Tottenham Hotspur's recent collapse away to Southampton has only served to intensify the scrutiny on the future of manager Antonio Conte, with the experienced Italian – who has just a matter of months left to run on his existing deal – having hit out at the club in an explosive, post-match outburst.
Those eye-catching comments – in which the former Chelsea boss labelled his players "selfish" and took aim at the lack of success that the club has enjoyed under the current ownership – have sparked new uncertainty surrounding his position in the dugout, with the 53-year-old having already looked set for an exit.
With chairman Daniel Levy having seemingly been plotting possible replacements for the hot-headed coach, former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp has now suggested that it appears as if Conte "wants to be sacked", such was the strong nature of the manager's criticism on Saturday.
Amid that exit talk, Redknapp then suggested that another ex-Blues boss, Thomas Tuchel, could be the man to succeed the one-time Inter Milan coach at N17, having hailed the German as a "really good" manager.
This follows a previous report from The Sun that suggested Levy and co could be interested in appointing the out-of-work gem, albeit with the 49-year-old likely to need persuading if he is to return to the Premier League in north London, despite reportedly being a fan of the club.
While there would be obvious merit in appointing a man who worked wonders to guide the Stamford Bridge outfit to Champions League glory back in 2021, it could well be that Spurs would be simply securing Conte 2.0 by bringing Tuchel into the fold.
Would Tuchel be a good fit at Spurs?
Aside from the recent downturn in performances – with Tottenham crashing out of Europe and the FA Cup in recent weeks – a major gripe that supporters have had with Conte's approach has been the rather dour style of play, with it seemingly at odds with the "free-flowing, attacking and entertaining" brand of football that Levy is seemingly craving.
The current Spurs boss was criticised by pundit Gary Neville for his pragmatic tactics in the north London derby defeat to Arsenal back in October, with the ex-Manchester United skipper stating that the Lilywhites looked "awful" and "negative" after appearing to sit back against their rivals.
The fear will be that Levy could simply be trading one defensive-minded coach for another with the appointment of Tuchel, with the one-time Borussia Dortmund man having been branded "boring" by talkSPORT pundit, Gabby Agbonlahor, amid his spell in west London.
Former Tottenham man Mauricio Pochettino – who has been linked with a return to the club – also suggested that Chelsea were a "defensive team" who played "in transition and on the counter" under Tuchel's watch.
That may set alarm bells ringing among the club's supporters, with such an approach currently remarkably similar to what is being utilised – rather unsuccessfully – by Conte.
After appointing a succession of pragmatic coaches in the form of Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and now Conte, Levy must surely be keen to take the club back to their roots and prioritise a more expansive and attractive style of play moving forward.
On the face of it, it does appear Tuchel is simply not the man to spark the change that the club are craving, with it potentially set to be another mistaken, short-term fix.
