Antonio Conte warned Daniel Levy not to appoint him unless he was 100% convinced he was the right man for Tottenham Hotspur, the Athletic say, while promising to improve their defence.
Conte and Levy sat down to discuss the vacant role at Tottenham, and initially talks seemed to be progressing well.
However, at the last minute, the potential deal to bring the Italian to Spurs fell through.
It now transpires that may have owed partly to Conte’s own words in discussions.
The 51-year-old apparently told Levy that if he had any doubts over his arrival then he should not green-light his appointment.
Defensive promise
Aside from that, Conte was said to have been highly impressive in the talks with Tottenham – where he outlined how he would improve Spurs’ players fitness and defensive awareness.
Conte reportedly promised Levy that he would make Tottenham far more organised at the back, after a campaign where they leaked far too many goals.
Those comments may well have appealed to Tottenham’s fan-base.
Spurs’ record in the latter stages of matches was poor this season, which led to some accusations that the squad wasn’t fit enough.
There was also clear issues with Tottenham defensively, with huge doubts over the quality of their backline forming.
Conte has a track record of making his sides very resolute though, and he seemingly believe he could turn Tottenham’s fortunes around.
Since the breakdown in talks with Conte, it is no longer clear who Spurs are targeting to be their next manager.
Tottenham have been linked with a whole host of names, but nothing appears to be advanced at this stage.
That is alarming given it has now taken 49 days for Spurs to find a new manager since Jose Mourinho’s departure, and it doesn’t seem like that wait will be coming to an end any time soon.
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