Late into Sunday evening, Tottenham Hotspur announced the departure of head coach Antonio Conte by mutual consent.
The decision being confirmed was hardly a surprising one following the Italian's brutal rant after Spurs' Premier League draw with Southampton, but the timing of it and the statement itself offered significant confusion to supporters.
With many stars likely to return from international duty in the early stages of this week, they had been left in the dark over who exactly would be taking training upon their return. The club statement not only confirmed the exit of Conte, but also who exactly would take over for the remainder of the season and it was certainly a surprising name.
Part of the statement read: "Cristian Stellini will take the team as acting head coach for the remainder of the season, along with Ryan Mason as assistant head coach." Mason's involvement is not surprising, however Stellini, Conte's right hand man, remaining at the club is certainly interesting despite his positive record, with wins over Chelsea and Man City, when taking temporary charge in Conte's absence
READ MORE: Antonio Conte's last words as Tottenham head coach shows why Daniel Levy had no other option
With who will be in interim charge now known, attention shifts to who exactly Daniel Levy will choose to replace Conte on a permanent basis in the summer. Several popular names have been floated with a return for Mauricio Pochettino the talk of the fanbase.
Former Spain boss Luis Enrique is said to be a favourite for managing director Fabio Paratici, but Thomas Tuchel, another of his choices, is now off the market. The ex-Chelsea head coach was appointed by Bayern Munich on Friday following their decision to shockingly part ways with Julian Nagelsmann.
While Tuchel is now under contract until 2025, Nagelsmann is available and has seemingly more than caught the eye of those making the big managerial decision in north London. The latest odds on the man who will be Tottenham manager for first game of the 2023/24 Premier League season have now been released by Betfair.
Unsurprisingly the young German tops the list at 15/8, while Pochettino and current Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Oliver Glasner fall shortly behind at 3/1 and 5/1, respectively. Enrique is fourth on the list at 9/1 before Zinedine Zidane at 11/1 and Brentford manager Thomas Frank is placed at 12/1.
Ruben Amorim, who faced Conte and Spurs as Sporting CP manager, and Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi come in at 14/1. While towards the bottom of the list, the man at the helm of Juventus in Massimiliano Allegri comes next and is joined by Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou at 18/1.
Betfair: Tottenham manager for first game of 2023/24 Premier League season
- Julian Nagelsmann: 15/8
- Mauricio Pochettino: 3/1
- Oliver Glasner: 5/1
- Luis Enrique: 9/1
- Zinedine Zidane: 11/1
- Thomas Frank: 12/1
- Ruben Amorim: 14/1
- Roberto De Zerbi: 14/1
- Massimiliano Allegri: 18/1
- Ange Postecoglou: 18/1
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