With the growing likelihood that Antonio Conte will leave Tottenham at the end of the season, the higher powers at the north London outfit are weighing up their next step. However, they have already been hit with a hat-trick of rebuffs before a vacancy has even emerged.
Spurs were knocked out of the Champions League earlier this week by AC Milan in appalling fashion, with Conte’s side looking short of ideas and repetitively failing to create openings. Tottenham are in desperate need of a shake-up, with the logical step being to bring a fresh face into the dugout.
Conte is out of contract at the end of the season and it has been reported that Spurs are unlikely to activate the clause in the deal to extend his stay by a further year. Instead, it is being speculated that the former Chelsea boss could even depart before the campaign concludes.
Spurs are looking at potential successors for Conte, with several names surfacing as admired targets – though three of their candidates have already batted away speculation linking them with the imminent vacancy.
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is the latest to distance himself from the links following his impressive start to the season. The Italian has transformed the Seagulls into a goal-scoring machine, catching the eye of Europe’s top clubs, though he has pointed to the length of his contract as a way of indicating that he is content on the south coast.
Asked whether he is flattered by Tottenham’s admiration, he replied: “We have a clear focus, we have a clear target and for the players and me, it is the same. I have a long contract with Brighton, I am happy to work here, I am enjoying working with these players and I’m delighted with their performances. I can’t ask for more, for me, it’s a good moment in my life.”
Brentford’s Thomas Frank has also been speculated to be a target of his side’s London rivals, with the 49-year-old orchestrating significant victories with his effective, counter-attacking style. And Frank has confirmed that he is overjoyed to be Brentford’s boss, responding to a question about Spurs by saying: “First, they have a manager which is a manager I have studied for years and I admire massively. I think he has achieved some fantastic results so I hope he will do well and I hope Spurs do well. Secondly, I am very, very happy here at Brentford.”
Steve Cooper also has a growing list of admirers following his solid start to the season with Nottingham Forest, with clubs impressed by how he has orchestrated results with a largely fresh crop of players in a relegation battle. But the former Swansea manager is reluctant to even give a thought to moving on, wanting to help develop his squad at the City Ground instead.
He firmly responded to speculation linking him with a departure by saying: “The only thing that it (rumours) is, is irrelevant. The most important thing for me is the game, the guys I am working with every single day and I am trying to be at my best and do a good day’s work and try and get them to do the same.
“I am loving this journey with the players. It is a challenging one but one I am enjoying. But anything outside that bubble is irrelevant.”
It remains to be seen how Tottenham respond to the trio of statements and whether they still attempt to prise them away from their respective clubs with lucrative contracts and promises of spending power.
Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is also firmly in the picture to succeed Conte, and he could be easy to attain given that the Argentine feels he has unfinished business at the club and is a free agent.
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