Speaking on The Five Insider, David Ornstein has been discussing Antonio Conte and his current contract situation.
The Italian’s contract is up at the end of the season, although Spurs do hold the option to extend it by a year, but Tottenham do want to open negotiations about a new deal.
Spurs intend to chat to Conte about a new deal during the World Cup, but according to Ornstein, those discussions aren’t likely to lead to an ultimate conclusion.
Indeed, Ornstein has heard from sources close to Conte that the Italian is in no rush to put pen to paper, stating that he’d rather leave things later in order to see how the season is going to pan out.
Conte’s delayed decision
Ornstein shared what he knows about the Spurs manager’s contract.
“Antonio Conte is out of contract in 2023, but they do have the option to extend by a year so they are pretty relaxed in that sense. You’ll have seen recent reports that they’re keen to open contract talks during the World Cup and I’m sure there’ll be conversations because that’s a chance for so many clubs and managers to talk about contracts and players too
“But I don’t know how far that will get things moving. Conte tends to wait on these things to know how a season is going to pan out and how it looks, and when you speak to people with knowledge of his career and this situation, they do suggest that he’ll leave this until much later before making a final decision, even if there are conversations soon.”
A lot to prove
Conte wants to see how Spurs’ season is going to go, and this squad does have plenty to prove.
The Italian wants to be at a club that is going to be able to compete for the top honours, but, with all due respect, this Spurs squad isn’t showing that it’s at that level just yet.
Of course, the way to change that is in the transfer market – where Conte has been heavily backed, but if he wants short-term success, he needs to see more from this Spurs team.
It sounds like Tottenham’s form in 2023 will be key to convincing Conte to stay.
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