Antonio Conte has major doubts about becoming Tottenham’s next head coach and is inclined to turn them down, according to Sky Italy.
Spurs have been in talks with the former Chelsea boss, who left Inter Milan after winning Serie A last month.
But after considering the role for several days, Conte remains unconvinced Spurs are a team ready to win trophies immediately.
The Italian has won five league titles in the last decade and is looking for another ‘winning project’.
He is trying to understand if it is possible to bridge the gap with the top four or five Premier League teams in a short period of time – with Spurs having finished 24 points behind champions Manchester City.
It is understood Spurs would not pressure him to win trophies.
If the parties fail to strike a deal, Conte could also decide to take a year out of management.
A potential appointment would mark a return to England for the 51-year-old three years after he left Chelsea, where he won the Premier League and FA Cup during two seasons in charge.
Conte joined Chelsea after Euro 2016 having previously coached Italy for two years.
Spurs have been searching for a new permanent manager since sacking Jose Mourinho in April – Ryan Mason took temporary charge for the remainder of the season as the club finished seventh in the Premier League.
Last week it emerged Mauricio Pochettino was in talks with Spurs over a sensational return to the club after less than six months in charge of Paris Saint-Germain.
Gareth Bale is coming back to Real Madrid and can enjoy a great next season there if he is “motivated”, says club’s new head coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Bale spent the 2020/21 campaign on-loan at Tottenham where he struggled for match fitness and first-team minutes under former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, but the Wales international finished the season in good form, scoring a hat-trick against Sheffield United and two goals against Leicester City.
The 31-year-old, who is set to enter the final 12 months of his contract at the Bernabeu, has said he will reveal what his future plans are following Wales’ involvement in the European Championships. In March, he dismissed any talk of retiring after the tournament.
Ancelotti and Bale won the Champions League and Copa del Rey together in 2014 and the Welshman scored in the finals of both competitions. The Italian insists he remains a huge admirer of Bale and thinks he can still have an impact for Real, despite being frozen out by Ancelotti’s predecessor Zinedine Zidane.
