Tottenham have been urged to take a leaf out of Arsenal's book amid their search for a next head coach, with Antonio Conte facing an increasingly uncertain future. Following Spurs' early exit from the Champions League to AC Milan, it has looked increasingly likely that the Italian will leave once his contract expires in the summer.
Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi are among several names expected to be on Tottenham's managerial shortlist if Conte departs. However, Daniel Levy has been encouraged to think outside the box when looking for the 53-year-old's eventual successor.
And, in doing so, Spurs have been ushered down a similar path to that of their north London rivals, who are sitting top of the Premier League and reaping the rewards of their risks. In a column for The Times, Tony Cascarino has suggested that Tottenham replace Conte with Vincent Kompany.
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The former Manchester City captain has impressed with Burnley in the Championship this season and the Clarets look destined for promotion back into the top flight. Cascarino wrote: "I think it’s time they [Tottenham] were much bolder and more original in their thinking — they need to think like Arsenal.
"When they appointed Mikel Arteta in December 2019, Arsenal made a bold decision but it was bold because Arteta was young and lacked experience. It wasn’t bold in terms of talent — he was a highly regarded young coach and tipped by many to succeed Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
"Well now there’s another young, inexperienced manager who is being tipped to be a future City manager - Vincent Kompany. Guardiola himself said in the past week that he believes Kompany could be a future City manager so why don’t Tottenham, a club in need of enthusiasm and fresh impetus and ideas appoint the next bright young manager around instead of going for the usual names?"
football.london understands that it's difficult to see a future in which Conte is the head coach of Tottenham next season. With the current mood around the club, it's just as unlikely that any relationship between the Italian and the board will last beyond the end of the current campaign.
After the defeat to Milan, Conte admitted on Italian TV that he could be sacked. He said: "My contract expires in June. We will see - they might sack me even before the end of the season, who knows, maybe they are disappointed."
But, when quizzed on this in his post-match press conference, Conte, was more coy. He said: "This is not right day to speak about future but my future. I have a contract with Tottenham and then Tottenham know very well which is my thoughts and at the end of season we will meet and then we'll make a decision."
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