Nuno Santo has emerged as one of the front-runners for the vacant manager's role at Tottenham Hotspur but it's another out-of-work coach they should be considering...

What's the word?

According to talkSPORT, Spurs are now targeting the former Wolves boss, with their recently-appointed director of football Fabio Paratici said to be keen on appointing him after moves for Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso collapsed.

The 47-year-old is now a name that reliable sources cannot ignore.

Alasdair Gold at football.london has since claimed he is not one to rule out. He said in a recent Q&A with fans: "I keep getting told, and again today, from those in Italy that know Paratici, that he likes Nuno Espirito Santo and not to rule out that he could become one of the candidates."

Forget Nuno!

He goes onto suggest that it would be an appointment that would not go down well with fans and is certainly one that goes against Daniel Levy's reported criteria of being an attack-minded coach.

Therefore, it would be wise for the chairman and Paratici to direct their attention elsewhere, especially when there's another available candidate starting them right in the face in the shape of ex-Barcelona supremo Ernesto Valverde.

Italian reporter Fabrizio Romano revealed the links to the Spaniard last week, claiming that he was a new name the club had spoken to, though nothing was advanced.

The 57-year-old has been unemployed since leaving the La Liga giants in January 2020, and still remains amongst their top-five coaches of all time, just behind the likes of Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.

Since his departure, the Catalan outfit have somewhat been in freefall, failing to clinch a league title nor have they managed to breach past the Champions League quarter-finals either.

Under him, they won 67% of their matches, leading to two La Liga triumphs, a Copa del Rey and a Supacopa, too. Substantially more than anything Nuno has won throughout his coaching career.

Furthermore, there have to be major concerns over the Portuguese's style of football as it seems he was sacked after a negative change in system, with the Midlands club opting for an attack-minded option themselves in Bruno Lage, whose Benfica side once bagged 103 goals in one season.,

Last campaign, Nuno's Wolves side scored only 36 goals, which was the worst of any side above 16th and just one strike more than relegated West Brom.

Valverde's side at the Nou Camp averaged 2.34 goals and 2.23 points per game alone and according to Gold, he would be an "excellent choice," especially with pre-season merely two weeks away.

Lauded "a great professional" and "wonderful" by Lionel Messi, the out-of-work Spaniard could be the man to help revive Spurs from the depths of despair.

Paratici must turn his attention fully onto Valverde, rather than plumping for Nuno.

AND in other news, Spurs fans should be hugely worried by concerning Fabio Paratici claim...