Fabrizio Romano has explained the chain of events that led to Erik ten Hag extending his contract at Ajax rather than taking up the position as Tottenham's new manager.

What did Fabrizio Romano say about ten Hag's decision to stay at Ajax?

The Italian journalist tweeted last week that Tottenham were set to hold a meeting with ten Hag to discuss the possibility of the Dutchman replacing Jose Mourinho.

He has confirmed that the meeting took place, but revealed that Spurs were not blown away by the 51-year-old, and have decided to move onto looking at different options instead.

Romano gave the update on The Here We Go Podcast, saying: "It was Tuesday night of the past week, a direct meeting between Erik ten Hag and Tottenham to talk about the future and the potential project. 

"They had a meeting. They were not 100% convinced, and they decided, and when I mention ‘they’ I mean Tottenham, they decided to go with different ones. That’s it. So, ten Hag, the day after on Wednesday communicated to Ajax about it. Ajax were happy because they wanted to keep Erik ten Hag.

"They decided to extend the contract with the clause they had, so one more year for him. And also, ten Hag said there was something with Tottenham, so it was absolutely true, the interest, but then when you talk with the manager it’s about the project, it’s about the ideas, it’s about many things going on, and that’s why they decided to go on."

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What is ten Hag's win rate at Ajax?

Some may be surprised that Spurs were not completely convinced by ten Hag given his successful tenure at Ajax.

Since taking over the Dutch giants in December 2017, ten Hag has won two league titles and three domestic cups, including the Super Cup. He also led the club to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.

Ten Hag has been at the helm for 164 matches, winning 120 of those to give him an overall win percentage of 73%.

Have Spurs made a mistake moving on from ten Hag?

Possibly.

While it is not clear exactly what was said in the meeting between the club and ten Hag, he did seem to be an ideal candidate for the role.

Daniel Levy supposedly wants an attack-minded coach, and ten Hag is just that. Ajax have scored 93 goals in 31 Eredivisie games this term, highlighting how they are a formidable attacking force, whilst they have also kept things tight at the back, conceding just 21 times. 

Ten Hag appears to have got the balance right between attack and defence, something which Spurs have struggled to do at times this year, having shipped 38 goals in the league.

Who are the alternatives to ten Hag to get the Tottenham job?

Spurs have wasted little time in moving onto other targets. They have been linked with Italian trio Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri and Gian Piero Gasperini in recent days.

Meanwhile, they are reportedly interested in a couple of options closer to home, with Scott Parker and Graham Potter named as potential candidates.

It seems that there are plenty of managers still in the mix, but Romano's update suggests that ten Hag is certainly not one of them.