According to Italian publication CMW, Antonio Conte is now planning on Tottenham exit at the end of the season, and Spurs are preparing for the possibility by targeting Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone as a replacement.
The 53-year-old has been at the club for a year now, having joined last November and has since then transformed the side into a strong top 4 side. He guided them to a 4th spot finish last season beating Arsenal to it which guaranteed their qualification to this season’s Champions League.
He received significant support from the board in the summer to improve his team, though some believe it was not enough. Regardless, the Spurs have had a strong start to the season. They are third in the table, above Chelsea and Liverpool, and are only five points behind league leaders Arsenal and three points behind second-place Manchester City.
He has also guided Spurs into Champions League knockout stages after a dramatic comeback to win against Marseille on the last matchday, topping their group in doing so.
Conte’s contract, however, expires next summer and although Spurs have the option to extend his contract by a year there seems to have been no developments regarding a new deal.
Spur will be looking to tie him down on a long-term contract but according to the report Conte ‘plans to leave Spurs at the end of the current season’.
According to the report, Diego Simeone is being considered as a replacement by the London club.
Simeone has been at Atletico Madrid for nearly a decade and has twice won La Liga. If he does leave the Spanish club, he will have no shortage of suitors, as a slew of clubs will be eager to hire him.
Spurs have also been linked with Brentford manager Thomas Frank with the report suggesting that if Levy appoints the Dane, it will be with the intention of starting a new project from scratch.