What’s next for Antonio Conte? Italian leaves Tottenham Hotspur by ‘mutual consent’

Antonio Conte has been sacked as the manager of Tottenham Hostpur, the club announced in a statement on Sunday. The Italian’s assistant Cristian Stellini will take charge at the North London club with Ryan Mason as his assistant, the statement said. 

Spurs are currently fourth in the Premier League table. However, their meek exit from the FA Cup losing to Sheffield United, followed by a loss to AC Milan in the Champions League Round of 16 meant that the club will be finishing another trophyless season since winning the League Cup in 2008. 

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“We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place,” club chairman Daniel Levy was quoted saying in the statement.

“We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our club and amazing, loyal supporters,” he added. 

With the Antonio Conte era coming to an end at Spurs, it is worth noting that in spite of playing some good football towards the end of his first season, the teams form dwindled in the second, with many criticizing his counter-attacking low-block tactical style as ‘boring’. 

Given that in Premier League there is an obvious shift toward a more possession-oriented attacking style of play, spearheaded by Pep Guardiola and then the likes of Mikel Arteta, Erik Ten Hag and Graham Potter, it is unlikely that Conte will be recruited by any of the top six clubs.

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Incidentally, when Conte was appointed Spurs’ manager in November 2021, he was being linked to the Manchester United job as well, as the Red Devils were then struggling under Ole Gunner Solskaer. However, the Manchester United board decided to not get Conte, eventually appointing Raph Ragnick on an interim basis, before finally hiring Ten Hag for the job.

A return to the Serie A seems to be an obvious option for the 53-year-old as in that league teams still tend to play Conte’s style of football more often.