Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy and the club’s managing director, Fabio Paratici, held talks over Nuno Espirito Santo’s future on Sunday.
The manager has come under immense pressure following Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat to Manchester United. Fans and part of the players are unhappy with Nuno’s tactics, as Spurs have dropped to eighth in the Premier League table, 10 points behind leaders Chelsea.
Tottenham have started the season on a high under Nuno, winning their first three league games, a record for the club in the Premier League era. The series included an opening-day 1-0 win over champions Manchester City. Spurs then had a dip in form which saw them lose to London rivals Chelsea, Arsenal, Crystal Palace and West Ham, before the Manchester United trashing. Against all but West Ham, Tottenham conceded three goals.
Of his 17 games in charge so far, Nuno won eight, lost seven and drew two. At the European stage, Tottenham sit only third in their Conference League group, behind Vitesse and Rennes, having lost against the Dutch side two weeks ago.
Nuno was appointed Tottenham manager on 30 June, after having left Wolves at the end of the previous campaign. Spurs held talks with Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Hansi Flick, Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso, before agreeing on a two-year deal with Nuno.
Di Marzio: ‘Tottenham, in pressing for Conte’
According to Italian transfer market specialist Gianluca Di Marzio, Antonio Conte would now be open to joining Tottenham. Monday will be a decisive day for Nuno’s future. If he departs North London, then Conte, who is a free agent after leaving Inter at the end of last season, would top the list of potential successors.
Conte would welcome the idea of working with his former sports director from Juventus, Fabio Paratici. The pair enjoyed a good relationship and now Conte awaits a sign to start talks. He’d demand a long-term project and firm commitments from Tottenham’s board on investments into the squad over the next few years.
Conte, 52, won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2017. He is a four-time Serie A champion as well.
The bookies have Conte at +200 to replace Nuno as Tottenham Hotspur manager, with Graham Potter and Paulo Fonseca tied at +500. Ryan Mason, who was a caretaker boss following Jose Mourinho’s sacking in April, stands at +600.