Whole lot of nothing.
Tottenham holding talks to finalise appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo
By Jack Pitt-Brooke and Charlie Eccleshare
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Tottenham Hotspur are holding face-to-face talks in London today to finalise the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo, having agreed a deal in principle with the former Wolves manager.
Fabio Paratici, Tottenham’s new managing director of football, arrived in London on Tuesday and is expected to lead the talks with Nuno, who arrived in the city this morning. Paratici officially starts in his new role on Thursday.
The Athletic understands that Tottenham are confident of striking a deal with Nuno, who left Wolves at the end of last season by mutual agreement. Nuno became Tottenham’s primary target after an executive meeting on Tuesday.
Spurs have been without a permanent manager since sacking Jose Mourinho in April. The club have held talks with Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Hansi Flick, Paulo Fonseca, Gennaro Gattuso and Julen Lopetegui since the end of the Premier League season.
What do I need to know?
Talks between Nuno and Tottenham are taking place today.
Paratici arrived in north London on Tuesday with Nuno flying in from his post-season holiday on Wednesday morning.
Talks between the two parties are at an advanced stage and Tottenham are increasingly confident of hiring Nuno before the start of pre-season on Monday July 5.
Nuno was initially not a candidate when he left Wolves as Tottenham pursued other targets, but is now the leading contender, with Spurs having exhausted numerous other options.
How did we get here?
Tottenham have held discussions with a number of potential managers since sacking Mourinho in April.
The club have been in talks with Conte, Pochettino and Flick.
Spurs were also close to hiring Fonseca, only for talks to collapse at a late stage due to their interest in Gattuso. But Spurs then u-turned once again after their supporters made their opposition to the Italian known.
In a letter to Tottenham fans at the end of the season, the chairman Daniel Levy wrote that the board had “lost sight of some key priorities and what’s truly in our DNA”.
He added: “We are acutely aware of the need to select someone whose values reflect those of our great club and return to playing football with the style for which we are known — free-flowing, attacking and entertaining — while continuing to embrace our desire to see young players flourish from our academy alongside experienced talent.”