According to The Mirror, the probable appointment of Antonio Conte as Tottenham manager is against Daniel Levy's wishes, who has instead been 'keen' for Paulo Fonseca to take over.

The Lowdown: Conte's arrival imminent

Nuno Espirito Santo was relieved of his duties at Spurs after Sunday's 3-0 loss to Manchester United, the club's fifth loss in seven Premier League matches (Sky Sports).

Conte is set to become the club's next boss, expected to put pen to paper on an 18-month deal (via The Express).

The Italian maverick has of course already enjoyed major success in England with Chelsea and has a rather stunning list of accomplishments across his career, racking up five domestic league titles on the back of his famous three-at-the-back counter-attacking style.

The Latest: Levy keen on Fonseca

However, it seems Conte is not Levy's favourite for the job.

The Mirror say that the Lilywhites chairman was 'keen' on a return for Fonseca, who almost made the move to north London in the summer, and it was only because of Fabio Paratici's insistence that Conte became the priority. Scott Parker was also a name in the conversation.

The report does say that Spurs are still 'poised' to appoint the Italian however, so it doesn't appear as though Levy's wishes will obstruct what is an exciting move for the former Juventus gaffer.

The Verdict: Conte the obvious choice

With nine career trophies to his name, Fonseca impressed at Shakhtar Donetsk in particular, drawing massive praise out of Pep Guardiola when the Ukrainian outfit bested Manchester City in a Champions League group stage game back in 2018.

He then made the move to AS Roma and was even hailed as 'similar to (Thomas) Tuchel' by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but was eventually replaced by Jose Mourinho.

However, the Portuguese does not have Conte's pedigree. The Italian has won league titles with three different sides in major European leagues - Juventus, Inter Milan and Chelsea - and also managed the Italy national team.

He has therefore proven his ability at the highest level - as soon as it became clear he was available, he was surely the only man for the job if Spurs truly have any ambition of challenging for trophies.

In other news, Spurs make their move for this man.