Why Tottenham Hotspur initially turned down Nuno Espirito Santo and Conte’s role in Fonseca snub

According to Manchester Evening News journalist, Samuel Luckhurst, Tottenham Hotspur rejected Nuno Espirito Santo ‘weeks ago’ because the club disliked his style of play and he was deemed expensive.

But as it has turned out, Santo is the new manager of Tottenham. After a long and hard search that has lasted more than 2 months since Jose Mourinho’s exit in April, Spurs finally have a new boss at the helm.

A number of candidates came and went, and former Wolves boss, Santo is the club’s final choice He managed Wolverhampton Wanderers last season and led them to a 13th-placed finish.

Luckhurst’s tweet that Nuno was initially ruled out by Spurs comes as a worrying piece of news for the fans. That means the club could be compromising and were, perhaps, rushed into making a decision.

Is Nuno the right choice?

That can’t be said for sure yet, but the journalist also mentioned that Spurs interviewed two other candidates for the job. The talks with Antonio Conte even went on to reduce Paulo Fonseca’s chances of appointment.

“Tottenham were convinced from Conte meetings they needed a passionate coach and Fonseca was too soft in interviews. Nuno Espirito Santo was ruled out weeks ago, club dislike his style of play and deemed him expensive. Yet he’s the Tottenham coach.”

Tottenham were convinced from Conte meetings they needed a passionate coach and Fonseca was too soft in interviews. Nuno Espirito Santo was ruled out weeks ago, club dislike his style of play and deemed him expensive. Yet he's the Tottenham coach.

— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) June 30, 2021

Conte is a Premier League winner with Chelsea and recently won the Serie A with Inter, ending Juventus’ long dominance in the league. His appointment would have been a big statement by Daniel Levy.

But it is also harsh to judge Santo already. Mauricio Pochettino arrived at the club as an unknown entity in the mainstream footballing world but went on to become a very important manager in Tottenham’s history.

More Tottenham Hotspur News:

• Tottenham battle Arsenal, West Ham and Everton for Martin Satriano
• Transfer News: Tottenham behind Arsenal in race to sign Aaron Ramsdale
• Tottenham director Fabio Paratici arrives in London to close Nuno Espirito Santo deal

Fans would hope that’s the case with Santo too, who has plenty of Premier League experience with Wolves.