The latest name linked in Tottenham Hotspur’s managerial search will surely have Harry Kane worried…
What’s the word?
According to Football Insider, the North London outfit’s newly-appointed sporting director, Fabio Paratici, is pushing hard to secure former Wolves boss Nuno Santo in what has been described as a “major coup” for the club.
It’s thought that the Italian is the driving force behind Spurs’ sudden U-turn on the 47-year-old, who was quickly ruled out following the sacking of Jose Mourinho in mid-April.
Everton and Crystal Palace have been interested in appointing him but the Portuguese remains out of work heading into pre-season.
Bye-bye Kane!
Nuno has plenty of credentials to be considered for the role, having guided Wolves into the Europa League in their very first season back in the big time but he’s simply not the right fit for Spurs’ ‘DNA’ or needs.
And this will surely push Kane ever so much closer to the exit door after reports suggested that he has reiterated his desire to leave the club during the current transfer window, as per Sky Sports.
It is widely believed that chairman Daniel Levy is after an attack-minded head coach who can commit to the development of its young prospects, with the likes of Oliver Skipp, Jack Clarke and Ryan Sessegnon on the fringes of the first-team.
Well, Nuno’s final season at Molineux provides some insight as to why he might be a very disastrous choice for Paratici.
His Wolves side bagged only 36 goals from their 38 league matches, some 15 fewer than a season earlier and the lowest of any team sitting 16th or above. Even relegated West Brom were only one behind their final total, which is damning.
Of course, some of that can be attributed to the absence of Raul Jimenez but his replacement, Fabio Silva, only found the net four times in 32 appearances and that should concern Spurs’ leading talisman greatly.
Indeed, it’s thought that this perceived negative brand of football was one of the reasons behind Fosun’s amicable split with the former goalkeeper, with it being confirmed two days before the final day that he was going to leave by mutual consent.
Wolves have since replaced him with a manager that registered a 103-goal season at his former club, so that tells you all you need to know.
Something that has since backed this up is a claim from BirminghamLive reporter Alex Dicken, who told football.london: “It wasn’t always pretty to watch and some coaches, namely Maurizio Sarri, criticised their lack of intent in games, but during those first three seasons it worked.
“It was frustrating how slowly Wolves started games and there are some damning statistics about their lack of goals in the first half of matches under Nuno. That could have just been a coincidence, but more likely it was down to the way Nuno set his team up.
“This is why I would be so surprised if Spurs appointed him. The style of football wouldn’t be dissimilar to Jose Mourinho’s, but Nuno boasts nothing like his compatriot’s trophy record.”
Overall, the Midlands side managed a measly 1.18 goals per game in the Premier League under Nuno, which is a drastic decrease from Mourinho’s 2.01 goals per game record at Spurs – and he’s said to have “sucked the culture out of the club.”
Furthermore, ex-Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinso has revealed another concerning reason over the club potentially appointing the Portuguese, he told Football Insider:
“I heard from my sources that he wants 15 or 20 backroom staff members coming with him but I cannot see that happening at Spurs because Daniel will not want to do that because it will be very expensive.”
On the above evidence, it’s hard to see Spurs suddenly winning the sort of silverware that Kane is desperately craving and it’s not like he’s certain to thrive in what seems like such a negative system.
He may well want to leave even more if Nuno is hired.
AND in other news, Forget Nuno: Paratici can revive Spurs by hiring “wonderful” 57 y/o with 67% win rate…