Edin Terzic has seemingly ruled himself out of contention for the Tottenham Hotspur or Crystal Palace job, telling Goal that he would be happy to stay at Borussia Dortmund.
After just six months in management, a 38-year-old former West Ham United coach certainly felt like a name right out of left-field.
There was real surprise when BILD reported earlier in May that Tottenham had identified Terzic as a potential replacement for Jose Mourinho, with the Rhine-born tactician also on the radar of a Crystal Palace side moving on from the stability of the Roy Hodgson era.
Newcastle United have also been linked.
Comparisons may be drawn with another Bundesliga-based, coaching wunderkind in Julian Nagelsmann, but the jury is still very much out on Terzic.
Yes, the 38-year-old led Dortmund into the Champions League – an achievement which looked very unlikely just a few weeks ago – while thumping Nagelsmann’s RB Leipzig side 4-1 in the DFB Pokal final.
But his interim spell in charge of the German giants had more ups and downs than Michael Keaton’s filmography. He might have seized A Shot at Glory, leaving his critics Blindsided, but there’s still a nagging suspicion that Terzic’s short success at the Signal Iduna Park is Much Ado about Nothing.
Either way, the man who took Lucian Favre’s place on the Dortmund bench in December is keen to stay at his boyhood club; even if the impending arrival of Borussia Monchengladbach boss Marco Rose means Terzic will have to take a backseat role once again.
“We have clearly expressed the wish that my path can continue here with pleasure,” Terzic said when asked about his future.
“We will make the best decision in the interests of the club.
“At some point you will find out (what I will do next). I will go home with full enjoyment. I will enjoy that completely for the next few days.”
According to The Athletic, Erik Ten Hag, Graham Potter, Roberto Martinez and Ralf Rangnick are the four leading contenders to replace Jose Mourinho at Tottenham.
Terzic might have shown plenty of potential in recent months, but surely a 38-year-old without a single full-time managerial job on his CV is too big a risk.
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