Nuno Espirito Santo can be appointed new head coach of Fenerbahce in the next few days after initiating advanced talks with the Turkish club. This comes despite renewed interest from Tottenham in their ongoing search for a permanent successor to Jose Mourinho.
Nuno left Wolves at the end of last season and was briefly expected to take over at Everton before Toffees began more advanced talks with Rafa Benitez. He was also of serious interest to Crystal Palace, while Spurs have since opened talks after failed negotiations with several other goals.
But news from Turkey suggests that the Portuguese may not stay in the Premier League at all, with Radyo Gol claiming that a “final meeting” between Nuno and Fenerbahce will take place on Monday.
Despite contact with Spurs, he has apparently now become the most likely candidate to take the vacant job in Istanbul after talks with the Super Lig giants “accelerated”, with the scheduled meeting that could potentially lead to him being offered the job and appointed.
Nuno has worked in England for the past four years and joined Wolves in 2017 when the club was in the championship. Equipped with a top squad that included the arrival of Ruben Neves, who he had trained in Porto, Diogo Jota, Willy Boly and others, he masterminded an immediate promotion fee and then guided the Wolves to back-to-back seventh place in the Premier. League.
The 2020/21 campaign was more challenging for Nuno and Wolves and ended in a disappointing 13th, which led to a separation and a new start for each in the coming season.
Reports in Turkey expect Nuno to be appointed immediately by Fenerbahce / Sam Bagnall – AMA / Getty Images
Fenerbahce finished third in Turkey 2020/21 and have not been named champions since 2014, making it the club’s longest title dryer since the Super Lig was created in 1959.
Should he get the Fenerbahce job, it would be the latest in a series of battles for Spurs, who have yet to appoint a successor to Jose Mourinho more than two months after the former boss was sacked. Talks with Paulo Fonseca and Antonio Conte have broken down, while the club withdrew from further contact with Gennaro Gattuso after an angry backlash from fans.
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