Tottenham Hotspur target Antonio Conte may be forced to leave Inter Milan as the Serie A champions embark on an era of massive cost-cutting, as reported by FC Inter News.
Well, it was fun while it lasted.
The Nerazzurri lifted their first top-flight title in 11 years little more than a week ago but it hasn’t taken long for a cash crisis to take the shine off their success.
It’s no secret Inter are lodged in a dire cashflow situation with the Financial Times recently reporting the club’s Chinese owners are desperately trying to raise £140 million to offset losses exacerbated by the pandemic.
FCInter1908, meanwhile, claims the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez and Achraf Hakimi are willing to forego bonuses they would have earned following the club’s first Scudetto triumph since Jose Mourinho’s heyday.
With the situation looking more worrying by the day, it already appears unlikely Inter will embark on a period of domestic dominance akin to that enjoyed by Juventus during the past decade.
The kingdom may be crumbling already.
FC Inter News claims today that chairman Steven Zhang is presiding over major cuts that will affect the playing squad and coaching staff.
£75 million talisman Lukaku could be sold amid interest from Manchester City and Chelsea, a new contract for Alessandro Bastoni has been placed on the back burner and, perhaps most terrifying of all, Conte may be forced to leave a club he has dragged kicking and screaming back to the summit of Italian football.
Conte is understood to earn about £10 million a year – a wage that makes him the best-paid coach in Serie A history.
And Inter’s loss could be Tottenham’s gain.
Last week, Corriere dello Sport reported Spurs held a meeting with Conte and even discussed transfer plans with the former Chelsea and Italy boss.
At the time, it was tempting to laugh off claims Conte could leave the newly crowned Serie A champions. Now things don’t seem so funny.
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