Tottenham target Luis Enrique admits Premier League dream

Head coach Antonio Conte leaves Tottenham by mutual consent

Luis Enrique has admitted that he feels a special attraction to the Premier League as he continues to be heavily linked with the managerial vacancy at Tottenham. The 52-year-old remains out of work after leaving his position in charge of the Spanish national side at the end of last year and is said to be on Daniel Levy’s list of targets to replace Antonio Conte, who was sacked by Tottenham earlier this month.

Enrique has emerged as one of the early favourites for the role in north London, with the likes of Julian Nagelsmann, Mauricio Pochettino and Roberto De Zerbi having also been earmarked by the club’s decision-makers over the last few days. The former has since dropped a clear hint that he would be interested in succeeding Conte at Tottenham by revealing his admiration for the Premier League, although he insisted that he will only consider joining a team that is capable of matching his ambitions.

“I have a special attraction to England, I would like to go to England to work,” Enrique told Spanish radio station SER Deportivos Gijon. “I also follow the big teams in Spain. It is an interesting league. Clearly, I am influenced because I would like to work there.

“But I am not going to deceive you, I am not going to go to any team. I would like to go to a team that can do important things and there are a lot of world-class coaches who want to go to the Premier, so I’m under no illusions. But that doesn’t mean I won’t train in Spain.”

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The possibility of Enrique joining Spurs would seemingly tick many of Levy’s boxes, including a commitment to high-octane attacking football and a preference to develop young players. The Spurs chairman would also be looking for Enrique to convince Harry Kane to sign a new and improved contract at the club, with the striker’s existing deal set to expire in the summer of 2024 as things stand.

It remains to be seen how Tottenham’s managerial search will play out in the not-too-distant future, with the north Londoners still waiting to evaluate the options currently available to them before making any serious moves. Cristian Stellini is widely expected to remain in charge at the club until the end of the season, which suggests that a permanent appointment is unlikely to be made for a number of weeks at least.

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Tottenham have already been urged to prioritise Enrique over any other potential candidates by former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton, who believes that his style of football would provide a breath of fresh air for supporters after being subjected to Conte’s negative tactics over the last 16 months.

“I think what is really important for Spurs, this was always a criticism of Conte, the brand of football was negative,” Sutton told the BBC. “From the start of the season, how many times have you seen Spurs play an exciting brand of football?

“That’s why Luis Enrique ticks that box. I think Mauricio Pochettino is a really interesting one because I suspect a lot of Spurs fans like the idea of him returning and that love story of him having a second opportunity, but I suspect there are Spurs fans who may feel slightly peeved at the way that he left and maybe don’t want to go back there.”

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