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Plenty have been calling for Tottenham Hotspur to appoint Marcelo Bielsa as Jose Mourinho’s successor this week…

What’s the word?

The ‘Special One’ was sacked after 17 months at the helm, with former midfielder Ryan Mason taking the reins until the end of the season, when Daniel Levy will look to appoint a permanent replacement.

Several names have been linked with the vacant role, ranging from mooted number one target Julian Naglesmann to Brendan Rodgers and even Athletic Bilbao’s Marcelino, but it is Bielsa’s name which is on the lips of many.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Dean Windass claimed the Leeds United boss “would be the one on the lips of Daniel Levy” and he’s not the only one thinking this.

Former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara stoked the fire even more when he told talkSPORT: “I think he’d be absolutely brilliant and the fans would love him. If you can try and prise him away form there it’d be unbelievable.”

Meanwhile, according to Tony Cascarino in his column for The Times, Bielsa “could regenerate Tottenham”.

Could ruin Kane

The 65-year-old is a very intriguing option to consider, but there must be a few question marks over whether or not he’s actually the right fit for Levy and Tottenham.

He has exceeded expectations at Elland Road and has delivered a strong maiden season back in the Premier League, especially as he’s largely been deploying what is the bulk of his Championship title-winning squad.

They sit tied on points with Arsenal in 10th place and have won away to Manchester City and Leicester, who occupy two of the top three spots.

Mauricio Pochettino is a huge admirer of his, having played under him at Newell’s Old Boys. “For me, he’s a person I will always admire,” revealed the former Spurs manager. “He’s a genius. A person with charisma and a personality very different from us normal coaches, and that’s what makes him special.”

However, the bulk of this success has come down to the 65-year-old’s philosophy – a relentless press, the mantra of putting the side before self, and working on the method before the result.

This means a lot of work is put into training, such as his ‘murderball’ sessions which Leeds’ top scorer Patrick Bamford recently described as “about ten times harder than a [Premier League] game.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-manager-transfer-news-and-rumours” title=”Read this week’s latest Spurs manager news, transfer rumours and more!”]

It’s also claimed that Bielsa’s teams suffer from burnout in the final thirds of the season due to built-up fatigue because his high-intensity system places such serious physical demands on the players.

Ultimately, this may well spell serious trouble for Harry Kane, who suffered another ankle injury this week.

In 2019, BT Sport presenter Gary Lineker expressed his fears over the England skipper in an interview with Goal. He said: “It is always a worry when you get a recurring injury and there is clearly a little weakness in there,” adding: “The more you do it, the more you worry the weakness will become a problem.”

Given Bielsa’s ruthless training sessions, let alone his intense pressing from the front in matches, you’d have to have major concerns over the 27-year-old talisman if the Argentine replaces Mourinho.

Spurs rely heavily on the goalscoring and creative exploits of Kane; he has accounted for 60.7% of their 54 league goals this term through either scoring or setting them up.

There’s one other factor which should put Bielsa down the pecking order, as his Leeds side has often suffered from profligacy. Despite winning the Championship last term, the Whites ranked amongst the five worst teams for goal conversion at just 12.5%.

That hasn’t really risen in the Premier League, with Leeds only converting 8.1% of their 614 shots at goal, as per Transfermarkt. In some games they find the net three, four, even five times, but in others they draw a serious blank despite creating so many chances – Kane could well suffer as a result of that, too.

If Levy listens to the aforementioned calls, then he would risk ruining his superstar striker. As good as Bielsa is, he just isn’t the right man to replace Mourinho in N17.

AND in other news, Levy would be appointing Mourinho 2.0 in “stubborn” 62 y/o flop…

Gareth Southgate is one of the latest names to be linked to the newly-vacant managerial post at Tottenham Hotspur…

What’s the word?

According to the Guardian’s Dave Hytner, the England boss could emerge as a potential candidate after the European Championships this summer.

It’s claimed that the 50-year-old, who has only managed Middlesbrough briefly at domestic level, would like to return to the club game at some point and is only under contract at the Football Association until 2022.

