With pre-season less than two weeks away, Spurs still remain manager-less, and fans are becoming more and more impatient.
Fabio Paratici favours a three-man defence formation, and is actively looking for a coach with the same philosophy and ideas as him, and that man could be former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
IF Tottenham appoint Nuno it just confirms they’ve ran out of ideas and are being lazy. He ticks very few boxes and is nowhere near Levy’s ‘dna’ quotes. You’re literally just taking a Mendes client because it’s easy.
— Paul O Keefe (@pokeefe1) June 24, 2021
Talks have reportedly progressed and while a deal still doesn’t seem close, Nuno has become one of the top candidates, largely also due to his agent Jorge Mendes’ relationship with Paratici – which has also gone down as controversial among fans.
Levy said he’d employ someone who plays 'Attacking Football'
Wolves under Nuno last szn :
xG – 38.62 (16th)
PPDA – 14.13 (15th)
DC – 139 (19th)
Big chances created – 28 (20th lol)
Goals per match – 0.9 (16th)
possesion won final 3rd – 122 (18th)🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
— Alex (@xAlexTHFC) June 24, 2021
Similarly to when Gennaro Gattuso was linked as manager, a campaign has been set-up by fans using the hashtag #NoToNuno, which reached number one in the trending charts for the United Kingdom.
However, the hashtag against Gattuso last time gained credible support last time due to his sexist, homophobic and racist views – a far more understandable reason to campaign against a person who seemingly has done nothing wrong.
Therefore, Spurs fans who are rejecting Nuno are unlikely to be taken into account by Daniel Levy when making the final decision in appointing a new manager – as there really is no moral argument against making the Portuguese coach manager.
As much as I don’t want Nuno, that hashtag is embarrassing. He’s a honourable bloke. Turn it in.
— Paul O Keefe (@pokeefe1) June 24, 2021
Never-the-less, Wolves’ poor season didn’t portray Nuno’s coaching ability in the best light, and he is definitely a significant downgrade to Antonio Conte, who was reportedly set to take the job before Levy rejected the Italian’s demands.
Other managers that have now reportedly appeared on the shortlist include former Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde, Rangers boss Steven Gerrard as well as Italy head coach Roberto Mancini – who has impressed many with his set-up and tactics at the European Championships.
Graham Potter is also being considered, but his club Brighton are desperate to keep him, and negotiations could prove tougher than other candidates like Nuno and Valverde who are currently without teams and looking to get back into club management.