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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Jonathan Gorrie

Alessandro Del Piero tips Antonio Conte to stay at ‘great club’ Tottenham despite Juventus links

Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero has played down suggestions Tottenham manager Antonio Conte could return to the Turin giants.

With Massimiliano Allegri struggling to convince during his second stint in charge at the Allianz Stadium, Conte has frequently been touted as a potential replacement.

The Spurs boss is currently on a contract due to expire at the end of the season and the Italian’s long-term future has been the subject of debate ever since his appointment in north London.

It was Conte who started Juve’s dominance in 2011-12, securing their first Serie A title since the Calciopoli scandal before his departure in 2014. Allegri then continued the dynasty but left in 2019 as the club pursued a more attractive brand of football, though the experiment has not worked out.

Since that change in strategy, both Milan clubs have won League titles and Juve now sit 10 points off of leaders Napoli despite Allegri’s return.

Out of the Champions League already and destined for the Europa League, the 55-year-old has come under heavy criticism.

But Del Piero – who played with Conte at Juve - told the PA news agency: "I think now everybody talks about that because Conte did so well at Juve, because the fans love him and because Juve has some problems but I don’t think at the moment there is any conversations.

"This is my personal belief and what I think, nothing that I know to be honest.

"I think now Antonio is very concentrated for what he is doing at Tottenham Hotspur and the fact they made the round of 16 is a big thing.

"He was able to grow the team last year from the ninth place so he started a journey that is still going well and he has a lot of things to do there. I think he is concentrated as much as he can on this reality that is for him Tottenham.

"We keep looking and following all the Italians that are not in Italy like him, like (Carlo) Ancelotti and I think Italians are looking at Antonio to see if he is able to win a trophy with Tottenham.

"I mean Tottenham is a great club in England but the trophy is the thing missing for so long, so I think everybody is looking to see if the team and himself can make it through this journey to win a trophy."

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