Football news - Tottenham Hotspur 'call off pursuit' for Antonio Conte as new manager - reports

ByAlexander Netherton

Updated 04/06/2021 at 21:47 GMT

Former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte had been rumoured to be Spurs' choice to replace Ryan Mason as manager in the close season. However multiple journalists have now claimed that the pursuit of the Italian manager has hit rocky ground with Conte unconvinced that a job in North London is what he wants.

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly called off their pursuit of Antonio Conte as manager.

Journalist Matt Law reported that they are no longer attempting to make the former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager the permanent replacement for Jose Mourinho. Mourinho was temporarily replaced in favour of coach Ryan Mason but he appears unlikely to stay on beyond the summer in the same position.

The Telegraph have also reported that Spurs are keen on appointing Conte’s former colleague Fabio Paratici, the ex-Juve sporting director. That will not be affected by the failure to land Conte.

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Sky Italia had earlier claimed that Conte had reservations over joining Spurs because of how much work would be required to turn the North London side into title challengers again.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano also reported that salary demands were another sticking point, as well as the number of staff he would be permitted to pick.

Spurs have been rumoured to be interested in a number of other options as manager. Former coach Mauricio Pochettino was claimed to have asked to be released from his Paris Saint-Germain to go back to Spurs, and Brighton’s Graham Potter is also said to be another potential target.

Our view

Conte is clearly a manager who likes a visible path to a title.

At Chelsea he delivered one right away, at Juve there was little difficulty, and now at Inter he has his greatest achievement to date.

The problem for Spurs is that without huge investment they are not there for a quick turnaround.

If they are haggling over salary and the staff he can bring in, then they have to offer him something exceptional on the pitch - Spurs have never done such a thing in the Premier League.

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