De Boer open to Spurs talks

29 April 2014 16:31

Ajax boss Frank de Boer is open to speaking with Tottenham about taking over as manager at the end of the season.

After an illustrious playing career, the former Netherlands international has become a successful manager with the club whose fabled youth system he graduated from.

De Boer, who went on to play at Barcelona, Galatasaray, Rangers and then in Qatar, returned to Ajax as a coach following his retirement and has been first-team boss since 2010.

At the weekend he led the Amsterdam giants to a fourth Eredivisie title in a row, further harnessing a burgeoning reputation that has often seen him linked with a move away.

Tottenham and Monaco have been mentioned as potential summer destinations and De Boer has confirmed an interest in moving to White Hart Lane.

"I'm going to think about this possibility after the last league fixture on May 3," De Boer told nos.nl. "I'm going to talk and listen.

"I would like to add something to a club, that people can say they see the hand of Frank de Boer.

"There is a beautiful example at Liverpool. That is what Brendan Rodgers is doing now [making his mark]."

Reports in the Netherlands suggest Tottenham have approached Ajax about De Boer, although sources have told Press Association Sport that is not the case.

Bookmakers now make the Dutchman favourite to become Tottenham's next manager, ousting previous front runner Mauricio Pochettino of Southampton.

Reports suggest it is a matter of when rather than if Tim Sherwood will be replaced at the White Hart Lane helm, with chairman Daniel Levy ready to tear up the 18-month deal handed to him in December.

Spurs are understood to be concentrating on ending the season well before reviewing the progress made under the head coach, whose win percentage is better than any other Tottenham manager in the Premier League era.

Should Sherwood get the boot, one of the legacies he will leave at Spurs is a focus on home-grown talent after his years of work within their youth set-up.

The former midfielder has put his trust in the likes of Nabil Bentaleb and Harry Kane, although fellow academy graduate Andros Townsend has found his time restricted under Andre Villas-Boas' successor.

The 22-year-old exploded onto the international stage when rewarded for his fine form in October, netting on his England debut against Montenegro before helping overcome Poland as Roy Hodgson's men secured a place in Brazil.

However, Townsend has not enjoyed the best end to the campaign and last started a Premier League match in the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on March 16.

That lack of game time has seen his World Cup hopes weaken and, worse still, the winger sustained an ankle injury after coming on 12 minutes from time in Saturday's 1-0 win at Stoke.

Townsend left the Britannia Stadium in a protective boot and underwent an MRI scan on Monday, with further assessments taking place on Tuesday.

Source: PA