Maurizio Sarri is a 'strong contender' for Tottenham Hotspur's managerial vacancy, according to reports in Italy...

What's the word?

Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness) claim that the former Chelsea boss is in the running for the Spurs job and could be the easiest to secure, given he is out of work and that Jose Mourinho has agreed to join AS Roma, where Sarri was widely expected to take over.

The likes of Antonio Conte (Inter Milan) and Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta) are under contract with rival Serie A teams, whilst their other targets appear to be out of reach.

For example, The Sun believe it will cost a total of £70m to prise Brendan Rodgers away from Leicester City, and Ajax boss Erik ten Hag recently signed a new contract extension amid interest from the North London outfit.

Terrifying prospect

Although the pool of potential managers is seemingly shrinking by the week, Spurs must not settle on another former Blues boss as it would be a recipe for disaster.

We saw how quickly the Lilywhites faithful turned on Mourinho and truth be told, there will be many in N17 that were against him from minute one.

After his sacking over two weeks ago, The Athletic claimed that the Portuguese boss had "sucked the culture out of the club" with boring training sessions, tactics obsessed with stopping the opposition to the point of the players being unsure how to attack, and effectively losing the dressing room.

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Well, this isn't too dissimilar to how Sarri's tenure came to an end at Stamford Bridge.

A print edition of Spanish newspaper AS (via Football Italia) suggested that the 62-year-old had lost the support of Chelsea's 'big names' for 'months' and his relationship with some was 'irreconcilable.'

It even led to third-choice goalkeeper Rob Green confronting the Italian in front of the whole squad.

"I just spelled it out. I told him, ‘You have no plan B. You’re a transactional kind of manager," he revealed to The Athletic before later adding: "He is an ex-bank manager and manages a club like one."

Green would also suggest that despite many players, staff and Sarri himself reacting positively to his actions, it didn't change anything. It is that sort of stubbornness that is further synonymous with Mourinho.

"Sarri is very stubborn, everybody knows that," once claimed ex-Blues defender Mario Melchiot to talkSPORT. "He has this way of playing and I think everybody should be stubborn when you’re a manager, but you also have to have common sense and be logical about what works and what doesn’t work."

To see their club sack Mourinho before the season's end and then replace him with someone so similar is such a terrifying prospect and not one that would get the fanbase back on side, whatsoever.

Many supporters have been protesting against ownership group, ENIC,  and chairman Daniel Levy as a result of the recent failed Super League proposals but in reality, it's a culmination of their lack of success over many, many years.

Sarri would evidently not bring joy back to North London, even if he (Eden Hazard. really) earned their local rivals a Europa League title.

AND in other news, "I was told": Worrying claim emerges on future of Spurs "monster", Levy will be livid...