Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly identified Julian Nagelsmann as a potential Jose Mourinho replacement but former Premier League owner Simon Jordan wonders if the RB Leipzig boss may be a little over-hyped.
It says a lot about the direction football is heading that Spurs would consider swapping out a serial trophy-winner, a three-time Premier League champion, for a 33-year-old without a single piece of silverware on his CV.
The Athletic reports that Nagelsmann has admirers at Tottenham, amid concerns about Mourinho’s longevity in North London.
But while there can be no doubts about Nagelsmann’s potential – his Leipzig side has Bayern running scared in the Bundesliga title race despite losing top-scorer Timo Werner to Chelsea last summer – is a man just one year older than Toby Alderweireld really capable of turning Tottenham from perennial nearly-men into top dogs in England and abroad?
Jordan is refusing to get carried away by a 4-0 aggregate defeat to a stuttering Liverpool side in the Champions League round-of-16.
But the former Crystal Palace owner wonders if Nagelsmann needs more time to hone his considerable talents before joining Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and co in the Premier League.
“I’m not sure you can judge a manger by individual games. I think we have a propensity in every walk of life to overhype some of the things that (managers and players) do,” Jordan told talkSPORT (11 May, 10:00pm).
“Leipzig are second in the Bundesliga and, despite people’s assertions, there’s still some pretty compelling teams in that league. The manager everyone raves about, Klopp, came from one of those sides.
“(Nagelsmann) is a very young manger, he’s got a lot to learn. If he was an English manager we’d say; ‘Hold on, learn your trade’.
“But because it’s a German manager, there’s an overelevation of where he might he at this stage.”
There can be no doubt, however, that Nagelsmann is a man of rare talents, boasting a tactical mind sharper than a freshly-polished katana.
At both Hoffenheim and Leipzig, he elevated a talented crop of players beyond all expectations, building on the work done by Ralph Hasenhuttl and Ralf Rangnick to turn his current side into one of Europe’s most well-drilled and well-coached teams.
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