Tottenham has appointed Antonio Conte as its new manager after acting quickly to replace Nuno Espirito Santo.

Former Chelsea, Juventus, Inter and Italy boss Conte agreed a contract running until summer 2023 to take charge of the London club, Spurs announced on Tuesday.

With Conte having also been linked to Manchester United, Spurs moved quickly to seal his signature after sacking Nuno.

Conte said: "I am extremely happy to return to coaching, and to do so at a Premier League club that has the ambition to be a protagonist again.

"Tottenham Hotspur has state-of-the-art facilities and one of the best stadiums in the world.

"I can't wait to start working to convey to the team and the fans the passion, mentality and determination that have always distinguished me, as a player and as a coach."

Tottenham made an unsuccessful attempt to recruit 52 year-old Conte prior to its appointment of Nuno in the close season.

That was part of what became a chaotic process to replace Jose Mourinho on a permanent basis, with Nuno seemingly well down the list of candidates after Ryan Mason had taken interim charge towards the end of the 2020-21 season.

Conte left Inter at the end of last season after his two years in charge climaxed with him winning the club's first Serie A crown for 11 years, ending the dominance of his former club Juventus, with whom he claimed the Scudetto on three occasions as a coach.

He won the Premier League and FA Cup during two years in charge of Chelsea from 2016 to 2018, leaving after his second season ended with a fifth-place finish in the Premier League.

Conte thanked Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy for showing persistence.

New boss Conte said on Spurs' official website: "Last summer our union did not happen because the end of my relationship with Inter was still too recent and emotionally too involved with the end of the season, so I felt that it wasn't yet the right time to return to coaching.

"But the contagious enthusiasm and determination of Daniel Levy in wanting to entrust me with this task had already hit the mark. Now that the opportunity has returned, I have chosen to take it with great conviction."

Nuno's reign at Spurs ended just 10 league matches and four months into a two-year contract he signed in June. He had previously spent four largely successful years in charge of Wolves.

A 3-0 home defeat to Manchester United on Saturday, when home fans expressed their frustration, proved to be his final game at the helm, with his top-flight total representing the lowest number of Premier League matches in charge for any permanent Tottenham manager in history.

The club is desperate to end a run that has not seen them win a trophy since 2008, after huge investment in an impressive new stadium.

Spurs have been runners-up in the Premier League and Champions League during that 13-year span, as well as losing three times in the Carabao Cup final.

Conte's tenure will begin when Tottenham plays at home to Vitesse in the Europa Conference League on Friday (AEDT) before they face Everton in the Premier League at Goodison Park.