There is a further suggestion that his involvement with Harry Kane could be a positive factor as the pair are said to have an excellent relationship.

Disaster?

What is most interesting, however, is the claim that Daniel Levy is plotting a move for an attack-minded manager after handing Jose Mourinho his marching orders following a tumultuous and negative few months in north London.

Hytner goes onto state that the Spurs chairman is ‘keen for the replacement to be modern in outlook and have strong credentials in the development of young players.’

Kind of in the mould of Mauricio Pochettino.

Southgate somewhat has the latter attribute on his side, having won the 2016 Toulon tournament with the Three Lions’ U21 side but in terms of attractive football, he doesn’t pass the test whatsoever and that could not only be counter-productive towards his desire to change the culture at Spurs, but too could put many more supporters off.

One game that emphasises the dull, drab football on offer under our country’s leading boss was that dreadful goalless draw with Denmark last year. That kind of epitomised his recent gameplan since World Cup heartache in 2018.

Three central defenders, two holding midfielders yet the team has plenty of attacking talent like Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho to accompany Kane.

“Negative and protective system” is how the BBC’s chief football writer Phil McNulty described it after the game, whilst Barney Ronay lambasted it a “tactical flaw and a turn-off for viewers” on the Guardian.

Not much has changed since, with England only just scraping past Poland in their most recent outing at the end of March.

On the above evidence alone, the appointment of Southgate in north London would be more Mourinho than Pochettino, and that should be enough to have Levy searching elsewhere.

If he were to appoint the former Palace and Villa defender, then he deserves every bit of criticism that would undoubtedly come his way.

AND in other news, this latest ESL update could spell trouble for Spurs and Kane…

Liverpool have been boosted in their potential quest to sign Kylian Mbappe this summer, with the Frenchman reportedly rejecting three contract offers from Paris Saint-Germain.

The 22-year-old is among the most exciting players in world football at the moment, wreaking havoc for PSG, both domestically and in Europe.

Mbappe has scored 115 goals in just 156 appearances for the Ligue 1 champions, also chipping in with 56 assists for good measure.

Liverpool and Real Madrid have long been considered the front-runners to snap up the Frenchman this summer, should he decide to have a fresh challenge.

Reds boosted in Mbappe pursuit

According to Cadena SER [via Sport Witness], Mbappe has rejected three separate offers from PSG, as they look to tie him down for the long-term future.

It is even stated that the youngster ‘doesn’t want to renew’ at his current club, potentially paving the way for Liverpool to snap him up.

The Reds’ financial situation could play a part in whether or not a deal takes place, however, especially if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

Transfer Tavern take

The idea of Mbappe in a Liverpool shirt is certainly an exciting one, but it is hard to envisage Jurgen Klopp having all of Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota to call upon.

It appears as though the only way Mbappe will be at Anfield next season is if one of their other attacking superstars leaves.

In other news, Liverpool fans have been reacting to Steven Gerrard’s comments on Klopp’s future. Read them here.

With Kylian Mbappe set to make the move to Real Madrid, it has been reported that his brother Ethan could follow him to the Santiago Bernabeu.

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• Kylian Mbappe set to join Madrid
• Brother Ethan will join the club as well
• Kylian requested Madrid for brother's move

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  In a move that has been in the making since 2019, the French World Cup winner is set to finally make his dream move to the 14-time Champions League winners. It has now been reported by the Daily Mail, that Kylian has made a special request to the higher-ups at the club to sign his brother Ethan alongside himself. The report has also suggested that Madrid have already accepted the request and will prepare for a double signing from the Parisians.

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  Ethan is only 17 years old but made his professional debut with the defending Ligue 1 champions earlier this season. It has been reported that his signing would initially be for Real Madrid Castilla before the team can judge the player and his level.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Despite taking a significant pay cut, the 25-year-old, who makes £21.4 million net every season in Paris, will earn £12.8 million at Real Madrid this season, making him the team's highest earner. Although Mbappe will not get the same base salary at Madrid, he will receive a substantial signing bonus estimated to be worth over £85.6 million, and he will retain an 80% share of the image rights in any future deals he signs. This deviates from the customary 50/50 split that the club imposes on new members.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR KYLIAN AND ETHAN?

