Fabrizio Romano has insisted that the expectation around Antonio Conte's future is that he will leave Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the season.
The Lowdown: Spurs in a mess on and off the pitch
Tottenham have now gone three games without scoring a goal and have been dumped out of two cup competitions in the space of a week, ensuring they will go yet another campaign without lifting any silverware.
The Spurs fanbase was likely rocked last night, not only due to the manner of their Champions League exit, but because Richarlison came out with a scathing attack on his manager before Conte spoke about how the club may want to sack him.
Spurs are also said to be of interest to potential parties looking at a Premier League takeover, which only serves to increase the amount of noise behind the scenes at Tottenham.
The Latest: Conte leaving in the summer
While parts of the media have called for Conte to be gone after last night's showing, Romano has insisted on his YouTube channel that meetings are scheduled for the end of the season, with the expectation now growing that Conte will be leaving once the season ends, no matter where they finish.
He said: "The situation around Conte is very clear. At the moment, the idea from what we understand for Antonio Conte is still something not decided, but what we can mention, he said we will discuss at the end of the season with Tottenham - with the board, of course, with Fabio Paratici, with Daniel Levy. And so they will have a meeting at the end of the season.
"But the feeling around Tottenham and the feeling around people close to Antonio Conte is that there is a serious chance for the Italian coach to leave Tottenham at the end of the season."
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The Verdict: Parting ways is best for everyone
As pointed out by Danny Mills on Sky Sports, Conte simply doesn't look like the same manager that many people have become accustomed to seeing on the touchline over the last few years, so he may well have lost that spark.
If that's the case, it would perhaps be best not to wait until the end of the season and just make a clean break between Conte's camp and Spurs as soon as possible. Otherwise, Tottenham could risk losing out on the top four.
Spurs will know they are going to end the season trophyless, but they can ill afford to let the top four slip away from them as it will only hinder the club in their managerial search and transfer plans come the summer.