Tottenham fancy Roger Schmidt and may move for the Benfica boss if Antonio Conte decides to leave in the near future.
It feels like there is always some kind of rumour about Conte leaving Tottenham.
Whether it’s a return to Juventus or just feeling like Tottenham can’t reach the levels he wants, there’s a rumour of that ilk every other week.
Tottenham may be wise to have managerial targets in mind just in case Conte does leave, even if a new contract seems more likely than an exit right now.
Tottenham fancy Roger Schmidt
Rudy Galetti of SportItalia now claims that Tottenham do have a manager they like if Conte decides to leave.
Galetti claims that Tottenham would like to appoint Benfica boss Roger Schmidt, considering him the ‘ideal profile’.
Schmidt, 55, has guided Benfica through a Champions League group featuring both Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
Not only that, but Benfica finished top of the group with Schmidt’s attacking brand of football paying dividends.
Schmidt had fairly modest beginnings with Delbrucker, Preussen Munster and Paderborn before heading to Red Bull Salzburg in 2012.
A move to Bayer Leverkusen followed but Schmidt was sacked despite winning almost half of his games in charge.
Schmidt decided to test his luck in China with Beijing Guoan for a couple of years before returning to Europe with PSV Eindhoven in 2020.
69 wins in 104 games saw Schmidt land the Benfica job over the summer and his stock has arguably never been higher after 19 wins and three draws in his 22 games.
Unbeaten this season and chasing a league title, the German boss would be a real change of pace from Conte in terms of attacking principles.
One player who may love a move for Schmidt is Son Heung-min, who played under Schmidt at Leverkusen.
Schmidt hailed Son in 2016, suggesting that he is a ‘fantastic’ player for pressing football, something Schmidt would be keen to use at Tottenham.
This still feels like an unlikely move given that Conte seems settled but Schmidt is a name to keep an eye on.
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