22 January 2023 , 16:06
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Tottenham are braced for the departure of Antonio Conte at the end of the season, with the Italian considering his future while stalling on signing a new contract.
Conte’s current deal is set to expire on June 30 and, while the club have tried to broach the subject of an extension, the 53-year-old has refused to commit. He has insisted that the talk of his future is postponed until the end of the season, when he will consider moving back to Italy to be closer to his family.
Conte joined the club in November 2021 and enjoyed a productive first campaign, guiding Spurs to a top-four finish above Arsenal. However, this season has seen problems emerge behind the scenes in north London, with Conte’s regular comments about the lack of ambition in the transfer market causing friction with chairman Daniel Levy and the hierarchy.
Mirror Football understands that Conte is disillusioned by the situation at the club and, as things stand, is likely to leave when his contract expires in the summer.
That stance presents Levy with a difficult choice to make. While Conte has not yet asked to leave and remains committed to the cause, the uncertainty over his future is an ongoing issue which needs to be addressed.
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Conte has won 35 of his 64 games in charge of Spurs altogether. The club are fifth in the Premier League table, six points adrift of the top four, and have won just one of their five league games since the World Cup. They are next in action against in-form Fulham on Monday night.
Antonio Conte is considering a move back to Italy in the summer (OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images) HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Antonio Conte leave Tottenham at the end of the season? Comment below.
Tottenham were busy in the summer transfer window, signing Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence, Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster, Clement Lenglet and Destiny Udogie. But that outlay has not satisfied Conte’s appetite for additions, as his frequent sniping in press conferences shows.
While much of Conte’s dissatisfaction stems from a perceived lack of ambition in the transfer market, some of it is personal. The Italian has seen three of his friends pass away in recent months and that has affected him deeply.
Gian Piero Ventrone, the club's fitness coach, died in October before Conte's friend and former Lazio defender Sinisa Mihajlovic passed away in December. Conte's former Juventus and Italy team-mate Gianluca Vialli then passed away earlier this month.
"For sure, this season is a difficult season from a personal aspect,” he told reporters before the 4-2 defeat by Manchester City on Thursday. "Because to lose in such a short time three people that I knew very well - before Gian Piero Ventrone, then Sinisa and now Gianluca. It was not simple.
"For sure, when this situation happens, it brings you to have important reflections. Because many times we think and we give a lot of importance to our work and we forget the family, we forget that we need to have more time for us.
"This season is a difficult season for me as a personal aspect. For sure, this season is making me have an important reflection on my future."