Daniel Levy's search for Jose Mourinho's successor has commenced, with one big name seemingly already out of the running.
Julian Nagelsmann was thought to be top of the Tottenham wanted list, but appears to be on his way across Germany to Bayern Munich.
The German coach has gathered plenty of admirers across Europe since growing in prominence over the past few years; he's shown himself to be very modern and progressive in his methods, and it is those ways that have attracted attention rather than his trophy haul.
Nagelsmann is actually yet to secure any silverware beyond an U19 Bundesliga title with Hoffenheim, which is just one of the reasons as to why his 'Baby Mourinho' moniker is a stretch at best.
His ability to coach his players by experimenting and breaking the norm is an underlying factor behind his rise; Nagelsmann has embraced contemporary technology and applied it to training sessions, with drones capturing footage of his players battling it out behind the scenes.
Footage was streamed through the giant videowall that he had installed at Hoffenheim to provide an extra element of detail, with his players able to digest a tactical overview of proceedings by controlling the four cameras used to film the plays.
His cutting-edge mindset captured the consideration of Red Bull before too long, as their Bundesliga club - RB Leipzig - looked to permanently replace Ralph Hassenhuttl in 2018.
Ralf Rangnick took charge for the 2018/19 campaign before they landed their primary target, who has since stamped his mark on his latest club largely by improving their defensive game.
At the time of writing, Leipzig rank second in Europe's top five leagues for shots faced per match behind only Manchester City, having allowed just 7.4 on average which betters Barcelona in third and Liverpool in fourth.
Unsurprisingly, his means of restricting opponents to few attempts on goal stems from the pressing tendencies of his team; Leipzig rank fourth in Europe's top five leagues for final third pressures per match behind only Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg and Liverpool.
Mourinho's Spurs - despite behaving in a more cautious manner by soaking pressure without possession - allowed their opponents to muster five more shots per match than Leipzig, placing them 60th from the 98 outfits in Europe.
The offensive side of Nagelsmann's team has proved to be equally as impressive, placing seventh in Europe's top five leagues for shots per match and 12th for non-penalty Expected Goals per match, compared to Spurs' standing of 54th and 36th by the same numbers this season.
He's been able to uphold such positive performance statistics despite remaining tactically fluid for the most part; Leipzig have favoured 4-2-3-1 this season, but 3-5-2 has also been employed on a regular basis alongside other subtle variations.
Capturing the signature of the 33 year-old looks to now be out of reach, with reports in Germany suggesting he is set to replace Hansi Flick as manager of Bayern Munich.
It remains to be seen who Levy will target as an alternative, but he'll have to move quick to ensure that another of his top picks doesn't fall out of reach.
