Simon Jordan can understand why Everton and Arsenal would be interested in Antonio Conte but, speaking to talkSPORT (27 May, 10.50am) he sees no reason why the departing Inter Milan boss would want to take over at Goodison Park or the Emirates.
With one of the most successful managers of the modern era suddenly on the market, the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Mikel Arteta may be shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
Everton and Arsenal have both performed well below expectations this season.
The Toffees were second on New Year’s Day but ended up clinging on to a top-half spot, while Arteta’s sluggish and predictable Arsenal side missed out on European football for the first time since the turn of the century.
You could understand, then, why Conte’s new-found availability would lead to some serious questions on the blue half of Merseyside or red half of north London, especially after the Italian added another league title to his CV before walking away from cash-strapped Inter Milan.
Conte a ‘proven winner’
Jordan, however, feels the prospect of Conte taking over at Everton or Arsenal is nothing more than a pipe dream.
“You can’t make a case for the manager to want to go to those clubs, with all the will in the world,” says the former Crystal Palace owner.
“You can make a case for those clubs saying: ‘Hang on, I’ll have a proven winner in Antonio Conte.’ But you can’t really make a case, with the greatest respect to Everton, for Conte to want to go to Everton.
“Carlo Ancelotti is in there and it’s a work in progress, they will give him time. I still think that’s a project that’s not going to get where they want it to go – but we’ll see.
“The Arsenal project? I just don’t get. I got it from the outset because I was buying into the idea there was something more behind Mikel Arteta than a very good manner and some good credentials having worked with Pep Guardiola. But I’m starting to doubt that.
Everton will ‘double down’ with Ancelotti
“I just don’t see Arsenal being in the market now to change, for whatever reason, while Everton I think are doubling down on Carlo Ancelotti.”
There are no suggestions Ancelotti is under any real pressure at Everton but can the same be said about Arteta? Claims from Italy suggest former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca has been sounded out as a replacement at Arsenal.
Conte, meanwhile, may be tasked with replicating his silver-coated success with Chelsea a few miles down the road at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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