Another devastating twist has emerged in Tottenham Hotspur's managerial search this week...

What's the word?

According to The Sun, Spurs have been rejected by yet another target, this time Graham Potter, who has been the ninth manager to say no to the north London club.

It's claimed that chairman Daniel Levy thought his quest to find Jose Mourinho's successor was finally over after two months, but the 46-year-old Brighton boss' snub leaves Spurs in a tricky situation.

When will it end?

The vacant manager's role at Tottenham is quickly becoming untenable, with the job seemingly one that nobody wants, whether they're employed or out of work. It's a rather damning indictment on Levy and the club that as many as nine different names have come and gone throughout this process.

Julian Nagelsmann and Brendan Rodgers were two early contenders - the RB Leipzig supremo will join Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich instead, whilst the Leicester City boss ruled himself out after the Lilywhites baulked at the cost to lure him away.

Ajax's Erik ten Hag was the next manager to be targeted after Nagelsmann, but the Dutch giants triggered the extension in his current contract.

There were even talks with Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino over a sensational return to N17 after he was sacked by Levy in November 2019, and whilst there was a desire for both parties to reunite, the Ligue 1 outfit extended his deal by a further year to tie him down.

Chelsea's title-winning head coach Antonio Conte was the next to reject Spurs' advances before negotiations broke down with former AS Roma boss Paulo Fonseca - the man who has since been replaced by Mourinho.

The controversial Gennaro Gattuso then emerged as a surprise frontrunner before backlash from numerous supporters put pay to that.

Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui was said to have rejected a "dizzying" offer from the north Londoners, and now to make matters even worse than anyone could imagine, even Potter doesn't want it.

Tottenham players who aren't involved at Euro 2020 will return to pre-season as early as next week, so this latest blow in a string of setbacks should come as immensely worrying news.

It means the club are further back than most in the Premier League as they currently do not have Mourinho's replacement in place after 10 weeks of searching. They cannot push ahead with plans, either on or off the pitch, without a permanent manager in place.

Whoever is in the dugout come the opening weekend of 2021/22 against Manchester City will have his own transfer targets and tactical system to embed into the squad, and the longer the search rumbles on into pre-season, the less time that man will have to get it right.

This latest twist should be a huge concern for many in N17 right now.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops exciting Spurs transfer claim that'll surely leave fans excited...