Antonio Conte thought the current Tottenham Hotspur squad was lacking technically in comparison to other top Premier League sides, according to The Times.
Tottenham had made Conte their top managerial target over the last week and were hopeful of striking a deal.
Unfortunately for Tottenham, talks broke down on Friday and Daniel Levy is now back to the drawing board. It’s now approaching two months since Levy sacked Jose Mourinho, and still no replacement has been found.
So why did the Conte talks falter?
This report suggests that Conte had reservations about Tottenham’s vision and rebuilding strategy, with a lack of funds available.
It’s added that Conte feels Tottenham’s players – who were allegedly excited about him potentially coming in – are ‘inferior’ in terms of their technical ability when compared to the rest of their competitors.
Spurs don’t have Champions League or even Europa League money to help a manager rebuild. Add in that Harry Kane allegedly wants to leave, and Conte was worried about the task facing him.
Conte was prepared to think about it over the weekend, but Spurs pulled the plug due to concerns over his demands. He wants a big backroom staff, a large transfer budget and showed no indication that he would use young players.
That alleged verdict on the Tottenham squad is cutting; Conte may have only watched Spurs from afar, but feels they just can’t compete with the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
You could argue that Kane and Son Heung-min are the only Tottenham players who could get into those teams, and that’s why Conte seemingly had fears.
With limited immediate quality and no budget to improve the squad to the levels needed, Conte was unconvinced. Levy must now find somebody who fits Tottenham better, with his managerial search becoming a farce.
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