Tottenham unlikely to confirm Conte until next week as managerial talks continue

Look around social media or the usual news sources and you’re going to find conflicting information regarding the imminent appointment of Antonio Conte as Tottenham Hotspur’s next manager. Depending on what source you read, either everything’s copacetic, or negotiations are continuing on things like salary and transfer assurances, or things are on the verge of falling apart because Conte’s having second thoughts about whether he can win immediately with Tottenham’s current team.

So let’s turn to a trusted source — the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, who writes that talks are ongoing and the deal will likely not be confirmed until next week. Kilpatrick writes that the continuing talks are not about compensation, but about the process — the amount of funds available for transfers, the number of staff members Conte could bring along as his assistants. The other big item looming over everything is the future of Harry Kane, and whether Conte could get assurances that either he stays at Spurs for another year despite Kane’s desire to leave, or can use the funds from his sale to finance more players to fit his system.

Conte is apparently taking the weekend to consider his options. That sounds super scary, and yeah, there’s absolutely the chance that Conte could pull the plug if he’s not happy with what he sees. But these developments are well within the error bars of a typical managerial appointment process, and so there doesn’t seem to be that much reason to panic.

Kilpatrick also writes that Spurs have made an offer to Fabio Paratici, someone Conte worked with at Juventus, as Director of Football. Paratici was cagy about the position when asked about it, according to Fabrizio Romano.