Tottenham Hotspur considered hiring a highly-rated Spanish head coach last summer, but they may be thankful they decided against it.
Spurs’ appointment of Thomas Frank was universally thought to be a shrewd and steady one last summer, with the Dane having led Brentford to promotion and establishing them in the Premier League.
However, Frank never managed to win over the Tottenham fans with his football, and in the end, kick-started a campaign which ended up being the club’s worst ever in the Premier League era.
Spurs only avoided relegation on the final day of the season, with Roberto De Zerbi performing the rescuing act after taking over at the start of April.
Tottenham almost landed former Real Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil
The Sun have now revealed that one of the candidates on Tottenham’s radar last summer was former Real Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil.
Alguacil had spent seven years in charge of Sociedad by last summer, delivering the club’s Copa del Rey in 2020: their first trophy in 34 years.
He also took them to the final 16 of both the Champions League and the Europa League, and his Sociedad side was one of the most entertaining teams to watch in La Liga for several years, while also boasting an impressive defensive record.
According to The Sun, Tottenham seriously considered appointing Alguacil last summer before they settled on Frank.
The report says that Bournemouth also considered replacing Andoni Iraola with the 55-year-old after Iraola decided to join Liverpool, but eventually decided that Marco Rose would be a better fit.
Why Spurs may have dodged a bullet with Alguacil
While Tottenham’s decision to appoint Frank looks a poor one in hindsight, the club’s decision to pass on Alguacil looks like a shrewd one.
The 55-year-old took up a job at Al Shabab last summer but only lasted around six months at the Saudi club before parting ways in February.
The Basque coach has now been appointed as Olympiacos’ new head coach, which is hardly a sign that he is highly sought after in the top European leagues.