Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte will be a free agent in the summer and the Premier League club have not managed to sign an extension with him yet.
According to pundit Tam McManus, Antonio Conte’s uncertain feature at the club is causing problems for the players as well.
McManus feels that the players are struggling to commit themselves to the project because Conte might not be at the club next season.
“It’s not helping anyone, all of this, it’s a dark cloud hanging over the club,” Tam McManus told Football Insider.
“How are you supposed to go about your day-to-day when you don’t know if the manager is going to be there? It’s a weird situation.
“How can you ask a player to commit if you aren’t going to commit yourself? There is a lot of uncertainty. I think players are looking at leaving.
“Not in terms of a transfer request but in terms of speaking to their agents and seeing if there is interest, just in case.
“So if Conte goes in the summer or before the end of the season there is almost a plan in place to get to a new club.
“With all of these things going on, how is anyone supposed to focus on Tottenham and getting into the top four?
“I don’t know if everyone is pulling in the same direction and that’s not a good thing.”
The Italian has been linked with a return to Serie A and it will be interesting to see if Tottenham can convince him to sign an extension with them.
The club hierarchy have been hugely supportive of Conte since his arrival and they have backed him in the transfer market with substantial funds. However, Tottenham are still not at the level required to challenge for major trophies and it will be interesting to see if Conte decides to pursue another adventure at the end of the season.
The Italian is an ambitious manager who wants to win trophies every season and Tottenham will need heavy investment in order to match up to his ambitions.
The Londoners are currently struggling to secure a top-four finish and it will be interesting to see if they can finish the season strongly and secure Champions League qualification. Missing out on the premier European competition could be a devastating blow for Tottenham in terms of finances as well as their ability to hold on to key players.
Players like Harry Kane have been linked with a move away from the club as well and the England international might decide to join another team if Tottenham misses out on Champions League qualification.
Meanwhile, McManus believes that a number of players could be asking their agents to explore potential moves away from Tottenham because of the uncertainty at the club and it remains to be seen how the situation evolves.
