Tottenham: Jack Pitt-Brooke expects Antonio Conte to leave this summer

Jack Pitt-Brooke has admitted despite talks earlier this season, he believes Antonio Conte won’t be Tottenham Hotspur’s manager next season.
The Lowdown: Lack of clarity off the pitch
Reports emerged earlier in the year that Conte would not be looking to extend his stay beyond this season at Spurs, although the club do hold an option to automatically extend his deal by a further year.
However, if the Italian makes it very clear that he doesn’t wish to extend his stay in N17 then it wouldn’t make sense for Daniel Levy to tie him into another year as he would likely be unmotivated.
Conte has been absent as of late due to surgery he required back out in Italy, which has seen Christian Stellini step up and do a pretty good job at steadying the ship and has got Spurs into the top four.
The Latest: Conte set to leave in the summer
Pitt-Brooke has admitted on The Athletic’s Football podcast that he’s heard nothing to suggest Conte won’t be leaving Tottenham at the end of this season.
He said: (4:50) “In terms of his contract, well his contract expires at the end of the season, there have been talks earlier this season about a new contract. There is an option [to extend] but I think it’s unlikely the option would be [taken] and it’s unclear whose favour the option is and it’s unlikely the option would be taken up if Conte could not agree a new deal.
“Tottenham would not want to keep Conte at the club against his will, so unless there’s a big turnaround or both parties change their position somewhat, I expect Conte to not be the manager next season, I don’t expect him to sign a new deal which would keep him there for next year.”
The Verdict: A familiar face now return
Spurs have tried to explore a different avenue of manager in recent times with the tough-love and experienced coaches trying their best in the form of Conte and Jose Mourinho, however, neither have been able to bring about success.
Therefore, Spurs could well do a lot worse than going back in for fan favourite Mauricio Pochettino, who’s out of work so would be easy to land, and also got the club to a Champions League final.
Pochettino has long been tipped with a return to Tottenham, even prior to Daniel Levy hiring Conte, but if it now appears clear Conte won’t agree on a new deal with Spurs, then Levy should be firmly targeting an out of work boss he’s worked well with in the past.
