Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso will not be leaving the Bundesliga outfit in order to take over at Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur.
That is according to Simon Rolfes; Leverkusen’s CEO speaking to Tuttomercatoweb ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg clash with Roma.
Opposite number Jose Mourinho – a former Spurs boss of course – described Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen side as ‘the best counter-attacking team I have seen’ at his pre-match press conference. Quite the statement, when you consider that Mourinho has worked at the top level of European football for two decades while coming up against some of the finest teams of the modern era.
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Alonso has worked wonders since replacing Gerardo Seoane at the Bay Arena in late-2022.
A season which appeared to be descending into a relegation dogfight could now end in Champions League qualification. Not to mention continental glory.
According to Sky Sports, Tottenham Hotspur have identified the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich playmaker as one of the leading candidates to take over from Antonio Conte in North London.
41 years old and more a purist than a pragmatist; Alonso certainly feels like a man more in line with Spurs’ DNA than any of their other post-Pochettino appointments.
But, after distancing himself from the Tottenham post in the last week, Rolfes may now have plunged the final dagger into Spurs’ hopes.
Leverkusen vs Roma in Europa League semi-finals
“He has a contract with us,” Rolfes explains. “He is happy, he likes working here, he has a good team to develop. Even in the last press conference, he said that he is 100 per cent here in his head.”
Alonso, who has won 17 of his 31 games in charge, is tied to Leverkusen until 2024.
“I’ve been in football for many years,” Alonso recently said. “Rumours are normal but we still have a lot to achieve.
“That’s why my head is 100 per cent here for the last few months. And my head is also 100 per cent here for next season.”
Tottenham’s pursuit of a new head coach goes on, then, with no end in sight. Luis Enrique, Brendan Rodgers and Julian Nagelsmann are, however, out of work and awaiting their next task.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s Oliver Glasner looks set to join them in the ‘unemployed’ bracket too.
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