Journalist claims Daniel Levy is waiting to sack Antonio Conte face to face

By Lee Connor

Tottenham are still in a bit of a muddle at the moment as Antonio Conte faces an increasingly uncertain future.

Conte’s outburst last weekend at Southampton has left Spurs in a mess. The Italian is back in Italy and hasn’t taken training this week as yet. Further, Daniel Levy has yet to make an official call on Conte’s future either.

New managers are being considered. Thomas Tuchel was one but he’s now joining Bayern Munich. His predecessor, Julian Nagelsmann, is likely to be of interest to Tottenham.

Decision time

Levy’s decision not to act quickly on Conte has caught some off guard. Many expected the Spurs chief to simply fire Conte more or less instantly.

But writing in his latest Independent newsletter, Reading the Game, journalist Miguel Delaney has claimed that Levy is waiting to see Conte face to face, where he’ll likely give him his marching orders.

“As of Friday afternoon, there was still no movement on Antonio Conte, even though everyone around Tottenham Hotspur believes the club will sack him and the word is it is virtually confirmed. Sources put the delay down to a number of reasons,” Delaney wrote.

“The most immediate is that Daniel Levy would want to do it face to face, and Conte has been in Italy with no set return. There are also final terms to discuss as regards bonuses. The second is what next. Levy does not want to allow the season to drift, which could well happen under a caretaker like Ryan Mason, as in 2020-21. He has been considering trying to appoint a full-time manager now to salvage the season – but most of the top targets aren’t that interested in coming in March. Most that is….”

TBR’s View: Conte needs sacking by Tottenham and Levy

It’s almost like Daniel Levy is letting Antonio Conte stew on this a bit. But deep down, he surely must know that he’s got to get rid of the Italian now.

The idea he’s waiting to do it face to face has merits though. It’s one of the main facets of business to some people, in that you deal with folk in the proper manner.

Conte will know what’s coming. But Levy is definitely giving himself the upper hand here.