Antonio Conte 'will leave Tottenham Hotspur at end of season'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 22 January 2023

Antonio Conte 'will leave Tottenham at end of season'

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte will leave the club when his contract expires in the summer, according to Gianluca di Marzio.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte will leave the North London club at the end of the season, according to journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

The former Chelsea and Inter Milan head coach took over from Nuno Espirito Santo in 2021 and guided Spurs back into the Champions League during his debut campaign.

Conte's contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium only runs until the end of the season, though, and his future has been shrouded in uncertainty for a number of months.

Daniel Levy has been determined to agree a new contract with the Italian and is believed to have opened negotiations during the World Cup, but they have not led to a positive solution.

With Tottenham also struggling domestically this term - losing three of their last four Premier League games - Di Marzio states that Conte is guaranteed to leave the North London club this summer.

Antonio Conte in charge of Tottenham Hotspur in January 2023 © Reuters

"The news I can tell you with certainty is that Antonio Conte will leave Tottenham at the end of the season," the journalist told his L'Originale programme on Sky Italia.

Di Marzio claims that Tottenham have in fact not approached the Italian - whose family remain in his homeland - to discuss a renewal, and his desire to win does not align with the club's trading methods.

"There was no spark, his contract is expiring and the club has not asked him for a renewal. The club does not like the frequent jibes," Di Marzio added.

"Conte wants players to win, while the club prefers to trade, the feeling with the club has not clicked. His family, among other things, has remained in Italy."

Conte has been persistently linked with a return to Juventus during his time in North London, although he shot down the "disrespectful" links with the Bianconeri when questioned last year.

Antonio Conte in charge of Tottenham Hotspur in October 2022 © Reuters

The 53-year-old has posted 35 wins, 10 draws and 19 losses from his 64 games in charge of Tottenham, who suffered a 4-2 defeat against Manchester City on Thursday, despite getting to half time with a 2-0 lead.

That result leaves Tottenham in fifth place in the Premier League table, six points adrift of the top four, although Conte insisted that he wanted to help Spurs with a long-term solution to fix their problems after the game.

"It's logical if my expectations continues to be the same at Juventus and Inter [Milan], then maybe could be dangerous because my frustration could be big. I want to improve the team and the club with my vision, with my idea, with my suggestions. Then for sure we see," Conte told reporters.

"I'm totally into the new situation and know that my task is to be part of this process and try to, with a team in transition, to start to become solid and to build a solid foundation and try to build a team ready to fight to win."

Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been linked with the Tottenham job should Conte leave, but the German is supposedly waiting until the Barcelona or Real Madrid hotseats become available.

Tottenham are next in action away to London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday evening.