The old saying goes that when a door closes, a window opens. The door in this case is the one that Thomas Frank has just been hurled out of, and the window is one that Roberto De Zerbi is seemingly bellowing into.
That’s because, almost simultaneously, Frank’s doomed eight-month run as Tottenham boss has stuttered to a disastrous end with defeat against Newcastle — leaving Spurs still seeking their first league win of 2026 — while De Zerbi has left Marseille by ‘mutual agreement’.
The Italian, now a free agent, is the favourite to be named as the next permanent Tottenham boss according to Betfair, as the team gear up for a relegation scrap over the final months of the season.
Defeat against Newcastle was the final straw for Tottenham and Thomas Frank (Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
Tottenham are winless in their last eight league games and have only won two of their last 17. They are five points above the relegation zone, so whoever comes in has one hell of a job on their hands.
Spurs said in a statement following The Athletic’s exclusive news: “The club has taken the decision to make a change in the men’s head coach position and Thomas Frank will leave today.
“Thomas was appointed in June 2025, and we have been determined to give him the time and support needed to build for the future together.
“However, results and performances have led the board to conclude that a change at this point in the season is necessary.”
De Zerbi led Brighton to a sixth-place finish in his first season there and made a name for himself with his brand of energetic football.
However, his combustible attitude may be off-putting for Spurs, and he leaves Marseille under a cloud, having bombed out of the Champions League group stage and on the back of a 5-0 thrashing by heavyweights PSG at the weekend.
There’s a good chance that Johnny Heitinga, the former defender and Ajax boss who arrived as Frank’s number two in January, could be given the reins until the end of the season on an interim basis, before a permanent boss is named in the summer. There was no mention of Frank’s backroom staff in Tottenham’s statement, so this remains a possibility. That said, it would be quite the leap of faith to put their Premier League status in the hands of what would be a first-time Premier League manager.
If it did happen, though, that would clear a path for Mauricio Pochettino’s return to the club. The former Spurs boss, who left in 2021, delivered Spurs their best moments in modern history during his tenure, and fans were chanting his name after the defeat against Newcastle. He’s the second favourite for the job, at 4/1.
Mauricio Pochettino is among the favourites to be the next Tottenham boss (Omar Vega/Getty Images)
His two-year contract with the USMNT ends after the World Cup this summer, so there would be a natural window to appoint him. A recent appearance on the High Performance podcast saw him wax lyrical about his enduring love for the club.
Further down the list, Marco Silva (5/1), Xavi Hernandez (5/1), and Andoni Iraola (6/1) round out the top five. Both Silva and Iraola have been linked with the Spurs job before, but it remains to be seen whether the Thomas Frank experience has burned club officials, who may be wary of promoting a boss from an over-performing but smaller Premier League club again.
Perhaps wishful thinking, but Xabi Alonso is a free agent and well down the list at 33/1. He turned things around at Bayer Leverkusen — a club he took over while they were in the relegation zone — and took them on a wild journey to win the Bundesliga in 2023. Things didn’t work out for him at Real Madrid, but he fits the profile of what Tottenham look for in a manager, and he has the experience of turning a club around. The fly in the ointment is likely Liverpool and their own managerial situation.
Tottenham fans can have their say on who they want to replace Thomas Frank in our discussion page. Pochettino certainly seems an early fan favourite.
Next permanent Tottenham manager odds:
Roberto De Zerbi – 8/11
Mauricio Pochettino – 4/1
Marco Silva – 5/1
Xavi Hernandez – 5/1
Andoni Iraola – 6/1
Ruben Amorim – 15/2
Robbie Keane – 9/1
Oliver Glasner – 14/1
Kieran McKenna – 14/1
Michael Carrick – 22/1
Enzo Maresca – 33/1
Xabi Alonso – 33/1