Jose Mourinho is interested in being the next Tottenham Hotspur manager as the club search for the replacement to Mauricio Pochettino whose departure was confirmed on Tuesday evening by the club after a long fallout with chairman Daniel Levy.

The former Manchester United and Chelsea manager has not worked in the game since his sacking at Old Trafford on Dec 18 last year, and Spurs appeals to him for a number of reasons. He is especially an admirer of the profile of the squad, including England captain Harry Kane and his international team-mate Eric Dier who started just two league games this season under Pochettino.

As things stand, Mourinho remains the favourite to succeed Pochettino although Spurs have never appointed a manager who commands the kind of salary at which the Portuguese coach operates. Nevertheless, Mourinho is attracted by the job, especially the potential of the new stadium and the new training ground and believes there remains great promise in the squad.

Telegraph Sport understands that Pochettino refused a request from Levy to quit last week and that forced the Spurs chairman’s hand to make the decision. Given the problems the team was facing ahead of a must-win game against West Ham United on Saturday, Levy indicated that he felt he had no other option.

Discussing Pochettino’s sacking in a statement, Levy said that the club were “extremely reluctant to make this change” and that it was “not a decision the board has taken lightly, nor in haste.” He added: “Regrettably domestic results at the end of last season and beginning of this season have been extremely disappointing.”

Under the terms of his severance agreement, Levy will have to pay Pochettino around £12.5million following his exit, while his coaching staff are also due compensation. Pochettino’s assistants Jesus Perez, Miguel D’Agostino and Antoni Jimenez have all left the club.

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The Spurs players first learned of the sacking of Pochettino from the club’s statement at 7.30pm and were not briefed first by the club. Wales international Ben Davies and Belgium’s Toby Alderweireld were both playing for their national teams at the time.

Mourinho signed a new contract at Old Trafford in the summer before his dismissal and remains one of the highest-paid managers in Europe even now, as that deal is honoured. He is eager to return to English football and has continued to live in London since checking out of his Manchester base at the end of his time at United. He has long said that his next job will be a club in “trouble” and at 14th in the league, and with three points from six games, Spurs certainly fulfil that criteria.

Although Spurs do not have the financial power of Mourinho’s previous appointments, he sees value in the squad and is eager to challenge the notion that the best years for this group of players are behind them. Pochettino has long wrestled with the problem of finding the players to improve a very strong first XI, but that is less of an issue now for his successor with this season likely to be the last for the likes of Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose among others.

Levy suggested that the decision to Pochettino had been made inevitable by the team’s recent form: “It falls to the board to make the difficult decisions.” He added: “This [decision] made more so given the many memorable moments we have had with Mauricio and his coaching staff - but we do so in the club's best interests.

Mauricio Pochettino guided Tottenham to last year's Champions League final credit: GETTY IMAGES

“Mauricio and his coaching staff will always be part of our history. I have the utmost admiration for the manner in which he dealt with the difficult times away from a home ground whilst we built the new stadium and for the warmth and positivity he brought to us. I should like to thank him and his coaching staff for all they have contributed. They will always be welcome here. We have a talented squad. We need to re-energise and look to deliver a positive season for our supporters.”

Pochettino first voiced his concerns about the club on the last day of the 2017-2018 season when he demanded the club come up with a long term plan to compete at the highest level after delivering a third place finish and another season of Champions League football.

Although in the summer of 2018 Pochettino went on to sign a new contract 11 days later, the club did not sign another player for another two transfer windows – with Levy and Pochettino unable to agree on targets. Those concerns resurfaced before the Champions League final in June when Pochettino said more than once that he may yet quit after the game in Madrid. He asked the club to come up with another five-year plan and yet eventually decided to stay on.

This season he and the club have been subject of an Amazon Prime documentary crew which began filming in August while they have struggled to replicate their form of recent seasons. Sources close to the Spurs manager say that he has turned down three approaches in the last two years. The likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid are all understood to have been admirers of the Argentinian over recent years.

His time at the club has now been brought to an end after a difficult start to the season credit: ACTION IMAGES

Speaking to the Telegraph in September, Mourinho said that he expected to get his next job before Christmas and at a club that was struggling. “It is always the same,” he said. “When I go to [Real] Madrid, it is because Madrid are in trouble. When I go to United it is because United are in trouble. When I go to Chelsea the first time it is because they haven’t won the league in 50 years. When I go the second time it is because their top team disappeared and they want to be champions with a new team. When I go to Inter it is because they haven’t won the Champions League for 50 years.”

Mourinho turned down a job in the Chinese Super League which he said would have been “historical” in terms of salary but did not satisfy his competitive instincts. The question now is whether Levy is prepared to invest in Mourinho with the fate of Spurs’ season in the balance.

The Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti is another possibility but he has a contract until the end of the season and his club would demand compensation should he leave for Spurs. Julian Nagelsmann at RB Leipzig and Eddie Howe at Bournemouth would also both come with compensation bills even if they could be persuaded to takeover mid-season. Gareth Southgate has recommitted to the England job, at least until Euro 2020 and most likely beyond to the next World Cup finals.

Should Levy be looking for a short-term successor then the options are scarce. Chris Hughton, the former Spurs player and a coach at the club for 14 years after that, is one candidate who is currently out of work. Otherwise there are no coaches at the club currently who would have anything like the experience or the profile to take the job.