Andoni Iraola would prefer to stay at Bournemouth, rather than jump ship to Tottenham, GIVEMESPORT understands.
The Bournemouth manager is highly sought-after and one of the frontrunners to be approached by Spurs in the wake of them sacking head coach Thomas Frank.
Frank was dismissed just hours after his team lost 2-1 at home to Newcastle on Tuesday evening, leaving them 16th in the Premier League and just five points clear of the bottom three.
The club is not ruling out appointing an interim coach until the end of the season to give them time to line up a new boss on a permanent basis in the summer.
Bournemouth Prepared For Tottenham Call
Andoni Iraola
Cherries chiefs are braced for an approach in the short to medium term by Tottenham for their highly-rated manager. Feelers were put out by Spurs last summer to see if Iraola would be keen to join them.
The Spaniard’s contract is up in the summer but even so, as it stands, he does not see Tottenham as his next destination.
He is ambitious and recognises that Tottenham is a ‘big club’ compared to Bournemouth. But the systematic unravelling of the season under departed boss Frank has proved Iraola was right to stay put on the south coast.
He will be a free agent in the summer but has his sights set on higher things - a top team on the up or an opportunity to return home and manage Athletic Club in Bilbao where he spent 12 years as a player amassing more than 400 appearances.
Fulham’s Marco Silva is another contender for the now vacant post at Tottenham. The Portuguese has still not responded to the club’s offer of a new three-year contract when his expires at the end of the season.
The contract was put in front of Silva in the new year but the head coach is playing a guessing game and keeping his options open for as long as possible.
Silva, 48, was linked, along with Iraola, with the Tottenham job last summer but remained at Craven Cottage. He now has just five months left on his current contract and there are fears inside the club that he will not sign an extension.
Thomas Frank's Parting Gift To Tottenham Players
Thomas Frank
Frank lasted just eight months in his job after replacing Ange Postecoglou who was sacked after two years and having won the Europa League.
They are winless in nine domestic games and in freefall. Frank’s parting gift to the squad was to give them five days off from now because they are not involved in the FA Cup this weekend having been knocked out at home in the third round by Aston Villa last month.
The squad is off duty but could be recalled immediately if a new manager comes in and demands an emergency team meeting to try to thrash out the issues surrounding the poor run of form.
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