Tottenham tipped to appoint former Chelsea boss as Thomas Frank’s replacement.
Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 2-1 by Newcastle in north London on Tuesday night to drop to 16th in the Premier League and within five points of the relegation zone. That turned out to be Thomas Frank’s last game as Spurs head coach, as the board decided to sack him the next day.
The Dane, after swapping Brentford for Tottenham last summer, managed just seven wins in 26 Premier League games. No league wins in 2026, coupled with increasing frustration of the fans in recent weeks and months, left the board with no other option but to pull the trigger on Thomas Frank.
The Hotspur Way chiefs are now hunting for their third manager in just eight months, after the sacking of Ange Postecoglou at the end of last season, despite the Greek-Australian tactician leading the club to the Europa League glory.
Gary Lineker urges Tottenham to appoint Enzo Maresca
Roberto De Zerbi, having recently left Ligue 1 side Marseille on mutual terms, is ready to immediately take the vacant Tottenham job. Former boss Mauricio Pochettino has been named by supporters and pundits alike as someone capable of turning things around for the Lilywhites and keeping them in the top flight, although he is currently employed with the USMNT and will not be available until after this summer’s World Cup.
However, ex-Spurs star Gary Lineker believes that Enzo Maresca is the man the north Londoners should go for. Enzo Maresca was reportedly on Tottenham’s shortlist if Frank was to be relieved of his duties, and now that he has left, Gary Lineker has urged his old club to approach the ex-Chelsea manager.
“I mean, if I were Tottenham, I’d very much look at him, even though he is former Chelsea and they don’t like that kind of stuff, the Tottenham fans, possibly,” Lineker said on the latest episode of the Rest Is Football podcast.
He added that it was the first little tricky spell that Maresca had got him fired:
“If it were me, I would try and get Maresca. I knew him at Leicester, he was a really good coach.
“(He) did really well, I thought, at Chelsea, for a long time. The first little tricky spell he had, he was fired.”
Is Enzo Maresca the right fit at Spurs?
Frank’s position at the club had become untenable for weeks, and the Newcastle defeat turned out to be the final nail in the coffin. Tottenham have just over a week until their next game, when they face Arsenal in the North London derby, so they will want a new manager, be it interim or permanent, in the dugout by then.
Enzo Maresca’s name has been floated by Lineker after his good work at Leicester City and Chelsea. Before that, Maresca was Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager at Manchester City. He left Man City to take charge of Leicester City and guided them to the Championship title in 2023/24. After the Foxes achieved promotion under his watch, the Italian moved to Chelsea, where he won the Conference League and Club World Cup.
However, he was surprisingly sacked by Chelsea on New Year’s Day after 18 months in charge of the club. The Blues had hit a rough patch, winning just twice in their last nine games, while Maresca had hinted at internal disagreements and disputes in the weeks leading up to his departure.
Given Maresca’s fiery nature, coupled with his acrimonious exit from Chelsea at the turn of the year, Tottenham may have reservations hiring the Italian tactician, regardless of his impressive CV.