Nuno Espirito Santo Fired as Tottenham Manager; Antonio Conte Linked to Job

Tottenham Hotspur announced the firing of manager Nuno Espirito Santo on Monday, just four months after his appointment.

According to Sky Sports, Antonio Conte has been offered an 18-month contract to be the next manager.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano reported the club is "at final stages" of discussions with Conte, who is "ready to accept" the proposal.

Conte spent the past two seasons at Inter Milan, helping the team win the Serie A title in 2020-21 before leaving at the end of the campaign.

The 52-year-old also led Chelsea to a Premier League title in 2016-17 and spent time managing Juventus, whom he guided to three Serie A titles, and Italy.

According to James Olley of ESPN FC, Conte was in talks for the Tottenham job in the summer but negotiations fell apart, partially because he wasn't given "wide-ranging control of first-team affairs."

Several other big names were linked before Nuno was handed the role.

The Portuguese lasted just 17 matches with Spurs, including 10 Premier League fixtures that resulted in five wins and five losses. The club sits eighth in the table with 15 points.

A 3-0 loss to Manchester United on Saturday was especially embarrassing, as Spurs failed to register a shot on target. Scoring was an issue during Nuno's tenure, with Tottenham totaling just nine goals in 10 league matches despite boasting elite attacking talent such as Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.

Tottenham were also failing to reach expectations in the UEFA Europa Conference League, sitting third in Group G behind Stade Rennais and Vitesse through three matchdays.

"I know how much Nuno and his coaching staff wanted to succeed. and I regret that we have had to take this decision," managing director Fabio Paratici said in Spurs' statement. "Nuno is a true gentleman and will always be welcome here. We should like to thank him and his coaching staff and wish them well for the future."

According to Olley, multiple senior players had "lost faith" in Nuno.

Spurs are scheduled to face Vitesse on Thursday before their Premier League clash with Everton on Sunday.