Michael Brown thinks if Tottenham appoint Paulo Fonseca as their new manager, then it "doesn't look good" for his former club.
football.london understands that a deal to appoint Fonseca as Jose Mourinho's replacement is close, but not done just yet.
The Italian head coach has been out of a job since leaving AS Roma at the end of the 2020/21 season - with Mourinho taking over his role at the Stadio Olimpico.
Soon-to-be Spurs' Director of Football, Fabio Paratici, is thought to have had a massive role in recommending Fonseca to take over at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, despite not officially being in his new role just yet.
Brown, who had a two-year spell at White Hart Lane from 2004 until 2006, thinks any deal to appoint Fonseca does not bode well for his old club.
"First of all, I’m very shocked as it’s Jose Mourinho’s predecessor at Roma of all people that Daniel Levy is targeting,” he said on Sky Sports.
“Is he [Fonseca] the right selection for a Spurs team that is in transition?
“It’s a difficult situation for whoever goes into the football club given the change that needs to take place.
“He took them to the semi-finals of the Europa League, but it has come as a bit of a shock.
“Last week, the reports were that Antonio Conte was the target so you wonder now if Levy has just run out of options.
“The talking point will be that [Paulo] Fonseca was the man replaced by Jose [Mourinho] at Roma and the supporters will react to it.
“But Levy and his team have to be respected and will be vetting every candidate. You have to give him a chance.
“He’s earned his try in the Premier League but it doesn’t look good when Mourinho has gone the other way.”
Spurs looked set to appoint Antonio Conte as Mourinho's successor, but talks with the former Chelsea boss broke down, with the Italian suggesting that he didn't like what the club proposed to him.
Conte told Gazzetta dello Sport: "Money is not my obsession. I look at projects and I'm ready to stay at home if they don't convince me.
"I like difficult challenges but if there is something with a club that does not convince me, I prefer to say: no, thank you."
Before Conte, Tottenham wanted former manager Mauricio Pochettino to come back to north London, but Paris Saint-Germain were determined to keep hold of the Argentine after less than six months at the Parc des Princes.
