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Liverpool legend Xabi Alonso has emerged as a leading contender for the Tottenham Hotspur job after an impressive season at Bayer Leverkusen, according to reports.<br>Spurs are searching for a new permanent manager after sacking Antonio Conte,  and then appointing Ryan Mason. <br>Mason, 31, oversaw the 2-2 draw with Manchester United last week and the  on Sunday.<br> <br /> Alonso, who has guided Bayer Leverkusen to the semi-finals of the Europa League, is said to be a top candidate for the Spurs job, according to Dutch publication .<br>The Spaniard is thought to hold an advantage over Feyenoord boss and fellow candidate Arne Slot, who has led his side to an eight-point lead at the top of the Eredivisie.<br>      (image:  )    Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso is thought to be Tottenham's 'number one' target<br>      (image:  )    Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot is also in the running after an impressive season in Holland<br>      (image:  )    Ryan Mason is in interim charge of the club, with the 31-year-old replacing Cristian Stellini<br>They report that Slot's lack of experience in 'a major competition', and a shortage of trophies to his name as of now, could count against him.<br>Alonso's 'calibre' during his playing days as a top midfielder is attractive to Tottenham, De Telegraaf said, but no contact has yet been made by Spurs.<br>The 41-year-old's Leverkusen side sit sixth in the Bundesliga, having won 14 matches out of a possible 30 so far this season. He has implemented an attractive style of attacking football.<br>Spurs are also keen on Julian Nagelsmann but reports in The Sun claimed chairman Daniel Levy  because of his age.<br>However, it is not thought to be a deal-breaker and Nagelsmann remains the favourites with the bookies.<br>He had been the leading contender for the Chelsea job before he pulled out of the race after being spooked by the club's process and thinking he was a shoo-in for the role. <br>Mail Sport previously reported Spurs are exploring an interest <br>The Portuguese is rated among the best emerging coaches in Europe and is on Tottenham's radar. He has also been on Chelsea's radar. Tottenham insist the appointment of Conte's long-term successor is an open process with no set first-choice as it stands.<br>Vincent Kompany is of interest - though Burnley are keen to tie the Belgian down to a new deal.<br>      (image:  )    Julian Nagelsmann remains the bookies favourite to become the next full-time Spurs manager<br>Mauricio Pochettino had been the preferred candidate for a number of players and the large sections of the fanbase, but appears set to become manager at Chelsea.<br>Slot, meanwhile, is said to be 'convinced' that he can implement his philosophy at any club in the Premier League if handed the opportunity.<br>Feyenoord are keen to keep Slot for another season and could increase his salary to do so, allowing him to impress in the Champions League with his side next season to further aid his chances of landing a job in England.<br>Slot was a previous candidate for the Leeds United role but , who are  for the remaining four matches of the season. <br>                                                    Hundreds of thousands of once loyal  viewers are leaving the network in droves following Tucker Carlson's firing.<br>Those viewers are apparently abandoning the network as they look for something fresh in his old time slot.<br>Fox drew 1.33 million viewers for hastily arranged replacement show Fox News Tonight hosted by Brian Kilmeade in Carlson's old 8pm slot on Wednesday night.<br>It put Fox firmly in second place to liberal network MSNBC's Chris Hayes, who had 1.38 million tune in Wednesday, in a competition Carlson used to easily dominate, the Nielsen ratings company said.<br>Carlson offered his own alternative to both Kilmeade and Hayes on Wednesday, posting a two-minute monologue on Twitter at 8pm.  By Thursday night, that video has been viewed 70 million times, according to the social media site.<br>      (image:  )  Chris Hayes on MSNBC firmly beat Fox News on Wednesday night in a competition Tucker Carlson used to dominate without contest, the Nielsen ratings company said<br>Fox's figures are down 56 percent from the 3.05 million viewers Carlson reached last Wednesday, Nielsen said. <br>Hayes spent around 15 minutes of his show talking about Tucker Carlson on his show and the fallout from his firing. <br>The discussion went into the culture at the right-wing network in the wake of Carlson's leaked texts with former Fox personality Gretchen Carlson (no relation) giving her views.<br>For all of 2022, Carlson averaged 3.03 million viewers, second only to Fox's 'The Five' as the most popular program on cable television.<br>Kilmeade had 1.7 million viewers on Tuesday and 2.59 million on Monday, when he told people who hadn't already heard the news that Carlson would no longer be appearing on the network.<br>Carlson had 2.65 million viewers on Friday for what he didn't know at the time would be his last show on Fox. <br>He was fired on Monday with no explanation given publicly, although there are no shortage of theories - including a former employee's lawsuit that cited a toxic work atmosphere at his show, offensive statements by Carlson that came out as part of the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox and his embrace of political conspiracy theories about the January 6 insurrection. <br>In the Twitter clip Tucker posted online, which has been seen across the world, he spoke blisteringly of the people trying to 'silence' truth-tellers. <br>He said: 'The liars who have been trying to silence them shrink, and they become weaker.  That's the iron law of the universe: true things prevail.'<br>The video was set live just after 8pm Eastern Time - the exact same time as his old Fox News time slot. <br>      (image:  )    Fox News only managed to pull in 1.33 million viewers for hastily arranged substitute host Brian Kilmeade for who presented on Carlson's old 8pm slot on Wednesday night<br>      (image:  )    The massive drop in viewing figures comes after Carlson's departure from Fox News whose show had consistently dominated the time period and was most viewed show in cable news<br>      The ratings slump echoes what happened at Fox following the 2020 election, when many viewers angered by the network's crucial election night declaration that Joe Biden had won Arizona followed then-President Donald Trump's advice to seek alternatives. <br>That caused tremendous angst behind the scenes at Fox, which was illustrated in documents released as part of the Dominion case.<br>When asked for comment, Fox responded with a statement noting that Fox has been cable news' most-watched network for 21 years with its team 'trusted more by viewers than any other news source.'<br>In the wake of Carlson's firing, viewing at the conservative network Newsmax has shot up for Eric Bolling, who hosts a show in the same 8pm Eastern slot.<br>For example, Bolling had 510,000 viewers Wednesday night, compared to 168,000 on Wednesday a week ago, Nielsen said.  On Tuesday, Bolling had 562,000 viewers, up from 122,000 the same day a week earlier.<br>The challenge for Newsmax will be making it last. <br>Fox surged again following Biden's inauguration as president, and Newsmax couldn't keep up the momentum.<br>      (image:  )    Tucker Carlson Tonight ran from 2016 until 2023, and regularly attracted more than 3 million viewers a night<br>      (image:  )    Tucker Carlson was spotted driving a golf cart with his wife, Susan, the day after his firing<br>