Rumours out of Italy have Inter Milan’s Antonio Conte pegged as a possibility to be named as Tottenham’s next manager.
Let the rumour sink in for a while. You’ll find it becomes more feasible with time. Or maybe it doesn’t. Yes, there are a lot of reasons this rumour will probably fizzle out in a week or so, but there is also merit in the speculation.
Here are three reasons Conte would want to take on the Tottenham project.
Inter Milan’s financial woes
Gazetta.It is reporting that Inter probably won’t be able to offer Conte the same salary he’s currently on when the club offers him a contract extension. Conte would be hesitant to extend his contract with Inter if they request he takes any sort of a pay cut.
Inter is expected to receive a loan worth hundreds of million of euros to help the club return to a semblance of financial stability. Their current financial situation, exacerbated by the seemingly unending pandemic, is even more severe than most big clubs in Europe.
While also hit hard by the pandemic, Tottenham have more financial prowess than Inter and would be able to offer Conte a decisively more lucrative contract. Even if he fails in his quest to win a trophy at Spurs, his severance pay alone would be alluring enough to take the incumbent risks of signing with the north London club.
Tottenham’s rebuild an appealingly intriguing project
Conte loves challenging himself. He’s always looking for the next massive test in his esteemed managerial career. He came to England with Chelsea and conquered the Premier League in his first season in charge. He followed that fairytale run by winning the FA Cup in his second season. He was then let go by Chelsea’s unforgiving ownership group.
Tottenham represents the type of challenge Conte would love to sink his teeth into. While classified as a rebuild, Tottenham could still start next season with the potent attacking force of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Gareth Bale and Dele Alli.
So really Conte’s project would emphasize the need to rebuild a defence that is currently in tatters. Which is one of Conte’s specialities. He’d likely acquire the personnel needed to execute proficiently his preferred 3-5-2 system.
As a polar opposite to Jose Mourinho, Conte’s philosophy is compatible with Tottenham’s desire to play an expansive, high-octane brand of football predicated on a relentlessly intense collective press. Again, that would represent a seismic shift away from Mourinho’s sullen, dogged style at Spurs, precisely what the club currently demands.
Winning a trophy at Spurs would be one of Conte’s greatest achievements
The first manager to eviscerate the ongoing 13-year trophy-less patch will be etched forever in Tottenham folklore, going down as a demigod among men. The idea of achieving what no other manager in the last 14 years has been able to, including his arch nemesis Jose Mourinho, could be too enticing to ignore.
Conte thoroughly enjoys the intensity and physicality of the Premier League. He knows how to win in England and would have a real chance of becoming the first Tottenham manager to crack the code and bring a trophy back to north London. That would put him in rare company, and it would make him forever loved, venerated and adored by Tottenham faithful.
While still unlikely, there are a few compelling reasons for Conte to at least consider taking on what has turned into the thankless task of managing Tottenham Hotspur.