  The duo will still be focused on the season with Paris Saint-Germain as they stand to win the treble if everything goes correctly for them. They could both be in action next for the Parisians when they take on Monaco on Friday, March 1.

Celtic are hoping to announce Eddie Howe as their new manager this week, according to The Sun.

Both parties are in no rush to hurry negotiations, but it does appear as if the 43-year-old will eventually become Neil Lennon’s long-term successor.

Howe’s specific Celtic assurance

However, the report also reveals a specific assurance Howe needs before putting pen to paper over a Parkhead deal.

Howe wants to bring Bournemouth man Richard Hughes with him to Glasgow in a director of football role.

That would mean the Hoops hierarchy ripping up their plans they originally had in place, with Football Insider revealing a deal for Manchester City’s Fergal Harkin was 90% done last month.

Transfer Tavern take

To us, Howe needs to have a major say on who the director of football is, and if a deal for Hughes is possible, it could prove to be a shrewd appointment.

Howe and Hughes enjoyed great success on the south coast, and the manager and director of football will need to work closely in a Parkhead rebuild.

Plenty of key on-field decisions will need to be made ahead of the 2021/22 season, and the pair having full trust in each other could make that process easier.

In other news: Premier League side set to bid for Celtic midfielder, find out more here. 

The Spaniard essentially has his pick of the top managerial jobs because of the remarkable work he is doing at the BayArena

According to latest reports, Xabi Alonso favours taking over at Bayern Munich this summer over Liverpool. In a way, it would be understandable. It's always easier to follow a failure than a living legend – and make no mistake about it, that's exactly what Jurgen Klopp has become at Anfield.

It's not just about his qualities as a coach, either; it's about his character and charisma too. Many great managers have sat in the home dugout at Liverpool, but none has ever conducted the Kop like Klopp.

When the fans were getting frustrated after seeing their Premier League table-topping team surprisingly fall behind to relegation-battling Luton on Wednesday, Klopp turned to the Main Stand and demanded more support for his struggling side. What followed was "a thunderstorm", a wave of emotion that swept Luton away in the second half with what Rob Edwards called "full-throttle football".

"Their counter-pressing was incredible, it suffocated us, and their fans were amazing – it was difficult for the players to really concentrate," the Hatters boss admitted after the 4-1 loss. "It was like the Kop was just sucking it in and we couldn't really get out of our half. We saw Anfield and Liverpool at their best tonight. I thought they were brilliant."

• 'Team and the fans changed the game'

  Klopp did, too, so much so, in fact, that he broke a promise by bringing up Barcelona – something he swore he'd never do given the historic nature of that epic Champions League comeback in 2019.

  Why? "Because, before the game, it was kind of similar, with many players missing," he said, referring to the unavailability of 11 squad members. "So, this is their Barcelona: a difficult situation, plenty of reasons to give up at times – but they didn't. I saw only a super group fighting. If you don't limit yourself with bad thoughts, you can fly, and that's what the boys did."

  Perhaps it was unsurprising, then, that Klopp didn't just roll out the fist-pumps for the Kop after the game – but all four corners of the ground.

  "The stadium and the team," he told , "changed the game together." But it was he who sparked them into life, and it is he who unites the club. He pretty much has done since the day he arrived at Anfield in 2015 and promised to turn "doubters into believers".

  Six major honours have followed, including a first English title since 1990. Klopp may even bow out with another one before he departs at the end of the season. If he does, in the era of state-sponsored Manchester City, it would only cement his status as one of the greatest managers of all time.

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  Will the dream become a reality?

  As a result, succeeding Klopp is considered by some as the impossible job and one can understand why, given the trophies he's won and the rapport he has with both the players and the supporters. Just look at the way in which Manchester United have struggled since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure more than a decade ago.

