Report: Mourinho agrees to become new Spurs manager

Jose Mourinho is returning to the Premier League.

After Tottenham Hotspur's stunning decision to fire Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday, the Portuguese manager has reached an agreement to assume the vacant position, reports Fabrizio Romano of The Guardian.

Mourinho, who hasn't coached since Manchester United sacked him in December 2018, will soon meet Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to ink the contract, according to Romano, who notes that the manager's agents are in the process of completing the paperwork.

An official announcement could come as early as Wednesday, completing a rapid turnaround after Pochettino's five-and-a-half-year tenure came to an abrupt end.

Levy said he was "extremely reluctant" to relieve the Argentine of his duties, with the club adding that an update on a new coaching staff will be provided in "due course."

It seems the Tottenham brass didn't need long to decide on a replacement.

Pochettino masterminded a period of incredible growth at Tottenham after his hiring in 2014, leading the club to the Champions League final last season. But a tense summer transfer window - highlighted by an inability to sell players who weren't shy about their desire to leave - gave way to a horrid start to the campaign, with Spurs collecting just 14 points from 12 league matches.

"We have a talented squad. We need to re-energize and look to deliver a positive season for our supporters," Levy noted.

Whether Mourinho is capable of doing that remains to be seen.

His Manchester United tenure - not unlike some of his previous spells at other clubs - ended in ignominy. As the Red Devils struggled, the bombastic tactician's reputation cratered. Since then, though, he hasn't hidden his desire to return to England's top flight.

Few would have imagined that Pochettino, who had developed an almost cult-like following at Tottenham, would make way and provide Mourinho with a path back into the league.

Rumblings of discontent inside Tottenham's dressing room were rampant prior to Pochettino's dismissal, and for a club teetering dangerously between being talented enough to get back on track and going into a full-scale meltdown, bringing in a manager with a track record of alienating players certainly carries some risk.