Antonio Conte: Spurs boss puts future on standby but the feeling is he will leave at end of season – Sky in Italy | Football News

Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte has put his future at the club on standby but there is a feeling he will leave at the end of the season, according to Sky in Italy.

The Italian’s contract expires on June 30 with Spurs having an option to extend it by another year.

Sky in Italy understands the club have already offered him a new deal, but the 53-year-old does not want to think about his future at the moment and has asked Spurs to put it on standby with no negotiations currently ongoing over a new contract.

There is a ‘feeling’, however, that Conte will ask the club to terminate his deal in the summer in order to return to Italy and stay closer to his family in the hope of new opportunities.

But, as things stand, Conte, who enjoys a good relationship with the Spurs board, has not asked to leave the club and is fully focused on the rest of the season.

Tottenham declined to comment on the story when approached by Sky Sports News.

Conte was appointed Tottenham boss in November 2021 and guided the club to a top-four finish last season ahead of Arsenal.

But Spurs have endured an underwhelming season in the league so far as they sit fifth in the table, six points off the top four.

Conte’s side have won just one of their five league games since the Premier League restarted after the World Cup break.

Spurs’ next game is at Fulham on Monday night, live on Sky Sports, as they look to avoid a third successive league defeat after losses to north London rivals Arsenal and Manchester City.

Tottenham, however, still remain in contention for a first trophy since 2008 with the club in the last 16 of the Champions League and the FA Cup fourth round.

‘Feels inevitable that Spurs and Conte will part ways’

Sky Italy reporter Gianluca Di Marzio said: “I think Conte’s time at Tottenham will come to a close at the end of the season.

“This is partly because his contract is expiring, partly because he continues to send messages out to the club, partly because the club hasn’t offered him a new deal, as they’ve understood that they aren’t made for each other. They aren’t right for each other.

“The Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, is quite a character and he certainly doesn’t love all these digs coming from Antonio.

“Antonio doesn’t want to be at a club where he can’t have success in the short term where the club wants to make money from transfers and where they sign top young players.

“But you can’t always achieve success with top youngsters, so they can’t compete at certain levels and the feeling that was there when Antonio arrived has gone, and with question marks over Fabio Paratici’s future as well.

“I feel it’s inevitable that they’re heading for a parting of ways.

“As for where he’ll go next to coach, I don’t know that just yet, but there’s a family situation to take into account as his family has stayed in Italy.

“He’s mentioned this in recent days, so maybe he’ll think long and hard about it before coaching abroad again.”

Conte questions long-term future after losing three close friends

Earlier this week, Conte said he was proud of his hard work and commitment to football management but admits losing three close friends has left him questioning his long-term future.

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.

That was then followed by the death of Conte’s former Juventus and Italy team-mate Gianluca Vialli earlier this month.

At 53, Conte is the same age as Mihajlovic was at the time of his death, while Vialli was just five years his senior.

Asked ahead of Tottenham’s 4-2 defeat at Manchester City how he was feeling after such a difficult time, the Italian replied: “For sure, this season is a difficult season from a personal aspect.

“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.”

Watch Fulham vs Tottenham live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 7pm on Monday January 23.