  In that sense, Alonso may feel that this is a case of the right role but at the wrong time. He admitted when he embarked upon his coaching career that he had "dreamt" of returning to Liverpool as the manager, having become such a fan-favourite during his time at Anfield as a player, but he's still a relatively young coach. At 42 years of age, he would be forgiven for feeling that there's no rush; that the Liverpool job will come up again for him.

  After all, he's already done enough at Bayer Leverkusen to suggest that he has a long and successful career ahead of him. In just over 18 months, he has taken a team at risk of relegation to the cusp of a first-ever Bundesliga title – and all the while playing a thrilling brand of football.

  Consequently, there is no more coveted – or highly-rated – young coach in the game today. Indeed, he's already effectively received a glowing endorsement from Klopp.

• Getty/GOAL
  

  'Xabi is the standout'

  "Xabi is doing an incredible job," the German told reporters. "If there would not be the rumours around, that's ­completely independent.

  "If you would have asked me eight weeks ago about Xabi Alonso, I would have gone: ‘Oh my God.’ The dinosaurs if you want – [Carlo] Ancelotti, [Jose] Mourinho, [Pep] Guardiola, maybe me – we will not do it for the next 20 years. The next generation is already there and I would say Xabi is the standout in that department.

  "Former world-class player, from a coaching family as well which helps a little, he was like a coach already when he was playing. The football he is playing, the teams he sets up, the transfers he did, it is absolutely exceptional.

  "I played and worked a long time in the Bundesliga and it is super impressive. Not only the points tally, but the way they play. He has super signings for this team, exactly what they needed, and that's really a very special job."

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  A Liverpool love affair

  Of course, Ferguson's support couldn't even sustain David Moyes through a full season at Old Trafford, but it's impossible to envisage Liverpool supporters turning so quickly on Alonso, who was – and remains – adored at Anfield.

  When Rafael Benitez foolishly tried to replace him with Gareth Barry in the summer of 2008, the fans made their feelings known during a pre-season friendly against Lazio that Alonso still considers one of the "most special days" of his career, so touched was he by the show of support.

  The intelligence, elegance and determination with which Alonso played the game obviously helped endear him to the Kop, but his down-to-earth personality also played a pivotal part. From the moment he arrived at Liverpool, he embraced the culture of the club and indeed the city. He has even referred to his Liverpool-born son as a "Scouser". Hardly surprising then that the fans fell in love with him – or that the feeling was mutual.

  "The mystique of coming down that tunnel at Anfield, touching the sign, watching the Kop singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ – having all of that made it easier to have such a close attachment and strong commitment with the club and the fans," he told the .

  "I’ve never pretended to be someone I am not. I have always tried to be a normal one, and the personality of Liverpool people is very particular: they like you to be one of them. If you are in the bar, they offer to get you a pint. They want you to feel welcome. I felt that from the very beginning."

  Alonso, then, would be given the warmest of welcomes if he were to return to Anfield, and afforded more time and patience to lead Liverpool through the post-Klopp era than arguably any other coach in the game today. The thing is, though, Alonso might not need much of either.

Back-to-back defeats have piled pressure on the former Chelsea boss, who appears at a complete loss to explain what's wrong with his side

The tension is rising at Bayern Munich. After Wednesday's shock loss to Lazio, Thomas Tuchel wanted to "talk about football". But the German journalists at Stadio Olimpico only wanted to discuss his future.

"I've already answered [that question]," a visibly frustrated Tuchel said. "I'm not worried [about my job]. I don't understand why you insist." At this point, Bayern's press officer felt compelled to intervene to protect the manager. "The question has been asked," he said. "Let's move on."

Doing so will be difficult, though. The shock 1-0 defeat in Rome had come just four days after a chastening 3-0 drubbing at Bayer Leverkusen that has left Bayern five points behind the unbeaten Bundesliga leaders. The Bavarians hadn't lost two games in a row since 2019, while it had been nine years since they'd last failed to score in consecutive fixtures.

