Antonio Conte has praised Giorgio Chiellini but was coy on whether he has ever wanted to bring him to Tottenham Hotspur.
Conte has been linked with signing some of his former players ever since taking the Tottenham job in November of last year.
Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan de Vrij, Marcelo Brozovic and Nicolo Barella have all been mentioned at times since Conte’s arrival.
Only one of Conte’s former players has joined Tottenham with Ivan Perisic arriving on a free transfer from Inter Milan.
Antonio Conte has praised Giorgio Chiellini
Perisic of course wasn’t the only free agent on the market last summer and another with ties to Conte become available.
Defender Giorgio Chiellini saw his long association with Juventus come to an end and he was on the hunt for a new club.
The 38-year-old was backed as a Tottenham target by former boss Harry Redknapp, who urged Conte to make a move for the veteran centre back.
Chiellini worked under Conte at Juventus and in the Italian national team setup, but a reunion always seemed like a long shot.
Adding a player approaching 40 into the Tottenham back line just didn’t seem like something Conte and Fabio Paratici would chase.
Chiellini ended up heading to the United States by joining Los Angeles FC and now features alongside Tottenham hero Gareth Bale.
Chiellini’s playing days are likely to end soon given his age and a career in coaching may well follow.
Conte has now been asked whether he thought of taking Chiellini with him to Tottenham, as quoted by Tuttomercatoweb.
Conte refused to confirm or deny whether he chased a Tottenham reunion but did back Chiellini to become a good manager.
Conte believes an important role awaits Chiellini somewhere and thinks the way he can relate to players may see him become a quality coach in the future.
“He can do everything, especially as a manager,” said Conte. “I see him very well. He knows how to relate to his teammates, he has the qualities of a leader. Now he can have this experience in America and re-enter the football that belongs to him with an important role,” he added.
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