Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has been linked with a move away from the Premier League club at the end of the season.
The Italian manager will be a free agent in the summer and Tottenham have not been able to agree on a contract extension with him yet.
According to the Italian journalist Gianluca di Marzio, Tottenham are prepared to offer him a contract extension, but the Premier League manager has asked the London club to put contract talks on hold for now. Apparently, the Italian wants to focus on the present instead of thinking about the future.
However, Di Marzio adds that Conte is likely to end his adventure with Tottenham, at the end of the season and he will look to return to Italy. A return to Juventus has been rumoured in recent months, and it will be interesting to see how the situation develops.
He wrote: “Antonio Conte and the Tottenham board enjoy a good relationship. The Spurs’ manager’s contract will expire next June 30th, and the club has already offered him the possibility to stay with a new deal. However, Conte is now focused on the present, he does not want to think about his future.
“So, he asked the club to put the situation on stand-by. Conte is not living an easy moment, speaking about his private life: in the last few months, he has lost three good friends: Gian Piero Ventrone, Gianluca Vialli, Sinisa Mihajlovic.
“So, our feeling is that Antonio Conte, at the end of the current season, will ask the club to terminate this adventure and, maybe, come back to Italy, to stay closer to his family, with new opportunities.
“But, as things stand, what Conte asked Spurs is now to put his future in stand by, after their contract proposal: there are no negotiations ongoing and he hasn’t asked yet to leave and he’s fully focused on Tottenham.”
Tottenham have been extremely supportive of the Italian manager since he took over and they have backed him heavily in the transfer market. If he decides to leave the club at the end of the season, it will come as a major blow for the London outfit.
Furthermore, his departure could have a domino effect on the future of key players like Harry Kane as well. The England international is thought to be on the radar of a number of clubs, and he could look to leave the club if Conte decides to move on.
The 29-year-old England international will want to win trophies at this stage of his career and the departure of Conte will certainly damage Tottenham’s chances of competing at the highest level.
More must-reads: