Tottenham news: Pundit suggests when Conte could quit Spurs amid behind-the-scenes shake-up
Kevin Phillips has insisted Tottenham should be “concerned” about Antonio Conte quitting amid an overhaul of the recruitment team.
The former Sunderland striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed the 52-year-old could only be around for “18 months”.
Speaking during a football.london Q&A (16 February), reliable journalist Alasdair Gold claimed Fabio Paratici’s overhaul of the scouting department at Tottenham is “nearing completion” despite the exit of technical performance director Steve Hitchen.
Hitchen’s departure was announced earlier this month (2 February).
Phillips claimed the overhaul could provide Spurs with a “different outlook” after “wasting a lot of money in the past”.
“I think it’s a good idea providing these new faces are brought in for the long-term,” he told Football Insider‘s Dylan Childs.
“If they’re being brought in just for Conte then that come back to bite Tottenham. He might only be there for 18 months.
“It’s all well and good bringing in a whole new team and analysts and that sort of thing, but if you have to start again after 18 months it would be a big inconvenience.
“It makes sense, they’ve wasted a lot of money in the past and sometimes you need an overhaul, and the exit of someone like Hitchen, to give you a different outlook.
“But only if they’re there for a good while. And that’s down to the manager – because at the end of the day, the instruction comes from him and they’ve got to work together under him.
“That would be my only concern, to be honest.”
Football Insider revealed yesterday (18 February) that Paris Saint-Germain are actively monitoring Conte’s future as they line up a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino.
The Italian’s contract runs until 2023 after taking over in November 2021.
In other news, Conte slammed by pundit after Tottenham update “no one will want to hear”.