Tottenham target Mourinho as replacement for Redknapp

London, Mar 17 (ANI): Tottenham will try hard to entice Jose Mourinho to replace club manager Harry Redknapp if he quits to take over as England's national coach after the season.

Spurs are attempting to put the block on further speculation linking Redknapp to the vacant England post, but while chairman Daniel Levy will drive a hard bargain if and when FA chiefs come knocking on his door, Mourinho will be his prime target, The Mirror reports.

The Special One has made it clear he plans to quit as Real Madrid coach at the end of the season and The Mirror revealed earlier this month that he has agreed to buy a new family home in London. Mourinho, who flew into London on a whistle-stop trip on Friday, has let it be known that he wants to return to the Premier League, and Spurs and his former club Chelsea are the obvious options.

Although the Portuguese's broken relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been repaired, Levy believes he can tempt Mourinho to N17.

Levy's stewardship at White Hart Lane has always been about avoiding controversy and while appointing Mourinho would, at first glance, be a break with that approach, the Spurs chairman believes that, post- Redknapp, the next manager must be capable of taking the club on to the next level and making Tottenham genuine title challengers.

Mourinho is a proven winner, while commercially, with Spurs looking to start work on their new 55,000 capacity home in the next 12 months, having Mourinho as the public figurehead of the club would be a massive financial pull. And the Portuguese is understood to be ready to embrace a long-term project rather that opt for another short-term fix. (ANI)