Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui, who was linked with the Tottenham job last summer, has admitted that he could have left the La Liga club before the start of the season.
Tottenham were linked with a whole host of different names during the summer before confirming Nuno Espirito Santo as Jose Mourinho’s successor (Evening Standard).
Lopetegui was one of the names thought to be on the North Londoners’ radar at the time.
Duncan Castles revealed back in June (on The Transfer Window Podcast – starting at 3:58) that Spurs made significant progress in their pursuit of the Spaniard, even agreeing on terms with Sevilla to release the 55-year-old, only for him to reject the club’s approach for personal reasons.
Sevilla president Jose Castro subsequently admitted that Lopetegui rejected a ‘dizzying’ offer from Spurs (Football London).
The former Spain boss has now insisted that he is happy at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium but admitted that he could have left last summer.
Lopetegui told El Larguero: “Hopefully (I’ll stay until 2024). It’s an honour to be the coach of Sevilla. I feel fulfilled in Seville.
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“Yes, there have been times, like this summer, (when I could have left). But we decided to be where we wanted to be.
“We still want to be here and we are very happy. It is a real pleasure and honour to work at Sevilla. And, of course, working with Monchi is quite an experience.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Lopetegui would have been a brilliant coup for Spurs if we had managed to get him last summer.
His philosophy suits the kind of football Tottenham fans want to see and he is more of an ‘arm on your shoulder’ kind of manager rather than a disciplinarian like Mourinho or Conte.
However, it was evident after Fabio Paratici’s arrival at Spurs that the club were pursuing a more pragmatic style of coach.
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