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Tottenham are reportedly nearing the announcement of Jose Mourinho’s successor – with football director Fabio Paratici the driving force behind the appointment.

Spurs are still managerless, after the Portuguese was sacked way back in April. Since then, a number of big names have come and gone, including Julian Nagelsmann, Antonio Conte and most recently Gennaro Gattuso. Indeed, details have emerged from Napoli star Lorenzo Insigne on how Gattuso missed out on the Spurs vacancy.

However, it seems that Tottenham and Paratici are finally closing on their man – with Nuno Espirito Santo now the firm favourite. As per reports, Spurs are making their due diligence on the former Wolves boss with a number of background checks.

That is expected to lead to talks with the Portuguese coach over the weekend. And if all goes to plan, he could be announced as their new manager as early as Monday.

As per Football Insider, Paratici is the major driving force behind the decision to turn to Espirito Santo. He is said to have been impressed by the work he did at Molineux in taking them from the Championship to the Europa League quarter-finals.

The Italian is said to rate Nuno highly and rates the appointment of the 47-year-old as a major coup for his club.

The potential appointment of Espirito Santo would also represent quite a major turnaround for Spurs. They were linked with him immediately after his exit at Wolves, though quickly ruled him out as a contender.

He has since held talks with Crystal Palace and Everton – but it seems Tottenham are now his likely next club.

The appointment of Santo might not totally appease Tottenham’s fan base. However, after a number of dead ends, they will need to find someone – and soon.

And with Paratici firmly behind the appointment of Nuno, the Italian is also somewhat staking his own reputation somewhat on his success.

Doubts are emerging that Harry Kane will get the transfer of his choice this summer – read the latest here.

Tottenham one of two suitors for Demiral

Paratici is also believed to be steering Tottenham towards the signing of Juventus defender Merih Demiral.

Demiral joined Juventus in 2019 via Sassuolo. He showed promise in his formative months in Serie A but an ACL injury soon disrupted his progress. Since then, he has had to battle to get his place back in the side – without much luck.

Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci remain regulars for Juventus, who also have Matthijs De Ligt among their ranks. The competition for Demiral is tough, so the Turin side may be willing to cash in this summer.

Tottenham have been mentioned as contenders for quite some time. However, the Paratici connection could be crucial to their hopes of signing the 23-year-old.

Juventus paid €18m to sign Demiral and are hoping to make capital gains on him. Since he is up for sale, it should not be too complicated for Spurs to get their man.

READ MORE: Tottenham ready bid with Everton planning to snatch £30m defender

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