Having already been routed by RB Leipzig in the DFL-Supercup and endured an embarrassing DFB-Pokal exit at the hands of third-tier FC Saarbrucken, Bayern are now facing up to the very real prospect of failing to win a single trophy across an entire season for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign.

Consequently, the questions over Tuchel's future were as inevitable as they were incessant.

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  'Horrible mistakes'

  It's quite clear that Tuchel is hanging by a thread right now. He desperately needed a positive result after Saturday's dismal display at the BayArena, where Bayern had been swept aside by Xabi Alonso's thrilling team with worrying ease, but what he got was a perplexing performance.

  As Thomas Muller was at pains to point out, the under-pressure visitors began brightly against Lazio, only to fade the longer the game went on. "We had a good approach," the veteran attacker told . "The coach had a good plan for the game. But it's on us, it's on us players to score goals when we create chances.

  "The first half was good but, we have to be honest, we gave it away. We made horrible mistakes, horrible mistakes at this level."

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  'I can't explain it'

  Such errors have long been a part of Dayot Upamecano's game, so it came as no surprise to see the French defender needlessly give away the penalty that was converted by Ciro Immobile to decide the first leg in Lazio's favour.

  Many Bayern fans have long since given up asking why Tuchel persists with Upamecano – who was sent-off for his reckless lunge on Gustav Isaksen in the area – while leaving Matthijs de Ligt sitting on the bench. The Bayern boss refused to be too harsh on Upamecano, admitting only that it was a "wild" challenge, as he was more concerned with Bayern's bizarre loss of belief after the interval.

  "I think we lost the game; I'm not sure Lazio won it,” he told reporters in his post-match press conference. “I'm not sure why we lost our conviction in the second half but we did, and then we fell behind. I can't explain it because we told the team to maintain their intensity and be even braver going forward, but we seemed to lose face at the start of the half."

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  'Obviously doesn't look great'

  Tuchel was understandably keen to look on the bright side, pointing out that both Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala had squandered excellent chances in the opening 45 minutes and that Bayern should have ample opportunities to turn the tie around in the second leg.

  However, he did acknowledge that the defeat "in conjunction with the last result, obviously doesn't look great" – which is obviously putting it mildly. Losing to undefeated Leverkusen was one thing, but being beaten by the seventh-placed side in Serie A was quite another.

  Worse still, for all their effort and early promise, Bayern didn't actually manage a single shot on target in Rome, while Kane had just 31 touches of the ball (fewer than Manuel Neuer) and completed just 11 passes – a damning indictment of the Bavarians' inability to get their multi-talented forward into the game.

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  'Tough week'

  Kane was just as mystified by the second-half slump as Muller and Tuchel, and once again astounded by just how easily Bayern gave the ball away. He confessed to that "it's been a tough week" – and it will only get tougher if Bayern fail to win at Bochum on Sunday, because at this stage, Tuchel's position is bordering on untenable.

  During the dark days of 'FC Hollywood', Bayern changed coaches with alarming regularity, but in recent years, they've prided themselves on adopting a more measured and patient approach to management.

  However, less than a year ago, they sacked Julian Nagelsmann after a loss at Leverkusen even though Bayern were just a point behind Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund and had just knocked Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League last 16.

Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk was denied a late penalty in a Euro 2024 qualifer against Italy costing Ukraine a chance at automatic qualification.

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• Mudryk denied late penalty in Euro 2024 qualifier
• Italy claim point to reach tournament instead
• Ukraine have a second chance in March playoffs

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Tied 0-0 going into the final stages of their last qualifier against Italy, Ukraine felt they were robbed of a clear penalty that could have sent them to Euro 2024. Mudryk met the low pass from the right into a crowded penalty area, beating Bryan Cristante to the ball and appearing to have his legs taken by the Italy midfielder. Cristante also seemed to immediately realise his mistake, throwing his arms up in the air as if to protest innocence and gesture that he had pulled out of the challenge. But the contact was there.

