Reports: Tottenham considering Nuno Espírito Santo for vacant manager role

There is officially another contender for Tottenham Hotspur’s next manager, with multiple reports suggesting former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espírito Santo is being considered for the job.

The Telegraph reports that the club has already held talks with Espírito Santo, with topics of conversation including style of play, Harry Kane, and Son Heung-min’s new contract. The Guardian reports that Spurs’ new director of football, Fabio Paratici, holds Espírito Santo “in high regard” and has a relationship the manager’s agent, Jorge Mendes.

The interest in Espírito Santo marks a change from Tottenham as the search for a new manager continues. In May, football.london reported that the Portuguese manager was not a contender for the role.

Others remain in consideration, per Thursday’s reports. The Guardian reports that Spurs considered former Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde last week, while The Telegraph reports that Rangers’ Steven Gerrard, Italy’s Roberto Mancini, and Brighton and Hove Albion’s Graham Potter are in the mix.

The fact that style of play reportedly came up during conversation is important, but the club’s desire in that department has been pretty unclear during this managerial search. Espírito Santo is proven at the Premier League level, but definitely does not play the entertaining style chairman Daniel Levy reportedly prefers.

It’s another confusing layer to a bizarre search for José Mourinho’s successor, and Espírito Santo is just the latest to be amongst possible front runners for the job. If I’m remembering correctly, he comes after Julian Nagelsmann, Erik Ten Hag, Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca, and Gennaro Gattuso.