Tottenham lining up Rui Vitoria as Jose Mourinho replacement

Speaking on the Transfer Window Podcast, reputed journalist Duncan Castles has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur have contacted former Benfica manager Rui Vitoria to replace Jose Mourinho at the club.

The Portuguese tactician’s time at Tottenham came to an end on Monday morning with Daniel Levy deciding to wield the axe after having seen results deteriorate since mid-December last year.

The decision comes at a time when Tottenham are scheduled to play Manchester City in the Carabao Cup finals and end their long-drawn trophy drought. However, having gone ahead with the call, Spurs have installed former midfielder Ryan Mason as the interim manager until the end of the season.

Jose Mourinho has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur as their manager. (imago Images)

And ever since, the search for a new full-time manager has been going on with full intent with a number of head coaches being linked with a move. Now, in what comes as a bit of a surprise, Duncan Castles has said that Rui Vitoria is someone that Spurs are looking at and have made contact with already.

“On top of Nagelsmann, another name I’ve heard that there is an interest in is Rui Vitoria, the former Benfica coach who won a couple of Portuguese titles and is quite highly rated by his peers.

“I believe a question has been put in by intermediaries about whether Vitoria would be interested in the job. Not by any means first choice but shows they don’t have their man yet and are casting around to see the range of options around for them.”

Rui Vitoria has been contacted to replace Jose Mourinho at Tottenham (GETTY Images)

More Tottenham Hotspur News:

• Gareth Southgate, Roberto Martinez in the fray for Tottenham job after Mourinho sacking
• Swansea City’s Steve Cooper linked with Tottenham job after Jose Mourinho sacking
• Tottenham star Steven Bergwijn subjected to transfer enquiry before Jose Mourinho sacking

Vitoria is a bit of a left-field choice, really. He did win a couple of trophies during his time at Benfica but his last stint came with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, whom he left in December last year. It remains to be seen if Tottenham do go ahead in this direction or look elsewhere.