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  With no penalty given, the game finished 0-0, which was enough for Italy to cling onto Group C's second automatic qualifying place behind leaders England. The reigning champions finished level on points with Ukraine, but could boast a superior head to head record between them following a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture in Milan in September. It leaves Ukraine, who have been unable to play games at home throughout this campaign due to the ongoing war with Russia, agonisingly third in the final standings. Had Ukraine got the penalty and converted it, the victory would have taken them above Italy.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR UKRAINE?

  Ukraine's chance to reach Euro 2024 is not completely gone and they will have a second bite at the cherry in the playoffs thanks to their performance in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League. That opportunity comes from the fact that Scotland secured – arguably unexpectedly – automatic qualification for Euro 2024, meaning their guaranteed playoff berth dropped to the next best team in their League B group, which was Ukraine.

  The playoffs take the form of three separate knockout brackets to determine the final three Euro 2024 qualifiers, each with four teams and consisting of two semi-finals and a final. All games will be played between 21 and 26 March 2024, with the playoffs draw taking place on Thursday 23 November.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who is a Newcastle United Hall of Famer, believes Steve Bruce is doing all he can as Newcastle manager and doesn’t believe Pep Guardiola would be able to do any better if he was at the helm.

Bruce claimed he wanted to match Rafa Benitez’s top-half finish which he achieved in 2017/18, however the Magpies find themselves 17th in the Premier League and just two points ahead of the bottom three.

Despite this not being achievable anymore, Lee believes Bruce keeping Newcastle up would be a successful season and claims if Guardiola was Newcastle’s manager his remit would be just to avoid relegation, too.

Speaking on what fans expect from Bruce and what kind of job the 50-year-old Spaniard could do on Tyneside, Lee told FFC exclusively:

“You could get Pep Guardiola as manager and say to him, ‘there you go Pep, you can sell any player you want and I’ll give you £20 million’. For one, he wouldn’t take the job and two, he’d fail.

“I think Pep Guardiola said it himself, at Man City he’s got the best team because he’s got the most money and that’s just football these days.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/rob-lee-exclusive-newcastle-united-premier-league-steve-bruce” title=”Exclusive! Rob Lee’s thoughts on Newcastle”]

“If you give any club £500 million to spend on players and wages, I guarantee you they’ll be up at the top and that’s regardless of what club it is because it’s all about money. Unfortunately, at Newcastle, we’ve got an owner who’s not going to put any into the club.”

Until Mike Ashley sells Newcastle United their fans may well expect more relegation battles much like this season, should they stay up.

They’ve fallen off a cliff from the Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson entertainers and Champions League era, with many Newcastle fans now only knowing the Ashley era.

United States international Antonee Robinson has liked a tweet from a supposed Fulham fan that claims he “can’t defend, can’t attack”.

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• Full-back scored an own goal against Villans
• Supporters not happy with performance
• Defender heading off on international duty

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 26-year-old full-back endured a Premier League outing to forget on Sunday as he scored an own goal to break the deadlock in the Cottagers’ 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa. Robinson put through his own net in the 27th minute and was unable to help Fulham back into the game from that point.

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  He will now be heading off with the USMNT for their two-legged CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final clash with Trinidad & Tobago, having been named in Gregg Berhalter’s latest squad. Robinson will be making that journey with criticism ringing in his ears.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Robinson does not appear to be taking said criticism to heart, though, as he has made a point of interacting with his detractors. The buccaneering left-back decided to like a post on social media from a Fulham supporter that has questioned what he brings to Marco Silva’s side and has suggested that a suitable song for him could be: "Can't defend, can't attack, Antonee Robinson our full-back."

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Robinson joined Fulham in 2020 and has taken in 120 appearances for the club – helping to establish them back in the Premier League following promotion in 2022. He signed a new contract at Craven Cottage back in July and has earned 37 caps for the United States – forming part of Nations League-winning squads in 2020 and 2023.