Tottenham's search for a new manager has taken yet another twist, with former AS Roma manager Paulo Fonseca now linked with Spurs' vacant managerial position.
football.london understands that Portuguese was not on Tottenham's original top candidate list, although the former Shakhtar Donetsk boss was identified as a talented coach.
However, incoming Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici has reportedly seen enough of him at AS Roma in Serie A over the past two years to push him to the top of his own wishlist, following the breakdown of talks between the club and Antonio Conte.
Fonseca left AS Roma at the end of the 2020/21 campaign, with the Italian side confirming that former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho would take over for the 2021/22 campaign.
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This got us thinking, how would Spurs get on next season with Fonseca in charge? And, what type of manager is he?
With Fonseca seemingly in pole position to become new Spurs manager, we simulated the 2021/22 season on Football Manager 2021 to see what could happen if the Portuguese manager did join Spurs ahead of next season.
We appointed Paulo Fonseca as new Tottenham manager
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2021 editor to arrange for Paulo Fonseca to become Spurs manager on July 1, 2021 and then used Football Manager 2021 to run our simulation.
Football Manager (FM) is the world’s leading football management simulation title. The latest edition of the game, FM21, is out now on PC, Mac, Mobile, Touch and Xbox.
The Football Manager database currently contains data on more than 800,000 individuals and 45,000 active clubs.
Data is sourced from their international on the ground scouting network which numbers roughly 1,000 people, among their ranks are some who are involved in football in professional capacities, including scouts and coaches.
This is what Paulo Fonseca's manager profile looks like on Football Manager 2021 as of July 2021, which showcases his tactical style and managerial tendencies.
Fonseca tends to allow creative freedom, work the ball into the box, plays out from defence and uses intense pressing.
Before we get into the simulation, Spurs actually spent a fair but under Fonseca during the 2021/22 campaign, but their biggest signing came in January.
City's Oleksandr Zinchenko joined Spurs for around £32.5 million in January 2022.
In the summer of 2021, Spurs spent around £60 million on players like Raul Albiol, Matias Vecino, Sime Vrsaljko, Jean-Pierre Nsame and Joao Pedro.
Fonseca also raided his former side Shakhtar for winger Tete, who was a £21.5 million signing in July.
Harry Winks, Davinson Sanchez, Serge Aurier, Joe Rodon, Erik Lamela and more were sold for £47 million total.
So how did the season play out with Fonseca in charge? Let's take a look.
The Portuguese manager's spell at Spurs got off to an indifferent start.
In the former AS Roma manager's first ten league games in charge of the club, Spurs won five, drew two and lost three.
Although two of those losses came against Chelsea and Man City, with the other coming on the opening day at Leeds United.
But as the season wore on, Spurs really kicked into gear and Fonseca's side became the in-form Premier League team towards the end of the season.
From the end of February to the middle of May, Spurs only lost once, with Fonseca's side winning ten of their last 13 games of the 2021/22 season.
So, what kind of side were Fonseca's Spurs?
Let's take a look at some of the team's key metrics, which should give us a clue as to what to expect from Fonseca.
Fonseca's Spurs averaged the third-most possession in the Premier League, with the third-highest passing accuracy.
Also, Spurs registered the third-highest shots of any side in the Premier League, more than Liverpool.
But, did their switch to a more possession-oriented style of play stifle their attacking threat?
In a word, yes.
Five teams scored more goals than Spurs in the 2021/22 season under Fonseca, with Spurs only managing 58 goals in 38 games.
Under Mourinho, and later Ryan Mason, Spurs managed 68 goals in the real-life 2020/21 season, so that's a significant reduction.
In terms of goals conceded, Spurs conceded 46 goals in 38 games, just one more than last season.
At the end of every season, FM21 work out the best 11 of every team, based on a number of key metrics.
This is how Spurs' best performing XI, as decided by Football Manager 2021, looked at the end of the 2021/22 season.
Full Spurs best XI: Lloris; Doherty, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Zinchenko, Ndombele; Tete, Alli, Son; Kane.
New signings Tete and Zinchenko were key players under Fonseca, and as was Dele Alli, who was in great form under the Portuguese manager.
Let's take a look at Tottenham's best performing players under Fonseca.
Kane was of course Spurs' top goal scorer and top assist maker, but Son, Alli, Tete, Ndombele and Nsame also had strong individual campaigns.
So, how did Spurs actually perform with Fonseca as manager?
Here is how the final 2021/22 Premier League table looked in our simulated season.
Spurs managed a fifth-place Premier League finish under Fonseca, just two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
Spurs won 64 points in 38 games under Fonseca, which is two more than they managed last season.
But what about the cups?
Spurs were pretty competitive, getting to the latter stages in all three.
Spurs reached the Carabao Cup final, the FA Cup semi-final and the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final too, but couldn't quite clinch a trophy.
Overall, this simulation suggests that Fonseca's arrival would lead to a big change in Spurs' style of play, with the Portuguese manager introducing a possession-orientated style of football.
However, this might not immediately lead to a huge improvement in league points or position, particularly if Spurs are only spending £44 million net next season, with more investment needed if Spurs are to mount a title challenge.
As always, this is just a bit of fun, but it's interesting to see what kind of impact FM21 suggests Paulo Fonseca could have at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season.
Would you be happy to see Paulo Fonseca appointed as Spurs manager? Let us know in the comments.
