Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Tottenham cannot shake Conte fear as boss becomes favourite to return to former club

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte

Antonio Conte could become the next manager of Juventus if he is willing to end his Tottenham Hotspur spell abruptly, it has been claimed.

Conte was initially reluctant to take the Tottenham Hotspur managerial role when offered it in the summer. Instead, he waited after his departure from Inter Milan, forcing the north London outfit to revert their attention to Nuno Espirito Santo.

But Nuno struggled in the job, which he lost after a matter of months. In response, Tottenham Hotspur tried their luck with Conte again – and this time got their man.

It hasn’t been plain sailing under the demanding Italian coach up to this point. There were fears about his opinion of their January transfer activity, for example.

On the record, though, Conte has continued to pledge his allegiance to Tottenham, who have him under contract for another season after this one.

That could be promising for the club, since he has lifted them into contention for a top-four finish. With six games of their season to go, they have a three-point cushion in the final Champions League place.

If they can act appropriately in the summer transfer window, Conte could oversee an exciting second season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But behind the scenes, there have been further rumours that he could end his association with the club still. Paris Saint-Germain have been mentioned as one potential threat if they dismiss Mauricio Pochettino.

Conte to replace his own replacement?

However, Sport Mediaset have now reported that someone else who could take that potential vacancy is Massimiliano Allegri.

His return to Juventus has not gone as well as his first spell, when he succeeded Conte. What’s more, the chance that Andrea Agnelli steps down as president could deprive him of his key supporter in the club.

Hugo Lloris claims Antonio Conte will stay at Spurs

Hugo Lloris claims Antonio Conte will stay at Spurs

Hugo Lloris claims Antonio Conte will stay at Spurs, despite his links to PSG.

In that case, the chances of him leaving would increase – and Allegri could have an interest in the PSG job.

Juventus would have to weigh up carefully who Allegri’s successor should be. And Sport Mediaset have gone on to place Conte in major contention.

In fact, he could be the leading candidate to take charge, if the appropriate metaphorical dominoes fall into place.

During his previous spell in the Turin technical area, Conte led Juventus to three consecutive Serie A titles. It began a nine-year Scudetto streak, which only ended last season.

But they have fallen off the pace in the past couple of seasons and need to rebuild. Getting Conte back could, once again, be the start of that process.

For now, though, Tottenham still have him under contract and will be keen to keep it that way.

READ MOREKulusevski explains how Tottenham coaches have found his ‘perfect position’ in fast start