Tottenham have no intention of interviewing Julian Nagelsmann over the vacant managerial role, the PA news agency understands.
Nagelsmann has been heavily linked with the post since his shock departure from Bayern Munich at the end of March.
The 35-year-old was in the running for the Spurs job in 2021 before Bayern swooped in at the time to secure the services of one of the most highly sought-after young coaches in world football.
When Antonio Conte left Tottenham soon after Nagelsmann’s dramatic exit from the Bundesliga champions, it was anticipated the German coach would again be in the mix for the vacancy at the Premier League club.
Speculation has rumbled on since but while Tottenham have great respect for Nagelsmann, they will not be meeting or interviewing him for the role and he is not a contender, PA understands.
Ryan Mason remains the current man in post on an acting head coach basis and earlier on Friday he backed Harry Kane’s recent rhetoric that Spurs have lost the values old boss Mauricio Pochettino had put in place.
Spurs travel to eighth-placed Aston Villa on Saturday knowing victory will virtually secure them a place in the Europa Conference League next season with hopes of a top-four finish long gone.
It is a far cry from Tottenham’s best years under Pochettino when they were regularly in the Champions League and one of the best clubs in the country.
Kane has taken part in various interviews during the past week where he has spoken about how he is determined to restore a strong culture and environment despite uncertainty over his future with only one year left on his contract.
“Yep, absolutely I am fully with him on that 100 per cent,” Mason responded when quizzed on Kane’s comments.
“We can talk a lot about players but I think the environment, culture, it’s everyone, everything, the small details. We have to have many people driving that, not just one or two people. It has to be driven from within.
“I agree with him because I was part of probably the change in setting new standards and a new culture within this place.
“You can spend years trying to build something but at the same time it doesn’t take long to lose it.
“Thankfully for us we still have many, many good people within these walls who know and feel what good looks like and probably more importantly want that as well. It is something we absolutely strive for.
“It is important, it’s vital and it’s crucial that everyone who comes in here is pulling in the same direction and want the same things. I think that goes for every single football club as well.
“We need that. Every club needs that, we need that. I agree with him.
“I am happy that he has said it because he is one of the people I want to drive it because he is important to us, in terms of his stature at this football but also his understanding that there’s many people that can contribute as well.”
With speculation rife over Kane’s future, fans have taken comfort in his recent comments seemingly suggesting he would be at Tottenham next season.
Last month, chairman Daniel Levy revealed his hope for Kane to have a statue outside the stadium one day, but Mason admitted it was premature for now.
“I think that is probably a question to answer when he is not playing here because then you can recognise and appreciate the work he has done,” Mason stated ahead of the fourth game of his interim spell.
“Right now it is probably a bit premature because the reality is, Harry is still a Tottenham player and we are still focused on him achieving more great things for this football club. Hopefully he can do that.”