Tottenham given warning over Louis van Gaal future as interest from Spartak Moscow puts Spurs on alert

Tottenham could have to make a move for Louis van Gaal sooner than they will have hoped if they want the Dutchman as manager for next season after Spartak Moscow emerged as a rival for the current Holland coach’s signature.

Van Gaal is understood to have met with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy in December after Andre Villas-Boas was sacked, and the manager himself has repeatedly confirmed his desire to move to the Premier League even though Tim Sherwood was given an 18-month deal that runs until the end of next season.

Ruud Gullit even went to far as suggest that the proposed move was already “a done deal”, with the former Chelsea manager claiming talks had already taken place between Levy and van Gaal that would see him head to White Hart Lane after the summer World Cup. But it appears competition for his services is coming from Russian side Spartak Moscow, who are believed to be ready to offer van Gaal a lucrative contract to head to the Russian capital.

The Evening Standard understands Van Gaal is also monitoring the situation at Manchester United, where David Moyes is under pressure after a series of below-par performances. Spartak, meanwhile, have been courting Van Gaal for some time, even making him a formal offer in 2011, which the former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach rejected.

Van Gaal is still likely to choose English football over the Russian game, not least because of the language barrier and because of the higher profile of the Premier League, but news of Spartak’s interest is another complication in what has been a difficult period for Levy.

Sections of the away support turned on Sherwood during the closing stages of yesterday’s 4-0 thumping at Liverpool, questioning why the head coach had chosen to spend most of the game in the stands, rather than in the dug-out with the rest of his coaching team.

Sherwood was motionless for much of the game as he sat two rows behind Levy. Rumours last night that Sherwood had been dismissed after the game were wide of the mark, and the pair are thought to have spoken most recently last week, when Sherwood informed his chairman of his summer transfer targets if he is retained as manager.

The chances of that are thought to be receding as Sherwood has been unable to reverse the trend of poor performances against the best clubs in the league. Standard Sport understands that Sherwood would also request a significant overhaul of the squad, recommending that a number of the players signed for more than £100million last summer be sold. Of the seven, only Christian Eriksen impressed with any regularity.

After the debacle at Anfield, players and staff stayed in the dressing room for almost an hour, where frank views were exchanged on the team’s inability to compete in most matches against the current top four this season.