Spurs never believed Brendan Rodgers was interested in leaving Leicester City to take over at a direct Premier League rival so plumped for Nuno Espirito Santo instead, as reported by The Athletic.
And, to be honest, why would Rodgers want to leave Leicester?
The Foxes may have missed out on Champions League football for the second season running but this is the FA Cup winners we’re talking about.
Leicester are an ambitious and brilliantly run club heading in the right direction while boasting a talented spine of young, up-and-coming players who will only get better.
Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, have gone from nearly men to underachievers in the blink of an eye, from Champions League finalists to the UEFA Conference League.
And while Leicester look set to retain their star players, including James Maddison, Youri Tielemans, Caglar Soyuncu and Wilfred Ndidi, Tottenham will be wiping the sweat from their brow if Harry Kane is still in north London by the time September rolls around.
With all that in mind, it always felt like a tall order trying to lure Rodgers from the King Power Stadium.
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Spurs plump for Nuno in the hot seat
According to The Athletic, while the affable Northern Irishman was close to taking the job in 2012 before he swapped Swansea City for Liverpool, there was never any real confidence he could be snared nine years later.
Suggestions from The Sun that the overall package would have set chairman Daniel Levy back a staggering £70 million surely played its part too. You could get a Jadon Sancho for that sort of fee these days.
In the end, following a saga that lasted three months, Tottenham finally unveiled Nuno as Jose Mourinho’s replacement this week. The former Wolves boss is tasked with lifting the London giants back into the top four.
Should Kane get his wish, that may be easier said than done. But then Nuno would have plenty of cash to splash about.
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