Julian Nagelsmann has emerged as a candidate to be the future Tottenham boss after the club parted company with Antonio Conte – and he has already spoken about his admiration for English football.
Nagelsmann has found himself on the lookout for a new job after being sacked by Bayern Munich last week despite their impressive Champions League form. The reigning Bundesliga champions won all six group games before eliminating Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, but have fallen off top spot in the league.
Spurs have confirmed Cristian Stellini will be their acting head coach for the remainder of the season, with Ryan Mason his assistant, but will be on the lookout for a permanent boss in the summer. Nagelsmann is a leading candidate for the role, and has already been open about watching Manchester United often.
The 35-year-old took his RB Leipzig to play United at Old Trafford in the Champions League in the 2020/21 campaign, where he opened up on his familiarity with English football but United in particular. It was a clear sign of how open he was to moving away from Germany at some point his coaching career.
By that stage, the German had already been linked with the Old Trafford hotseat due to his exploits at Leipzig and before that, Hoffenheim. Erik ten Hag is now at the United helm and while that job is no longer available, Nagelsmann is likely to be on Spurs' shortlist to replace Conte.
Nagelsmann explained in the Daily Mail ahead of Leipzig’s trip to United in the Champions League group stages two-and-a-half years ago: “I've never played in Old Trafford or been there. It will be a great experience.
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“I watched a lot of games in the Theatre of Dreams and of Manchester United on television. Now to be part of the stadium will be perfect.
“Bayern Munich v Manchester United, for example, the final when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored. Ryan Giggs did a lot of big games for Manchester United, Paul Scholes, Ruud Van Nistelrooy … a lot of players. I watched nearly every game of Manchester United 10 years ago, when I was a younger guy and a player.”
The highly-rated young boss added: “I watched not only English football but also Serie A, Primera Division. I wanted to become a professional so it was important to watch games and look at what the best players in Europe do.
“Sir Alex Ferguson had a long and very successful time for Manchester United so it was also interesting to watch him, what he changed from one season to the next.
“I know there will be no fans so that's hard. When there will be fans it will be more of a bigger experience. But if we win the game in the Theatre of Dreams it will be perfect.”
