Igor Tudor has agreed to become Tottenham’s interim manager until the end of the season.
Tudor is due to take part in training with Spurs at the start of the week and will play in his first game next Sunday in the north London derby against Arsenal, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
The Croatian’s priority is to keep Spurs in the Premier League, which is now 16th, five points above the relegation zone following the sacking of manager Tomas Frank.
There is a verbal agreement for Tudor to take over until the end of the season, with only the final contract details needing to be sorted out. He plans to fly back to his hometown from London before starting work.
Spurs are considering naming a permanent successor to Frank in the summer after the Danish player was sacked on Wednesday following Tuesday’s home defeat to Newcastle.
Tudor, who usually plays in a back-three formation, will take over at a Spurs team that has won just two of their last 17 league games.
The 47-year-old, who has also managed Lazio, Marseille, Galatasaray and Udinese, has been out of work since October after being sacked by Juve. He has a reputation for stabilizing struggling teams in the short term.
Why the Spurs chose Tudor…
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Tudor agrees to contract to serve as Spurs’ interim head coach until the end of the season
Spurs are looking to appoint an experienced head coach with a proven track record of immediate impact upon joining the club, and Tudor fits the bill perfectly.
He has been appointed in March for the past two seasons at Juventus and Lazio, respectively, and has stabilized his results in a short period of time.
At Juventus, he took over from Thiago Motta with a side that finished fifth in Serie A, outside of the Champions League, after a disastrous February that saw the club eliminated from the Champions League and Coppa Italia with back-to-back defeats.
Tudor led Juve to fourth place in Serie A and qualified for the Champions League after losing just one of the 11 games he was in charge of. This earned the Croatian a two-year contract, but poor results led Juventus to release him after just four months.
At Lazio, Tudor took over from manager Marizio Sarri on an 18-month contract in March 2024. The former Chelsea manager resigned after suffering their fifth defeat in six games against ninth-placed Lazio.
Tudor won five of nine games as Lazio manager, losing only one, helping them finish seventh and qualify for the Europa League. He resigned at the end of the season after three months in office.
Tottenham’s next 6 games
February 22: Arsenal (h), Premier League – Kick-off 4:30pm, live on Sky Sports
March 1: Fulham (a), Premier League – 2pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
March 5: Crystal Palace (h), Premier League – 8pm kick-off
15 March: Liverpool (a), Premier League – kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports
March 17/18: Champions League last 16, first leg (opponents to be determined)
22nd March: Nottom Forest (h), Premier League, 2.15pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
