Tottenham Hotspur could be forced to hand Mauricio Pochettino and his backroom staff more than £20m in payoffs after the manager was sacked on Tuesday evening.

The Argentine signed a new five-year contract in May 2018 meaning that it would reportedly cost the club around £12.5m to end his five-and-a-half-year reign.

After a miserable start to the season left the club in 14th position in the Premier League, Pochettino's backroom staff – assistant Jesus Perez and coaches Miguel D’Agostino and Antoni Jimenez – have also been dismissed.

It means the eventual fee paid by Spurs could surpass the £19.6m spent by Manchester United to sack Jose Mourinho and his staff in December 2018 – Mourinho is now one of the favourites to replace Pochettino.

Pochettino was at the Spurs helm for 293 games in total and took the club to the Champions League final as well as securing four successive top-four finishes.

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In a statement announcing the manager’s dismissal, Levy said: “We were extremely reluctant to make this change and it is not a decision the board have taken lightly, nor in haste.

“Regrettably domestic results at the end of last season and the beginning of this season have been extremely disappointing.