Tottenham sack Nuno Espirito Santo

Tottenham Hotspur have sacked Nuno Espírito Santo just four months after appointing him head coach.

The club’s board held talks yesterday about the Portuguese’s future and have decided to make a change following the dismal 3-0 defeat by Manchester United on Saturday.

Fabio Paratici, Tottenham’s managing director, football, said: “I know how much Nuno and his coaching staff wanted to succeed and I regret that we have had to take this decision.

Crisis talks between Paratici and chairman Daniel Levy began on Sunday with both sides reaching the conclusion that it was time to pull the plug on their head coach's brief tenure along with his coaching staff.

"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," said Paratici.

Nuno had not been Tottenham's first choice for the job when they were looking to make an appointment in the summer and Spurs are expected to revive talks with at least some of those who they missed out on last time around.

The club hierarchy retain a strong interest in former Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte, who withdrew from talks to be Jose Mourinho's successor earlier this year due to concerns over whether the club could back his ambitions.

Ajax boss Erik ten Hag and Brighton's Graham Potter also have their admirers though the former distanced himself from the job last time out by signing a new contract with the Eredivisie champions, who can offer him the Champions League football Tottenham cannot.

Spurs instead find themselves in the Europa Conference League, where they face Vitesse on Thursday. No announcement has been made as to who will be in charge for that match.