Daniel Levy is ‘comfortable’ with Tottenham Hotspur failing to agree a new contract with Antonio Conte. Spurs had hoped to get him to renew before the Premier League resumed.
That is according to the Daily Mail, which reports the Spurs chairman is happy to let Conte bide his time. The Italian is out of contract at the end of the 2022/23 season. But Conte is currently in no rush to extend his contract at the north London club with improved terms.
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Tottenham have offered Conte a pay rise of £1m-a-year (£19k-a/w) to try to convince him to renew. Yet the 53-year-old made it clear to decision-makers at the club that he will wait for the right moment. Spurs spoke with the Italian to discuss his future during the World Cup.
Tottenham to maintain contract talks with Conte but Levy is comfortable
Levy is ‘comfortable’ with the situation Tottenham face having failed to get Conte to sign a new contract so far. Talks over potential new terms for the Italian will also continue after the Premier League has resumed. But the tactician will apply pressure on the Spurs chief.
Conte will continue to stress that Levy must match his ambitions to keep Spurs at the top end of the table. He will also urge that the north Londoners are in a position to challenge for the top trophies. Although his positions are customary for any club that he has worked at.
So far Tottenham have delivered for Conte in the transfer market with £50m, rising up to £60m, spent on Richarlison in July. Spurs also bought Cristian Romero for £42.5m after his loan spell from Atalanta. While Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur joined in January.
Their transfers helped Conte get Tottenham into fourth place at the World Cup break with 29 points in 15 games. Only leaders Arsenal (12) and defending Premier League champions Manchester City (10) have also won more top-flight fixtures so far this term than Spurs (9).
Levy may have to dig a lot deeper to convince the Italian to stay in the hot seat
While Levy is ‘comfortable’ with Tottenham failing to get Conte to agree a new contract before the Premier League resumes, he may have to dig a lot deeper to convince him to stay in the hot seat. The £1m-a-year pay rise Spurs have offered may be far, far too little.
That is because RMC Sport claimed amid interest in the tactician from Paris Saint-Germain in April that Conte wants to earn around €30m-a-year (£505k-a/w). The French publication puts his current wage at €17m-a/y (£286k-a/w). So, another £19k-a/w may not be enough.
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