Tottenham have set their sights on Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola, casting doubt over the future of current manager Ange Postecoglou, according to reports. Postecoglou has been feeling the heat this season as Spurs have slipped down the rankings following a fifth-place finish in his inaugural campaign.
Iraola, who took the helm at Bournemouth concurrently with Postecoglou's appointment at Spurs, has previously earned plaudits for his work at Rayo Vallecano. His initial season on the south coast started slowly, but he has since steered the team to notable progress this year.
Despite a recent slump that yielded just one point from four matches, leaving the Cherries 10th in the standings, an impressive 11-match unbeaten streak earlier in the season keeps them within reach of European competition. They also remain contenders in the FA Cup, gearing up for a clash against Manchester City on Sunday.
Spurs find themselves trailing 10 points behind Iraola's squad, even after clawing back to a 1-1 draw against them in the league. However, Postecoglou still has the opportunity to clinch silverware this term, with Tottenham poised to battle Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-finals.
The Athletic has named Iraola as Tottenham's prime candidate should they decide to replace their current manager. The outlet suggests that Postecoglou's tenure beyond the current season is shrouded in "serious doubt," although no definitive decision has been reached yet.
Postecoglou is not out of the woods yet, with a year remaining on his contract and the possibility of staying put. After a troubling dip that saw Spurs flirting with the relegation zone due to a spate of injuries, a trio of victories in February provided a much-needed respite before their form took another downturn.
Iraola, who also has a year left on his contract, is among those being monitored by Spurs as per recent reports. He's not alone on their watchlist; Fulham's Marco Silva and Brentford's Thomas Frank are also said to be on the radar.
The North London club headed into the international break on a low note, having secured just a single point from their last three outings. Their most recent fixture was a loss to Silva's Fulham, where late strikes from Rodrigo Muniz and Ryan Sessegnon decided the match.
"Both goals were pretty soft," lamented Postecoglou in his post-match analysis on Match of the Day. "At the very least you want to stay in the game. I thought in the second half we were the better team and had the best chances up to that point. So to concede is very disappointing.
"It's been a difficult campaign for sure. But I feel we've lost too many games that we should have got stuff out of, and this was one of those games.
"It's another international break we go into off a loss and you feel that. We just need to make sure we're ready for when we come back."
This article first appeared on The Mirror.