Tottenham Hotspur 'open talks with Reims manager Will Still'

The 30-year-old took over from Oscar Garcia at the Stade Auguste-Delaune in October and has since enjoyed a remarkable success story in charge of the Ligue 1 outfit.

Reims have lost just three times in 24 matches under the inexperienced head coach, going on a 14-game unbeaten run before losing to Toulouse in the Coupe de France in February.

Thanks to their unforeseen revival under Still, Reims have emerged as outside contenders for European qualification, sitting eighth in the Ligue 1 table with seven games left to play.

Still's age, combined with his well-documented love for the Football Manager game and lack of a UEFA Pro Licence - which saw Reims fined £22,000 for every game he took charge - quickly gained him a cult following in France and abroad.

West Ham United are believed to have earmarked the 30-year-old - who was born in Belgium to English parents - as a potential successor to David Moyes should he depart the London Stadium in the near future.

Still is a West Ham supporter and has spoken of his desire to take charge of the Irons, but according to Sports Italia - via the Daily Mail - Tottenham have also taken an interest in his services.

The report claims that Spurs' managing director Fabio Paratici chaired a meeting with Still, despite stepping back from his role in the wake of his extended worldwide footballing ban.

It is unclear if the Reims boss has any desire to manage Tottenham at this early stage in his career, but he is contracted to Les Rouges et Blancs until the 2023-24 season, meaning that the French side would be due compensation if he were to depart this summer.

Still holds a record of 12 wins, nine draws and three defeats from his 24 games in charge of Reims so far, although one of those losses was a 3-0 beating at the hands of Rennes last Saturday.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was left with little choice but to part ways with Antonio Conte during the international break in the wake of his explosive post-match attack on his players, labelling his team "selfish" after a 3-3 draw with Southampton.

Conte's former assistant Cristian Stellini stayed put to take the reins on an interim basis, but the 48-year-old has won just one of his first three games as acting head coach and is unlikely to be given the job on a permanent basis.

The Lilywhites continue to be linked with a host of managerial candidates, most notably Julian Nagelsmann, who was sacked by Bayern Munich just two days before Conte's exit from Tottenham was announced.

However, Chelsea are seemingly ahead of Spurs in the race to hire the 35-year-old, while Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are also keeping a close eye on developments.

Ex-Leicester City coach Brendan Rodgers, Feyenoord's Arne Slot and Burnley's Vincent Kompany have also been mooted as possible successors to Conte, but the latter recently shot down speculation linking him to the Spurs job.