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Reports have emerged that Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy once implemented a peculiar selection policy when hiring a new head coach for the club.

Levy is said to have blocked the appointment of a potential manager based on his nationality — a decision that has since resurfaced as Tottenham Hotspur struggle near the bottom of the Premier League table.

Currently sitting 17th in the Premier League, the North London side are fighting to avoid relegation following disappointing spells under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.

New details suggest that in the early 2000s, Daniel Levy enforced a selection rule that might have influenced the club’s current troubles in their search for stability.

Frank Arnesen, who served as Tottenham’s director of football, revealed in his book ‘Total Football’ that Levy blocked the appointment of a Danish coach in 2004 because of his nationality.

According to Danish media outlet Ekstra Bladet, Morten Olsen — who had successfully led Denmark to the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004 — was Arnesen’s top choice to take over the managerial role at Spurs.

Despite Arnesen’s backing, Levy reportedly dismissed the idea, applying a rule that excluded candidates from two specific countries.

“When I joined Tottenham, the club needed a new head coach,” recalled Arnesen. “I wanted Morten Olsen, but I wasn’t allowed to pick someone from Denmark or the Netherlands.”

He elaborated further: “It was part of the requirements. Daniel Levy thought that if results did not go well within the first few months, I would face additional pressure for choosing a coach from my own country. He didn’t want to take that kind of risk.”

Morten Olsen later confirmed Arnesen’s version of events, noting that Tottenham Hotspur had shown interest in him both as a player and later as a manager.

“They wanted to sign me at one stage when I was still playing,” Olsen said. “But I went to Cologne instead.”

He added, “Even if an offer had come during that time, I wouldn’t have accepted it. It would have arrived in the middle of a contract, and I wasn’t willing to leave before fulfilling it.”

Olsen, who managed the Denmark national team from 2000 to 2015 and was named Danish Player of the Year in 1986, admitted he couldn’t recall the fine details of Tottenham’s approach but confirmed that his loyalty to Denmark would have prevented him from accepting any offer.

Tottenham Hotspur, currently managed by Danish boss Thomas Frank and struggling to escape the relegation zone, are set to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday in a crucial Premier League fixture.