Antonio Conte has admitted that he was left unconvinced by Tottenham Hotspur when asked by Gazzetta dello Sport to explain why his prospective return to the Premier League hit the buffers.
If we had told you this time last week that Daniel Levy would hire a former Serie A boss as Spurs’ new manager, you would have been forgiven for assuming we meant Antonio Conte.
Seven days ago, publications in both England and Italy were queuing up to proclaim the former Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus coach as the inevitable replacement for Jose Mourinho in North London.
But when white smoke billows out of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it will be Fonseca, rather than Conte, who will be unveiled to an expectant crowd of Spurs supporters.
According to Sky, the 49-year-old Iberian is the number one choice of new sporting director Fabio Paratici.
Talks are at an advanced stage too, with Fonseca set to take Mourinho’s old job and vice versa.
Why did Antonio Conte turn down Tottenham?
But why did Conte, arguably the greatest ‘league manager’ in world football, slip through Levy’s fingers.
Some have suggested that the reigning Scudetto winner got cold feet after learning that Tottenham would not be able to meet his demands in the transfer market.
Conte, however, suggests that a lack of funds was not the only factor…
“Generally, I like the challenges and I’ve accepted many of them during my career,” said a man who has won the league title in five of his seven seasons as a domestic manager.
“Even the top clubs I coached were never the favourites when I arrived. However, if there’s something that doesn’t convince me I prefer not to accept regardless of the money.”
Fonseca, like Conte and Mourinho, will arrive with an impressive CV, even if his two-year stay at Roma ended with a disappointing seventh-place finish.
Fonseca tasted cup success in charge of Porto and Braga before guiding Shakhtar Donetsk to a remarkable seven trophies in the space of just three seasons.
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