Celtic allowed Tottenham to speak to manager Ange Postecoglou over taking over in north London; Scottish Premiership champions are lining up Jesse Marsch or former boss Brendan Rodgers as potential replacements
Tuesday 6 June 2023 10:35, UK
Tottenham have agreed terms in principle for Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou to take over as their new head coach.
Sky Sports News reported last week that the Australian had emerged as the new leading candidate and that Spurs had been given permission to hold formal talks with him earlier on Monday.
Celtic have already begun working on Postecoglou's potential successor, with Brendan Rodgers, Jesse Marsch and Enzo Maresca - one of Pep Guardiola's coaches at Man City - being considered.
Rodgers was Celtic manager for two and a half seasons between 2016 and February 2019, where he left the Bhoys mid-campaign to take over at Leicester.
The Northern Irish manager won the double-treble at Parkhead along with the Scottish League Cup just weeks before his departure. Rodgers has been out of work since being sacked by Leicester earlier this season, with Marsch still looking for a route back into football after leaving Leeds.
Sky Sports News revealed last week Spurs would officially approach Celtic for permission to speak to Postecoglou following their 3-1 win over Inverness at Hampden Park on Saturday.
Spurs had wanted to be respectful of an important fixture for Celtic and Postecoglou insisted in the run-up to the final that the Hampden Park showpiece was his sole focus.
Speaking after sealing Celtic's historic eighth domestic treble, taking them one above arch-rivals Rangers, Postecoglou told BBC Scotland: "I'm going to be a little bit selfish here, because around me, my family have worked really hard to enjoy this moment.
"As disappointing as that may be, that's what I'm going to do. I will enjoy it as long as I can until people drag me away to talk about other things."
Luis Enrique, Roberto De Zerbi and Marco Silva remain the other names on Spurs' list of interesting prospects for the role.
However, Brighton head coach De Zerbi is expected to resist any approach from Spurs, if one is made, as he is keen to lead the club next season as they prepare to play in Europe for the first time in their history.
Sky Sports News reporter Gordon Duncan at Celtic Park:
"We believe Celtic's search for a replacement is already under way. You have to have contingency plans for every scenario and Brendan Rodgers - on the field - seems a no-brainer.
"He won an Invincible treble here as Celtic manager and then won multiple trebles. But what did leave a sour taste for many was the way that he left in mid-season.
"There was that banner after he left which read 'You traded immortality for mediocrity' and 'Never a Celt, always a fraud' - those were the words of some Celtic fans.
"That doesn't mean to say they represent all of them, but there would be a level of making up to do with some of the Celtic fans if that was to be the appointment."
Carlo Ancelotti refused to be drawn on rumours linking Real Madrid to Harry Kane, after the club announced the departure of Karim Benzema over the weekend.
Benzema has left Real one year before his contract was due to end - with Kane strongly linked to being the France forward's replacement at the Santiago Bernabeu. Sky Germany reports that Chelsea's Kai Havertz is another name being considered by Real.
"Like I've said many times, Harry Kane is a great player and a great player of Tottenham," said Ancelotti of Kane, who has one year left on his deal at Spurs. We have to respect the player and Tottenham."
Asked what profile of forward Real are looking for, Ancelotti added: "We're looking for a striker that can score goals, that can play well with the others and link up well.
"Bearing in mind that we have two young players up front [Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo] that are starting to be more and more protagonists. So, we need a striker that can play good football, just like Karim did."
Meanwhile, Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris admitted he "desires for other things" and is contemplating what life could look like away from the north London club at "the end of an era."
The 36-year-old has a contract that would keep him at Spurs through to the end of next season. There has been speculation, however, that the goalkeeper might have already played his last game for the side he joined in 2012 following his season-ending thigh injury against Newcastle in April.
Lloris told French newspaper Nice-Matin: "We are coming to an important moment, whether for the club or for me. It's the end of an era. I have desires for other things, I will ask myself quietly to study what will be possible.
"But I don't forget that I still have a year of contract with Tottenham and that in football it is always difficult to predict what will happen.
"What is essential at the moment is to recover well from my injury. I'm on vacation but I continue to talk and do my training. My goal is to be on top in July, then we'll see what the future holds for me."
