Frank emerges as leading candidate – but who else in Tottenham frame?

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has emerged as Tottenham’s leading candidate to replace Ange Postecoglou as manager.

Spurs are in a strong relationship with Frank, according to multiple sources, and initial inquiries have already been made about the Brentford coach’s availability.

When club chairman Daniel Levy chooses who to appoint, Frank has a good relationship with Spurs technical director and fellow Dane Johan Lange.

But the likes of Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner and Fulham’s Marco Silva are among others understood to be in the frame.

And Tottenham is even considering replacing former United States manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Postecoglou paid the price for Spurs’ miserable Premier League season, which finished just one place above the relegation zone.

And their Europa League triumph was not enough to save the Australian from what had seemed inevitable for weeks.

Leading contender Frank, 51, has been in charge of Brentford for more than six years, and what a job he has done.

He made them a top-flight team by winning the Championship play-off final at Wembley in 2021.

Would Brentford be drawn to the Premier League’s 10th place finish this year, seven places and 18 points clear of Spurs?

In January, he told Football Focus that managing Brentford was the “perfect job” – but also accepted he would not be at the club forever.

Chris Sutton, a Premier League champion with Blackburn Rovers in 1994-1995, told BBC Sport, “The manager has to handle that expectation,” adding that there is “many more pressure” at Tottenham than there is at Brentford.

What would Spurs look like if Frank were to step up?

“It’s a surprisingly difficult question to answer because he’s a really flexible manager”, said football tactics writer Alex Keble.

He will adapt his tactics to the opposition, much like Unai Emery at Aston Villa, “.

Iraola may feel that he has unfinished business at Bournemouth because he was arguably the Premier League’s manager of the year.

They only missed out on European football because they finished ninth in the Premier League.

His high-energy pressing style has seen Bournemouth earn rave reviews from pundits and opposition players – and would not be too far away from the intended style of Postecoglou at Spurs.

His managerial career began at AEK Larnaca in Cyprus, but he was fired after almost eight weeks without a win.

His second role was with Spanish second-tier Mirandes, where he led them to the Spanish Cup semi-finals for the second time in their history, but he left when his contract expired.

He moved to fellow second division side Rayo Vallecano and led them to the last four of the cup as well, before securing promotion to La Liga via the play-offs.

Glasner’s name is in the frame after he secured a stunning FA Cup final win against Manchester City and took Crystal Palace into Europe.

After replacing Roy Hodgson as manager in February 2024, the Austrian continued to excel in this campaign, finishing seventh overall.

The 50-year-old’s current contract expires in 2026, and last month Eagles chairman Steve Parish criticized any Tottenham connections, insisting Glasner would remain Crystal Palace manager after the season.

Silva’s reputation has improved since his two and a half years at Fulham, which he lost to Everton after 18 months in charge in 2019.

After spending almost two years out of the game, since taking over in west London he has re-established Fulham as a Premier League force, finishing 10th in 2022-23, 13th last season and 11th this campaign.

The Portuguese led Estoril to the Portuguese top flight and the Europa League before beginning his managerial career there.

He won the Portuguese Cup during his one season at Sporting, and he led Olympiakos to the Greek League title during his other year there, where he also managed the Champions League.

He spent four months at Hull in 2017 but left after they were relegated from the Premier League, before joining Watford and taking the team into the top four during his first few months in charge.

Former Brighton boss De Zerbi built a strong reputation during his time in the Premier League.

The 45-year-old is excited about Champions League football starting next season and has just led Marseille to second place in the league behind Paris St-Germain.

Many Tottenham fans would have a dream team reunion with Pochettino in mind. However, it appears highly unlikely on first glance.

The Argentine remains a hero among some of the regulars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He joined the team in 2014 and won the Champions League final, second and third.

And he sparked a flurry of excitement in some fans of his former club in March when he declared his desire to return to Tottenham one day.

The United States boss is under pressure in his current role but the country’s soccer federation would be owed what has been described by a well-placed source as” one of the biggest financial compensation fees in football history “if Pochettino was to leave for Spurs – or any other team for that matter – before the next World Cup.

Terzic took Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final last season, which his side lost to Real Madrid at Wembley. After asking the club to end his contract, the German left shortly after.

Italian Farioli, 36, resigned as Ajax manager at the end of the campaign after his team’s dramatic late collapse caused his team to lose the Dutch title. Despite doing so, he received a lot of praise during his tenure.

With five games left, a team had never before been unable to win the league when leading by nine points.

In his first managerial position with Ipswich Town, McKenna led them from League One to the Premier League in just two and a half years, despite only spending one season in the top flight.

An expansive brand of football saw them gain promotion with successive second-place finishes, scoring 101 goals in League One and 92 in the Championship.

It should come as no surprise that the 38-year-old from Northern Ireland is regarded as having one of the best managerial prospects in the industry.

After spending just £4 million on his side’s last campaign, he was linked with the summer jobs at Brighton, Manchester United, and Chelsea.

However, he signed a four-year deal at the Tractor Boys in May 2024 and would be expensive to prise away from Ipswich.

Former England boss Southgate has been resting since stepping down following the Euro 2024 final, which the Three Lions lost to Spain.

Three years prior, his England side lost to Italy on penalties in the Euros final.

The 54-year-old was in charge of England for eight years, and he was honored in the New Year’s Day of 2025.

Since being fired by Barcelona at the end of last season, the former midfielder has been unemployed.

The 45-year-old, who guided Barca to the La Liga title in 2023, has recently said he is looking for a return to football.