Nuno Espirito Santo is closing in on being appointed as Tottenham Hotspur's next manager, and he could be in place in time for pre-season training, which gets underway on July 5.

What's the word?

According to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, extensive talks between the north London outfit and the Portuguese coach have been held over the last few days, and barring another late setback, the 47-year-old is now set to become the new Spurs manager.

Writing on Twitter, the journalist said: "Extensive talks have now been held with Nuno Espirito Santo over becoming the new Spurs head coach. As I said a week or so back, Paratici really likes him and while his style of play does not match what Levy called for, his ability to develop young players, and older ones, does.

"Understand that, barring a complete about-turn (and we've had enough of those in these 67 days), the former Wolves boss could be in place at Tottenham next week just days before pre-season starts at Hotspur Way."

Is it finally over?

The 47-year-old is a readily available candidate after he left Premier League rivals Wolves by mutual consent at the end of last season. He departed them in 13th place after a poor campaign, but much of that can be attributed to the loss of Diogo Jota to Liverpool and Raul Jimenez to a serious head injury as the Midlands outfit struggled in front of the net, bagging only 36 goals - the lowest of any team ranked above 16th.

Much of the Lilywhites faithful have expressed their disappointment in the likely appointment of Nuno on social media in recent days, getting a #NoToNuno campaign trending, but at the very least they should be glad that this whole process is coming to an end.

It's been over nine weeks since chairman Daniel Levy sacked Jose Mourinho and there have been no fewer than eight names close to taking over before some sort of late blow occurred. Bayern-bound Julian Nagelsmann, former boss Mauricio Pochettino and ex-Premier League winner Antonio Conte are just three of those mooted throughout the process.

More recently, it seemed as if Paulo Fonseca was going to be the man for Spurs before a surprise twist emerged at the 11th hour.

Nuno may not be the first choice of many in N17 besides sporting director Fabio Paratici, but he does arrive with plenty of experience in the top flight and a proven record in developing players regardless of their age.

Adama Traore, Pedro Neto and Joao Moutinho are testament to that, whilst it must be hugely encouraging that he could be in place before pre-season, for if this were to rumble on when the players returned, then it would only set Spurs back even further with their plans.

It's time for Nuno to get some backing as it seems this search is finally coming towards a much-needed end.

AND in other news, Paratici can seal Spurs' dream Kane replacement in "complete" £36m-rated goal machine...