Antonio Conte reportedly waited to see if the Manchester United job would become available before deciding to fill the Tottenham vacancy.
The Italian was appointed as the new Spurs manager on Tuesday following the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's position meanwhile has been under threat since United's humiliating 5-0 defeat to rivals Liverpool last month.
The Mirror have reported that the former Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan manager 'waited until the last minute' to see if Solskjaer would get the sack before opting to make his Premier League return with Tottenham.