Spurs wanted Brendan Rodgers to take over from Mauricio Pochettino (Picture: Getty Images)

Tottenham considered both Brendan Rodgers and Julian Nagelsmann as candidates to replace Mauricio Pochettino, but decided Jose Mourinho was a more straightforward option.

Mourinho was appointed as Tottenham manager on Wednesday morning, but it has emerged that he was not the club’s first choice to replace Pochettino, who was sacked the previous day.

Sportsmail report that Spurs had been planning Pochettino’s departure for around a month before the Argentine actually left his role, and the club were searching for replacements during that time.

Leicester City were approached to gauge the availability of Rodgers but the Foxes were firm that he would not be leaving the King Power Stadium.

Julian Nagelsmann was also considered as a candidate (Picture: Getty Images)

RB Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann was also considered, but it was deemed that a deal to sign the 32-year-old would be too difficult as he only joined his current club this year.

In contrast to the other candidates, Mourinho has been out of managerial work since December last year and was free to be snapped up.

The Portuguese was reportedly keen on this specific job and had been holding out for it, turning down other roles as he waited for the opportunity to arise in north London.

This made discussions very straightforward for Tottenham, much more so than trying to wrestle Rodgers away from Leicester or Nagelsmann away from Leipzig.

Mourinho was initially approached in October and talks have been quietly held since then, while Pochettino’s exit has been discussed over the last week.

The outgoing boss rejected a request to resign before eventually being sacked on Tuesday, making way for Mourinho to replace him.

The new manager will take over immediately, handling training on Wednesday afternoon and will take charge of the team for the trip to West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday.

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Spurs’ players did not know about the imminent change in manager before Pochettino was axed, with Toby Alderweireld admitting: ‘It’s a surprise for me as well.

‘I think the club made the decision and we have to accept this. We have to try and change the situation as quickly as possible.’

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