Antonio Conte has left Inter Milan by mutual consent and the Italian coach is a heavy favorite to take charge of Tottenham.
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Conte, 51, won the Serie A title at Inter and has transformed them from top four hopeful to a powerhouse during his two seasons in charge of the Nerrazzurri.
However, Inter’s Chinese ownership group have financial problems and plan to sell players to raise $100 million this summer and apparently, Conte wasn’t happy with that as he wanted money to spend on new players. So, he left.
Their Serie A title win in 2020-21 was their first league title in 11 years, while Conte also reached the Europa League final last season but lost to Sevilla.
Per a report from Sky Italy, it is believed Conte will be paid $8.5 million for the final year of his contract at Inter, despite not taking charge of the team, as his full contract was $15.8 million but he accepted a smaller fee to leave now.
“FC Internazionale Milano can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Antonio Conte for the termination of his contract by mutual consent. The Club would like to thank Antonio for the extraordinary work that he has done, culminating in Inter’s 19th top-flight title. Antonio Conte will forever remain a part of our Club’s history.”
So, where next for the former Juventus, Italy and Chelsea manager? He has always spoken fondly about returning to England and the Premier League, where he won the league title and FA Cup in two seasons with Chelsea, and there is one vacancy which sticks out.
Tottenham Hotspur.
Would Antonio Conte be a good fit for Tottenham?
It remains to be seen whether or not Conte is actually an option for Tottenham, but there’s no doubt he has proven he can win trophies in England. Also, the fact that very specific details about his payout from Inter have been leaked suggest that Conte wants potential new clubs to know he may not demand huge wages.
Other than that, does Conte to Tottenham tick the right boxes?
His Chelsea side, or his teams in general, may not be the most exciting to watch but he gets results.
What do Tottenham want? Chairman Daniel Levy has said recently that Tottenham must get their DNA back and appoint a manager who plays attacking football.
Conte sort of does that, and the key to this is Harry Kane. As we saw with Diego Costa (initially) at Chelsea and most recently Romelu Lukaku at Inter Milan, his coaching style is based on a 3-5-2 system with a central target man the focal point to his attack. That system would suit Kane, and most of Spurs’ current squad, well.
Tottenham may not have had Conte high on their list of possible candidates but now he’s become available, and he’s said to want a return to England, perhaps it could happen? The fact he managed their rivals Chelsea probably isn’t an issue anymore because Levy recently hired, then fired, Jose Mourinho.
If he’s the right man for the job, does it matter that he coached your bitter rivals for a few seasons?
Other jobs Conte could take include the Real Madrid position, if Zinedine Zidane leaves, but perhaps he will wait a few more weeks to see if other opportunities arise?