Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte is reportedly set to leave Inter Milan with the fiery Italian understood to be angry with the club’s financial restrictions this summer window.
Conte has enjoyed a superb two seasons with the Nerazzurri, culminating in their winning of the Scudetto this campaign, thereby ending Juventus’ nine-year dominance of Italian football.
The 51-year-old was expected to lead the club into the 2021-22 campaign. However, Inter’s serious financial predicament could result in Conte walking away so soon after clinching Serie A glory.
According to Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, Conte was reportedly furious with president Steven Zhang when he was informed that the club would be forced to sell several of their star players and hand out wage reductions.
The wage bill reportedly needs to be cut by 20 per cent, while they must generate a huge £86.5million in player sales to stay afloat.
Conte had been expecting to splash out more money in the coming window in order to sustain Inter’s dominance at the summit of Serie A, and he is understood to be set to meet Zhang again in the coming days to arrange the details of his contract termination – which would cost the Italian around £5.2m.
The 51-year-old’s uncertainty at Inter could spring Tottenham into action as chairman Daniel Levy attempts to land a big name to succeed Jose Mourinho after an underwhelming campaign.
Levy appears some distance from appointing a new manager for the Spurs hotseat, with Julian Nagelsmann, Hans Dieter-Flick, Erik ten Hag and Brendan Rodgers all turning down the Tottenham chief’s advances.
Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has been linked with a shock return to north London, although Conte’s previous success in England – in which he won the Premier League at Chelsea – could sway Levy, who is desperate for Spurs to end their barren spell without silverware.
Conte dedicated Inter’s Scudetto triumph to himself over the weekend after winning the Italian top flight by a huge 12 points.