Antonio Conte’s ‘most exciting choice’ this summer could be Roma as he plans for his next step post Tottenham.
That’s according to Vivo Perlei on Calciomercato, who cover the Italian’s future and a likely return to Italy post Tottenham.
He departed Tottenham at the end of March after a turbulent 16 months in charge at the club which culminated in a furious outburst following a collapse at Southampton before the international break.
Conte suggested throughout that post-match outburst that there was something wrong with the club and the players there, stating that there was a losing mentality amid various other criticisms.
That seemed to create an irreconcilable break between the pair that led to him and the club mutually agreeing to go their separate ways.
Vivo Perlei now say that a ‘hot spring and summer lies ahead’ for Conte as he is definitely ‘looking for a new challenge’ after his time in London.
Inter Milan appear to be in the front row for him if they break up with Simone Inzaghi, Conte ‘would seem’ ready to return but there are two big obstacles on that front.
The first of those is the ‘economic difficulties’ currently facing the Nerazzurri, who could hardly afford his ‘enormous’ €12m salary. The second is the lack of funds available to give him the reinforcements he would want, particularly as they need big sales to balance the books.
Conte would find a worse situation at the club than the one he left, both economically and in terms of the squad, and that would ‘risk ruining’ the good memories of his previous spell.
There has also been talk of a return to Juventus but that is ‘more a suggestion than a real option’ and there is a low chance of that actually happening, particularly as they also have financial issues.
The ‘most exciting’ option for Conte then is Roma, who could be on the hunt for a new manager as Jose Mourinho is being tempted by Paris Saint Germain. At the moment he hasn’t been pulled away and is focused on winning the Europa League but could depart at the end the season.
That would leave the space for Conte to move in and it’s felt he would be ‘enticed’ by the chance of getting Roma back to the summit, as he did with Inter and Juventus in the past.
Furthermore he would have ‘carte blanche’ from those in charge and work the transfer market on his own, something he seems keen to do.
Thus they appear to be the ‘best available’ option to him, with a return to his homeland the most likely option after his departure from Tottenham last month.
