Tottenham Hotspur have verbally agreed a deal to appoint Igor Tudor as interim head coach until the end of the season.
The club have moved for a temporary appointment following the dismissal of Thomas Frank on Wednesday with the former Croatia international identified as the chosen candidate.
The former Juventus, Marseille and Galatasaray head coach is set to join on a contract until the summer without an option to make the move permanent. He brings experience of working at big clubs and has a track record of making an immediate impact.
Vinai Venkatesham and Johan Lange have driven the 47-year-old’s interim appointment with the club then set to select from a wider pool of candidates in the summer for a permanent hire.
Tottenham’s next game — and potentially Tudor’s first in charge — comes against rivals Arsenal in the north London derby next weekend.
Tudor was sacked by Juventus after seven months in charge in October, with the side eighth in Serie A. His dismissal came after a winless eight-game run.
After making 174 appearances over nine years and two league titles (2002, 2003) with Juventus as a player, Tudor began his coaching career with Croatian side Hajduk Split in 2013. He has since had spells at PAOK, Karabukspor, Galatasaray, Udinese before rejoining the Turin-based side as part of Andrea Pirlo’s coaching staff in 2020. After leaving at the end of that season, Tudor coached at Hellas Verona, Marseille and Lazio.
Frank departed after eight months in charge and were working through contingency plans to replace him. His last match was a 2-1 home defeat by Newcastle United on Tuesday.
The Dane departed Tottenham after failing to secure a win in eight league games and winning just twice from their last 17, leaving them five points above the relegation zone in 16th. The north London side have automatically advanced to the last-16 stage of the Champions League, however, after finishing fourth in the competition’s league phase.
Frank was appointed by Tottenham in June, signing a three-year contract to replace the sacked Ange Postecoglou. Out of the Dane’s 38 games in charge, he won just 13 and lost 15.
What Tudor will bring to Tottenham
Analysis by James Horncastle
Igor Tudor has considerable experience as an interim. He came in at Lazio in March 2024 and qualified for the Europa League. He then replaced Thiago Motta at Juventus last spring and ensured they didn’t miss out on the Champions League.
Juventus kept him on as they underwent structural changes within the club. Damien Comolli, formerly of Tottenham, moved from general manager to chief executive at Juventus and then appointed a new executive team. Tudor was sacked in October. He remained on their books until a contract resolution freed him to pursue other opportunities in the New Year.
Tudor worked with Tottenham’s old co-sporting director Fabio Paratici while assistant to Andrea Pirlo at Juventus in the 2020-21 season. He knows Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from that time. He also worked with Randal Kolo Muani last season. Tudor will bring discipline to Tottenham.
It remains to be seen how this squad fits the 3-4-2-1 he has tended to play since deploying that system at Hellas Verona where he first stood out as a coach.
