Tottenham have dodged a bullet after latest Sebastian Kehl reveal

Tottenham Hotspur have been rejected by former Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl.

Spurs would secure their Premier League safety at the back end of the 2025-26 season, with Roberto De Zerbi steadying the ship.

Following the dismal spells of Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, the Lilywhites were left in disarray, leaving the incoming Italian with a lot of work to do.

Having left his role at Borussia Dortmund earlier this season, ex-BVB midfielder Kehl has rejected the position of sporting director at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spending almost 25 years as a player, licence department director, and sporting director at the Westfalenstadion, Kehl would have been someone to organise Spurs, though ambition would not have exactly been expected.

Now, as Tottenham look to rebuild De Zerbi's squad, they may have just dodged a bullet with Kehl's rejection.

Tottenham and De Zerbi benefit as polarising figure rejects job

For too long, the North London club have been mismanaged both close to, and away from the pitch.

After De Zerbi's work to keep Spurs in the division, it cannot be overstated just how important the coming summer is.

According to reports from Sky Germany, Kelh and Tottenham were unable to reach an agreement on the direction to take moving forward.

Talks were said to be constructive, but differing views were mentioned as future plans are put in place.

The biggest beneficiary of this, is De Zerbi himself, who is set to be granted greater influence within the sporting structure in N17.

The Italian has remained outspoken in previous jobs, particularly when he has not been given what he wants.

With Kehl being a serious operator, the pair could well have clashed heads on a regular basis - a situation well avoided by Spurs, while De Zerbi can take the reigns with moulding the club in his own image ahead of next season.

Sebastian Kehl's Borussia Dortmund legacy has been tainted

Traditionally, Borussia Dortmund have not been one of Germany's 'giants', so to speak. That title has often sat with the obvious Bayern Munich, alongside the likes of Schalke, Hamburg, Stuttgart and more.

Kehl's years as a player were some of the golden years in the Ruhrpott, with Die Schwarzgelben winning the Bundesliga in 2002, 2011 and 2012, with the latter years under Jurgen Klopp laying the foundations for what has been the most consistent years in the club's history.

Kehl would take the reins as sporting director in 2022, and the years since have been bitterly disappointing.

BVB would let the Bundesliga title slip out of their hands on the final day of the 2022-23 season, before Jude Bellingham moved on, just a year after the departure of Erling Haaland.

Players have moved on and have not been adequately replaced, as such is the model of recruiting to sell that has become commonplace at the club in recent years.

Since then, Dortmund have come close to slipping out of the Champions League twice - only securing qualification on the final day of the 2024-25 term.

Kehl is a footballing person, and his experience within German football would have made him suitable to get the fans on side. But, he has shown a serious weak point when it comes to his own ambitions, or rather lack of.

For a club too often the nearly men in England, Tottenham would not exactly be heading in the right direction to alter this perception - coming at the wrong time amid what is a much needed rebuild under De Zerbi.