‘Things could get ugly’ at Tottenham amid Antonio Conte latest – pundit
Things “could get ugly” at Tottenham if Antonio Conte leaves the club at the end of the season.
That’s according to former Hibernian striker Tam McManus, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Italian’s future.
On 20 December, The Athletic reported sources close to key figures in the negotiations of Conte’s new contract sound less optimistic than they did earlier in the season about a deal being reached.
Sources told this site in October that Tottenham are offering Conte a jaw-dropping new deal worth more than £20million-a-year.
However, McManus claims Conte needs to know he will be backed before signing a new deal.
“He could just leave,” McManus told Football Insider‘s Ben Wild.
“Tottenham are not going to activate that one-year extension unless Conte tells them to. He would just refuse to work or he would be so unhappy they would have to let him go.
“I don’t think that’s an option. There doesn’t seem to be much progress in the talks over this new deal. I think if it gets signed then it’s huge for Tottenham and the Premier League.
“I think if he walks away then things could get ugly. Fans will turn on the owners very quickly if they let a manager like Conte walk away
“It’s not about offering him the money. He’s a winner and he has this knack for winning trophies.
“But he has to know he is going to be backed.
“January will tell us a lot about where the club stands, in my opinion.”
In other news, pundit claims January signing could spell the end for £25m Tottenham star – “there’s a lot of talk”.