Fabrizio Romano has revealed one issue that Tottenham discussed with Erik ten Hag and will be key to deciding who their next manager is.

How is Tottenham's manager search going?

Not perfectly by any means.

Having sacked Jose Mourinho over three weeks ago, they may have hoped to have found his replacement by now. However, that has not been the case, and ten Hag was one of the first managers who fell out of the running.

Spurs reportedly spoke to Ten Hag at the end of April, but were not completely convinced by him, and opted to move on to other candidates. Meanwhile, ten Hag cleared up his future by signing a contract extension with Ajax.

Is Harry Kane going to leave? This Spurs fan on The Football Terrace thinks so...

What did Romano say about ten Hag?

Romano has suggested that one factor which went against ten Hag was his grasp of the English language.

Speaking on The Here We Go Podcast, Romano said: "It’s important to have a manager who speaks English for Tottenham. So, this is also part of the discussions, and it was one of the things to discuss with ten Hag some weeks ago when they had the meeting.

"So for Tottenham, it is important to have a manager who has perfect English."

Is this factor reflected in current rumours?

It seems to be.

It has been claimed that Tottenham are set to hold talks with leading candidates in the coming days, and that the club have Scott Parker and Roberto Martinez on their shortlist for the manager's job.

The pair can both speak fluent English, with Martinez having previously worked at Wigan and Everton prior to taking his current role as Belgium manager.

Is Levy making a mistake?

It does seem to be a short-sighted approach from the Tottenham chairman.

While strong communication skills are important for a coach, it has been shown that a manager not being able to speak perfect English does not necessarily hinder a team's performance.

When Mauricio Pochettino first arrived in England to manage Southampton, he required an interpreter. It was not long before he moved to Tottenham, and even in his early days at White Hart Lane, his English was not faultless. Still, that did not hold him back as he led the club through a period of success where they reached their first Champions League final in 2019.

Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds is another example of how a language barrier has not had an adverse effect on the team he coaches. The Argentine coach has required a translator throughout his time in Yorkshire, yet he has still led his side to promotion to the Premier League, followed by an impressive first campaign in the top-flight.

With Tottenham's search for a new manager dragging on, Levy may have to start reconsidering his criteria for the job to ensure that he lands the best candidate in the end.