With all the talk around a potential move from Munich to London for the recently-sacked Julien Nagelsmann, it seems responsible to remind the world how Tottenham Hotspur and Nagelsmann are polar opposites. While the argument that a German twist could well be what Spurs need to be playing, rather than their (not so) safe Italian football, they are in no fit state to adopt German football principles, certainly in the next two years at least.

Spurs would need some changes in personnel and some serious re-coaching if Nagelsmann were to take over, and the journey would not be pretty. From Nagelsmann’s various management roles, it’s clear his philosophy revolves very much around the No6 player, the pivot midfielder. Nagelsmann said upon arriving at Bayern Munich that this was the most important position on the pitch.

At RB Leipzig, we saw this player often take the lead in a 4-3-3 shape, while at Bayern, he played Joshua Kimmich in front of a back-three during build-up, with many options ahead drawing the opposition back to give him time. The more time Kimmich had on the ball, and the more passing options, the Bayern would be — or so Nagelsmann believed.

This is one type of midfielder Spurs just don’t possess. To pull the tactic off, the No6 needs to be able to beat a press single-handedly. Spurs’ midfield options are what we call screeners. They can happily shuffle from side to side, screening the defence and working together in a double-pivot. They don’t have exceptional passing qualities, nor are they nimble figures who are proficient on the move.

Since Tottenham aren’t a possession team and tend to sit off, they’ll usually look to counter when they get the ball. They’re a team that don’t want long spells of possession, circulating the ball from left to right. They’ve recently lost this quick spark, and their counter attacks have become less frequent and dangerous. Even so, at their best, they aren’t set up to have the ball. This is as much a personnel issue as a qualm over their formation. The 3-4-3 Antonio Conte built his team around had very minimal staggering. His wingers were traditional wingers; his centre-backs all played in back-fours prior. His centre-midfielders were neither defensive nor attacking. There were three very separate lines; no one between the lines.

Nagelsmann’s Bayern thrived off having players staggered between the lines, popping up in unpredictable positions and being fluid. Thomas Müller is the best at it. The term ‘raumdeuter’ was initially attributed to his playing style, meaning ‘space interpreter’.

This sort of play would not only be hard to teach to a team burdened with the pessimism of Italian football gone stale, but would also require a shopping trolley full of new signings fit for the tactic.

Off the ball, Nagelsmann is quintessentially German. He loves a gegenpress. At Bayern, he used pressing traps to encourage opponents into isolated areas, then pounced with three or four players all chasing the one ball carrier.

Spurs have a space-orientated pressing set-up. The front-five stay narrow and close together, forcing the opposition around the outside. The press isn’t aggressive, and it’s incredibly deep. They’re okay giving the ball away because they’re confident in their ability to counter-attack when they get it back. Nagelsmann wants the ball all of the time. If his team loses the ball, it’s like a ticking time bomb for him.

So right now, Spurs are quite possibly the worst choice of club Nagelsmann could opt to walk into. Either he’d have to change his philosophy, or he’d simply be a stopover before the inevitable parting within two years.