Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is on a two-man list of potential managerial candidates to succeed Jose Mourinho at Tottenham if they decided to make a change, according to The Athletic reporter Jack Pitt-Brooke.
The Saints are enduring a very difficult period at the moment, having suffered six successive defeats in the Premier League, and that has even raised some questions over Hasenhuttl’s long-term future. However, according to BBC Radio Solent reporter Adam Blackmore, the Austrian is not likely to be leaving St Mary’s any time soon.
Hasenhuttl’s stock was very high during the first half of the season, with the Austrian having even guided Southampton to the top of the table after they beat Newcastle in November. That saw him linked with the Chelsea job before Thomas Tuchel was appointed last month.
As for Tottenham, they are also enduring a difficult period in their season, having dropped down to ninth after losing four of their last five Premier League matches. However, at the moment it is thought that an immediate departure for Mourinho is unlikely.
Speaking on The Athletic’s YouTube channel, Pitt-Brooke revealed that he has been informed that Spurs are considering both Hasenhuttl and RB Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmann as options to replace Mourinho should they look to make a change in the near future. He explained:
In terms of what Spurs would do next if he were to go. The two names I have heard from sources have been Julian Nagelsmann and Ralph Hasenhuttl as potential replacements for Mourinho, should he have to go.
I don’t think that we are in that situation at the moment. Speaking to a source familiar with Daniel Levy’s thinking the other day, I don’t think they’ll be any imminent decision on this. I think it will depend on the League Cup and the Europa League and the end to the Premier League campaign.
But it is quite possible that there will be a change of direction at Tottenham in the summer.
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This update is a stark reminder if it were needed over how highly Hasenhuttl is regarded among top clubs in England. That the Saints have a manager with such a profile is an achievement in itself, so it is perhaps a good time for them to take stock given the question marks over him following their six successive Premier League defeats.
However, no manager is infallible and if Southampton’s run does continue, a change might be needed in terms of the team’s direction. That Tottenham are interested in bringing him in to replace Mourinho shows that, whatever happens with the rest of Hasenhuttl’s time at St Mary’s, he still has plenty of admirers in European football.
If the Austrian does end up at Spurs as his next club, he would follow the same path as Mauricio Pochettino did back in 2014, and that was a move which worked out excellently for the Argentine’s career.
There would surely be few at Southampton who would begrudge Hasenhuttl the chance to emulate Pochettino’s success, but they need to at least try and keep hold of him for the time being.
