Tottenham Hotspur’s reported interest in Julian Nagelsmann has come “one year too late”, a source close to the RB Leipzig coach told The Athletic.



The 32-year-old was open to a move abroad during his final season at Hoffenheim (2018-19) but eventually decided to succeed Ralf Rangnick at Leipzig with a view of establishing the Red Bull-sponsored club as a Bundesliga heavyweight this summer. “This is not a short-term project to him,” the source added.



Nagelsmann’s stated aim is to become the first RBL coach to win a trophy. “At some stage, we want to hold some silverware in our hands,” he said at his inaugural press conference in July.



But privately, the former 1860 Munich and Augsburg player, who retired at 19 due to persistent knee pain, will admit to even bigger ambitions: his and Leipzig’s goal is to break the Bayern Munich-Borussia Dortmund duopoly in the German top flight and build a team that can...