It’s taken several weeks, but Tottenham Hotspur have finally appointed a permanent replacement to former boss Jose Mourinho. Mourinho’s compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo has agreed a two-year contract with the North London club, with the former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss arriving to precious little fanfare.
There is a sense among Spurs supporters that the appointment of Nuno is something of a desperate move, after multiple failed negotiations with other candidates. The highest profile of which being Antonio Conte, with the former Italy head coach coming remarkably close to signing on the dotted line. However, the former Chelsea boss’s lack of desire to blood Tottenham’s homegrown talent saw chairman Daniel Levy pull the plug.
After the Conte approach failed, Spurs then turned their attentions to luring back former boss Mauricio Pochettino from Paris Saint-Germain. However, PSG’s Qatari owners were loath to allow the Argentine to depart midway through their project. Levy also attempted to talk terms with the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Erik ten Hag and Julian Nagelsmann, but for various reasons it wasn’t the right time for any of them to talk terms at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Given that Nuno Espirito Santo had been available since 21st May, after departing Wolves by mutual consent, it is clear to all concerned that the Portuguese was by no means Daniel Levy’s number-one target – far from it, in fact. Nevertheless, Nuno has managed some of Europe’s biggest clubs throughout his growing career, with FC Porto and Valencia also on his CV. What can Nuno bring to a Spurs side that lost its entertaining edge under Jose Mourinho?
A proven blend of solidity and flair
No-one can take away Nuno’s achievements at Molineux from him. The Portuguese was appointed in charge of the Gold and Blacks when they are a mid-table Championship side. His presence helped overhaul the squad into title-winning material, securing a return back into the big-time of the English Premier League (EPL). Two successive seventh-placed finishes in the EPL were mightily impressive, with Wanderers settling just fine into life in the top-flight.
Wanderers even flirted with European success in their second season in the EPL. They reached the quarter finals of the Europa League, which was a tremendous feat for a side that hadn’t been involved in European competition for over half a century. The foundation of Nuno’s Wolves side was a 3-5-2 system, with three solid central defenders, flanked by two mobile wing backs that thrived on the counter-attack. He also enticed experienced Portuguese keeper Rui Patricio to Molineux, who is on the verge of a move to Serie A outfit Roma.
What will concern Spurs fans, who enjoy possession-based attacking football, is that when Nuno attempted to change his Wolves system to a more attack-minded formation in the 2020/21 EPL campaign they faltered. Wanderers lost their solidity but were hampered in no small part by injuries to key forwards including star striker Raul Jimenez. The congested fixture schedule over the last 12 months has been a huge problem to all EPL squads. Recent academic studies revealed that player intensity dips if they have less than four days to recover between matches.
Dressing room respect and rapport
Wolverhampton Wanderers were a team and club that lacked direction upon Nuno’s appointment. After briefly flirting with League One, Wanderers began to look up the Championship table rather than down it. This was largely down to Nuno’s ability to foster a winning team spirit and camaraderie. The Portuguese is a calm, respectful character that players and fans alike warmed to quickly at Molineux.
In Nuno’s initial video to Spurs supporters on social media, he promises to “make them proud” of the team once again. It’s an attribute that Nuno was able to achieve fast in the West Midlands and he’ll be under immense pressure to do so in North London in double-quick time.
A good working relationship with new sporting director Fabio Paratici
It’s all change for Tottenham’s football infrastructure, with new sporting director Fabio Paratici starting his new role from 1st July. The former Juventus sporting director, who is said to have had a big hand in Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Turin, appears to have a good rapport with Nuno already. Both Daniel Levy and Paratici have publicly praised the Portuguese, noting his commitment to “embrace [Spurs’] young players coming through” and building “something special”.
If Nuno achieves even half the success he enjoyed at Molineux, he will go down as a success at Tottenham Hotspur.
