Conte to lose ‘£15m payday’ as part of Tottenham ‘clause’; ex-Barcelona boss is ‘one to watch’

Football365

·23 March 2023

Conte to lose ‘£15m payday’ as part of Tottenham ‘clause’; ex-Barcelona boss is ‘one to watch’

Antonio Conte could reportedly ‘miss out on the prospect of a £15million payday’ by exiting Tottenham Hotspur before the end of this season.

It is expected that Conte will leave Tottenham in the coming days. This comes after the head coach hit out at his players following the 3-3 draw against Southampton last weekend.

OneFootball Videos

Conte has regularly butted heads with the club’s hierarchy in recent months and he is now back in Italy ahead of his inevitable departure from Tottenham

The ex-Chelsea boss is due to be out of contract in the summer. The Telegraph are reporting that ‘Conte would be due almost £4m if Tottenham sack him during the international break’.

But his contract is said to ‘include a clause that would allow him to choose to stay on for an extra 12 months should the club finish the season in the Premier League’s top four, which would be worth a further £15m’. The report adds.

‘While the 12-month extension option is currently in Tottenham’s favour, it is believed that would move to Conte’s favour in the event of a top-four finish with him still at the helm. However hypothetical and unlikely the scenario currently seems, Tottenham are likely to want to be sure that they could not leave themselves liable for any claim against the 12-month option as a result of Conte’s early departure. ‘Spurs could sack Conte and agree to pay the remainder of his initial contract in one lump sum, which is just under £4m, place him on gardening leave and pay his normal salary until the end of the season or find a mutual settlement for less than the value of his deal. ‘Sources do not believe Tottenham currently have a strong case for trying to sack Conte for any alleged breach of contract with no compensation, despite his criticism of the squad.’

A separate report from Ben Jacobs has revealed that ex-Barcelona and Spain boss Luis Enrique is “one to watch” as Tottenham look for a new manager.

“Mauricio Pochettino is liked, and would be popular with the fan base. But from a pure football perspective, recruitment perspective and dynamics perspective, is he the right man to coexist alongside Paratici?” Jacobs told TEAMtalk.

“And that will be a discussion for the senior leadership team at Spurs. But Levy’s perspective is that he very much likes Pochettino as both a coach and a personality.

“But then Luis Enrique is one to watch who’s keen to get back into football and would also, I think, be extremely popular with the Tottenham fan base. A world-class coach.

“And that’s the name that Paratici perhaps thinks is the strongest fit. So whereas levy likes Pochettiono, personally and professionally, Paratici likes and Enrique personally and professionally. And these type of managers do not tend to love to come in mid-season. So that’s why Tottenham might have to be patient.”