Tottenham approached former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte about the possibility of taking over at the club prior to him taking the hot seat at Inter Milan, according to Calcio Mercato.
The Italian outlet claims that Spurs were in touch with the ex-Juventus boss earlier in the season when Mauricio Pochettino was linked with a move to Manchester United or Real Madrid.
Conte was reportedly offered a salary of around £8.8 million a year, but was wary of Spurs’ recent investment history and instead chose to pursue a deal with Inter.
OPINION
Surely this is not true. Yes, Pochettino was linked with an exit earlier this season, and so it makes sense that Daniel Levy might have had a list of candidates in mind with regards to potential replacements, but to actually go as far as making an offer to Conte seems a little farfetched. The prospect of Spurs wanting anybody other than the Argentine is ludicrous, given what he has achieved this season. It sounds as if Levy only made a move because his hand was forced, but nonetheless, this feels kind of wrong. If, in some parallel universe, Pochettino had jumped ship and Conte had taken the job, it would have been interesting to see how the Spurs fans reacted to having a manager who just a few short years ago was celebrating wild success with Chelsea. It would have been a very interesting dynamic. Let’s just be thankful it never came to pass.