TOTTENHAM are ready to pounce for Brendan Rodgers if Leicester fail to qualify for the Champions League on Sunday.
Rodgers has been Daniel Levy’s preferred choice to replace Jose Mourinho but it had been feared Spurs may not be able to tempt him if the Foxes finish in the top four.
Leicester are in fifth going into the final game — against Spurs — and that has renewed Levy’s hopes of luring him away.
Now the Spurs chairman is desperate for his side to shatter Leicester’s Champions League dreams.
Although Europa League football would be a big achievement for Leicester, Spurs believe it may not be enough to keep 48-year-old Rodgers in the Midlands.
Tottenham face the nightmare prospect of being involved in the new Europa Conference League next season — or even out of Europe altogether — but Levy believes he can do enough to persuade his man to move south.
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Rodgers would then be left with a straight choice over which project he feels would be better for him at this stage in his career.
The Northern Irishman has built a squad capable of competing in the Premier League but having won the FA Cup on Saturday, there is a thought he may have taken the Foxes as far as he can.
Several key players, such as Jamie Vardy, 34, and 33-year-old Jonny Evans, are coming towards the end of their top-flight careers and the potential for many in the current side may have peaked.
In contrast, Levy would try to tempt Rodgers with a squad packed full of quality — even if Harry Kane departs — with a large kitty available to build a new era at the Tottenham Stadium.
He is convinced Spurs would potentially offer the former Liverpool manager a far greater chance of long-term success at the highest level, including regular involvement in the Champions League.
Leicester — 2016 Prem winners — would fight hard to hold their boss to a contract which still has four years left to run.
They are pressing ahead with summer transfer plans in an attempt to prove how serious they are about kicking on.
The Foxes are close to finalising a deal for Lille’s highly regarded French midfielder Boubakary Soumare, 22, and also have eyes on Celtic’s 23-year-old striker Odsonne Edouard.
So Spurs would have to come up with a huge compensation package to prise Rodgers away from the King Power.
But after admitting to the club’s supporters he has to get the next appointment right, Levy is prepared to go the extra mile to ensure he appoints his chief target.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
