When Antonio Conte postpones talks about renewing his contract, he usually does so because he has decided to leave. It happened at Juventus, it happened at Inter Milan and now it is happening at Tottenham Hotspur.
The signs of separation with Spurs are all there and Conte has plenty of recent history of exiting his club early.
Just a few days after insisting his contract is ‘not a priority issue’, Tottenham suffered a poor defeat which disappointed the fans, a 2-0 loss against Manchester United on Wednesday.
When Antonio Conte postpones contract talks, it usually means he wants to leave the club
Conte’s Tottenham side suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss against Man United on Wednesday
When journalists ask him about his contract, the Italian coach usually raises his voice and answers with emotion because he doesn’t like questions to which he cannot give immediate answers.
He only thinks about on-pitch matters, training and results and doesn’t want to hear about anything else.
Conte is a professional and will give blood, sweat and tears to Tottenham, the club and the fans, even if he does decide to leave at the end of the season. Make no mistake, he will give 100 per cent of his energy to helping his current side.
Unfortunately, however, his contract at White Hart Lane runs out next summer and it is an opportune time to move elsewhere.
Conte feels he needs to be at a top club and if he can’t get it in London, he would prefer to go home to his family in Italy.
Conte’s contract at White Hart Lane expires next year, which will worry chairman Daniel Levy
OVERCOMING MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI
Tottenham’s limp loss against United will certainly anger Conte and his staff, who are still processing the untimely death of fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone at the age of 61.
Losing against Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag bothered him a lot because both are considered coaches of great charisma.
The Spurs side is very concentrated and very well prepared but is perhaps lacking the technical ability to win the Premier League. This might cause Conte to question his personal satisfaction in north London and start planning for the future elsewhere.
When he gets angry, he can become uncontrolled, even against his owners and players. On Wednesday it was midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur who felt his ire as the boss shouted ‘pass the ball, d***head!’ at him.
The Italian wants to return to Juventus and surpass the achievements of Massimiliano Allegri
Those actions might…