Tottenham Hotspur have been told hiring Adi Hutter as a replacement for Igor Tudor would be the wrong decision, with an observer suggesting they bring forward a move for Roberto De Zerbi.
Tudor is poised to leave Tottenham by mutual consent, having picked up just one point from five Premier League games. The interim head coach is ready to step away from the job following the death of his father.
Spurs are hoping to find a new interim boss who can steer them clear of relegation in the final seven matches of the campaign, before hiring an elite long-term option in the summer.
Austrian coach Hutter has emerged as the frontrunner to take the Spurs job on a temporary basis. Our friends at TEAMtalk revealed on Wednesday that Spurs have contacted Hutter, with subsequent reports in France claiming concrete talks between the two parties are underway.
However, former Everton and Aston Villa chief Keith Wyness has urged the club to try and convince De Zerbi on an early move instead.
“Now we’ve heard all the silly Harry Redknapp ideas which I’ve got to dismiss,” Wyness told Football Insider.
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“Chris Hughton is one that’s been linked very heavily, as has Robbie Keane who also wants a longer-term position, and a weird left-field one of a guy called Adi Hutter coming in from Monaco.
“I don’t pay any credence to that, and that would be a huge mistake if they were to go down that route.
“But then again, Spurs have made some big mistakes, so let’s not discount that. There’s some possibilities, anything could happen.
“So they’re in a difficult position, but if I was them I’d be getting Roberto De Zerbi and coming to some sort of solution.
“If he keeps them up then he gets an extra two or three years, and if they go down then they find some way to do a break clause in some description.
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“Unless he wants to do it in the Championship, which I doubt he will.”
De Zerbi and Mauricio Pochettino are two of the prime contenders to manage Spurs next season.
But the duo are not keen on moving to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium immediately and would rather wait until the summer, when there will be clarity over Spurs’ situation, plus more time to get their ideas across on the training ground.
In addition to Hughton and Keane, Spurs are considering reuniting with either Ryan Mason or Tim Sherwood as potential short-term options.
Club chiefs appear to be split over which direction to go in. Hutter, like Tudor, has no experience managing in the Premier League, which makes such a move a big risk.
But Hutter does have decent pedigree following successful spells in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Other officials are clearly wary of appointing Hutter and want the club to land someone who knows the club well, such as Keane, Hughton, Sherwood or Mason.
Keane in particular would immediately get the fans on board. The former striker has developed a great reputation while in charge of Ferencvaros, too.
However, as Wyness points out, Keane wants a long-term contract, a demand Spurs are currently unwilling to meet.
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