Tottenham Hotspur are believed to be targeting Xabi Alonso as their next potential manager and Jamie Redknapp has hailed the 42-year-old amid the reports.
Are Spurs eyeing Xabi Alonso as their next manager?
The north London club's season is currently petering out on a whimper at the moment following a stretch of four league games without a single victory.
Indeed, their last four games in the Premier League have only provided Spurs with one win as their defence has seen 14 goals conceded in those matches.
Amid their struggles in the Premier League, a managerial merry-go-round has been going on in the background with Ryan Mason having been handed the responsibility following the departure of both Antonio Conte and Cristian Stellini.
But it seems as if Daniel Levy is still targeting a different permanent manager ahead of the summer with the likes of Julian Nagelsmann being linked with the club.
The search appears to have expanded to other young up-and-coming managers with the Bayer Leverkusen boss, Alonso, also believed to be on their radar.
Indeed, Dutch reports suggest the former Liverpool midfielder is, in fact, the leading candidate for the job in north London amid links to Feyenoord's Arne Slot.
And speaking to the media, Sky Sports pundit Redknapp has hailed the Spaniard and suggested he could be an excellent fit for the Lilywhites:
"Since he's gone there transformation in that team has been astronomical. So he obviously knows what he's doing and such a classy guy, classy player.
"See, I'm not surprised one bit that Tottenham are in for him but there'll be a lot of other clubs as well."
Would Alonso be a good fit for Spurs?
The 42-year-old has now been at the helm of the Bundesliga side for 31 games across all competitions in which he has overseen 17 victories (via Transfermarkt).
There have certainly been some frustrating defeats along the way including to the likes of Augsburg in the German top flight.
However, Leverkusen have now put together a run of 14 games across all competitions without defeat – including 10 wins.
Alonso has been described as an "exciting" prospect by journalist Manuel Veth and his 4-3-3 formation has produced a return of 65 goals from his 31 games at the helm.
But there will be major question marks asked over his side's ability to defend having also conceded 40 times in those games.
And that is something which is certainly an issue in north London with Tottenham holding the sixth-worst defensive record in the Premier League – despite sitting up in sixth spot.
Alonso's playing career can leave no questions, but given Leverkusen look set to lose out on Champions League football under Spaniard to the likes of Union Berlin and potentially Freiburg, he may need to do more to earn the Spurs job.
Tottenham also look set to miss out on the Champions League spots this season, but could Alonso be the man to change that for next season?
