Conte set to be Spurs boss with £13m salary
ANTONIO CONTE was last night on the verge of becoming Tottenham’s new head coach after the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo. As MailOnline exclusively revealed yesterday morning, Nuno was axed in the aftermath of Saturday’s damaging 3-0 home defeat by Manchester United, with the club confirming the Portuguese’s departure just before 10am. The club’s increasingly influential director of football, Fabio Paratici, has moved quickly to identify Nuno’s replacement — after just four months and 17 games in the job — with a deal in principle agreed for 52-year-old former Chelsea boss Conte. It is understood Conte, who has a long-term relationship with Paratici, has been offered an 18-month contract with an
annual salary of around £13.2million. Sources claimed that Tottenham were exploring the possibility of inserting a 12-month extension option into the deal. There was growing optimism at the club last night that Conte would take charge, with one well-placed source insisting the deal was as good as done. Players were told to expect the new manager to take this morning’s training session at the club’s Enfield HQ. Conte had contact with Spurs in the summer but decided against taking the role amid his concerns over the club’s ambitions. But the Italian arrived in London yesterday to hold a final round of talks with Paratici and chairman Daniel Levy. Conte’s appointment would be viewed as a major victory, given his standing as one of the game’s leading coaches. He has been heavily linked with replacing under-fire Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United. His track record of success in Italy and England will come as a reason for huge optimism for Tottenham’s fanbase, who vented their anger during Saturday evening’s defeat. Sportsmail reported yesterday that former Wolves boss Nuno, 47, (pictured) was on the brink of the sack amid fallout from the disastrous defeat and performance against United. Many fans were furious at the direction the club has been heading since the Champions League final appearance in 2019 but unrest was triggered by the second-half substitution of Lucas Moura and hostile chants were aimed at Levy and owners ENIC. Their fifth defeat in 10 league fixtures sealed Nuno’s fate. Sportsmail understands he
arrived at the club’s Enfield training ground yesterday morning as normal only to be informed of the club’s decision to remove him. He had been manager of the month in August after three wins but has since lost four London derbies. He was earning in the region of £3m a year at Spurs and is due compensation but is expected to be placed on gardening leave until he finds a new job. Paratici said: ‘I know how much Nuno wanted to succeed and I regret that we have had to take this decision.’