How close was an agreement?
There was a succession of Zoom calls between Crystal Palace and Nuno and even face to face talks in Lisbon.
Talks dragged on far longer than anticipated, but as recently as Tuesday the club were hopeful a deal could be struck with the former Wolves boss.
Why did talks collapse?
The Athletic understands that Nuno and his team made a series of unexpected demands.
The constant procrastination at Nuno’s end also raised Palace’s heckles, hardly representing the positive start to what was supposed to be a productive relationship.
In the end the club decided to pull the plug on their interest in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
What next?
Palace, on the face of it, are back to square one except that, awkwardly, those on their original list of candidates now know that, for a while at least, they were not considered as first choice.
The prospect of recruiting Sean Dyche suddenly feels more remote than ever, particularly with an offer of a lucrative new contract on the table at Turf Moor.
More realistic may be the head coach option, working within the sporting director structure where the convoluted process of renewing and recruiting can resume in earnest.
Valerien Ismael and Steve Cooper, whose attempts to secure promotion from the Championship with Barnsley and Swansea respectively ended frustrated last month, have always had support from some in the Palace boardroom.
Where can I find out more?
For the full inside story on how Palace’s attempt to hire Nuno ended in disappointment, Go Deeper with The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam below.
(Photo: By Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
