Tottenham chief Levy ‘blocking’ two transfers ‘contributed to Conte’s anger’ before ‘astonishing rant’
Tottenham Hotspur chief Daniel Levy reportedly ‘contributed to Antonio Conte’s anger’ before the manager’s extraordinary rant over the weekend.
Levy and Conte have regularly butted heads since the Italian became Tottenham’s head coach during the 2021/22 campaign.
The ex-Chelsea argued that his Spurs needed an influx of better qualify players and he got his wish last term as the board sanctioned deals for Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur.
Conte did a brilliant job last season as Tottenham finished fourth in the Premier League. He has been backed again this season as the club have spent over £150m on new players.
This was done to help Spurs kick on and maintain a challenge near the top of the table. It has also been a priority that they end their trophy drought.
The 2022/23 campaign has been a disappointment for Spurs, though. They exited the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Champions League prematurely. They will also drop down to sixth if Newcastle and Liverpool make the most of their games in hand.
The pressure has been growing on Conte in recent weeks. He lost his cool over the weekend as Tottenham dropped points against Southampton.
He is now expected to leave the club before his contract expires in the summer. It is anticipated that Ryan Mason will step in on an interim basis.
Football Insider are now reporting that Conte ‘unleashed his incendiary Tottenham rant after Levy made it clear he would not be able to sign two of his top transfer targets’.
The players in question are Inter Milan duo Romelu Lukaku (30) and Stefan De Vrij (31). Conte wanted to reunite with these two stars as he viewed them as individuals capable of ‘turning Spurs into a title-challenging team’.
Levy reportedly ‘made it clear’ to Conte that he would ‘not sanction’ these deals during the summer transfer window later this year.
This ‘hugely frustrated’ Conte and ‘contributed to the anger and emotion that led to his astonishing press conference’.
The report adds: ‘Levy and the board are keen on young, hungry players with the potential to be developed on the training ground, while Conte wants proven stars with title-winning mentalities able to make an immediate impact.
‘The problem for Spurs is many of them are on huge salaries, such as Lukaku, even if their transfer values have diminished in recent times.’
Lukaku is currently on loan at Inter Milan from Chelsea, It has been reported that the Serie A giants will not look to sign him permanently this summer as his form has declined.
De Vrij meanwhile is out of contract in the summer and it looks likely that he will leave Inter Milan on a free transfer.
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