Tottenham job

Xabi Alonso may be the frontrunner, but Tottenham has been rumored with a number of noteworthy managers. In fact, one of those is a fellow German rival. Oliver Glasner, the current manager at Eintracht Frankfurt, was one of the first names to circle around the vacancy in north London. Same goes for the out-of-job Julian Nagelsmann, who most recently coached at Bayern Munich.

Other names include Feyenoord manager Arne Slot. De Telegraaf, the outlet to first report Xabi Alonso topped Tottenham’s list, said Slot is a candidate, but lacks the name recognition Tottenham may hunt for. Alonso certainly provides that as a two-time UEFA Champions League winner as a player. Plus, Bayer Leverkusen is in the Europa League semifinals against Roma. Tottenham would want a manager with European experience.

Tottenham is a bigger draw than Bayer Leverkusen and Crystal Palace, another club that could have a vacancy in the managerial role interested in Alonso. However, Real Madrid could come calling, too, if Carlo Ancelotti departs.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Eibner