Tottenham Hotspur's Antonio Conte 'open to Juventus return'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 22 September 2022

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte is reportedly open to a return to Juventus if the Old Lady give Massimiliano Allegri the boot.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte is supposedly open to a return to Juventus if the Bianconeri part ways with Massimiliano Allegri.

The latter replaced Conte in the Turin hotseat in 2014 and won five consecutive Serie A titles before leaving in 2019, but he returned to the role in the summer of 2021.

Juventus could only achieve a fourth-placed finish in the 2021-22 season under Allegri's tutelage, and the Old Lady have also endured a disappointing start to the new campaign.

Allegri's side have won just two of their opening seven league fixtures to sit eighth in the table, and they suffered a 1-0 loss to newly-promoted Monza in their most recent game.

The Juve boss was forced to leave the ground with a security escort in the wake of that defeat, and his time at the Allianz Stadium is seemingly limited, with director Pavel Nedved said to be keen to re-hire Conte.

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri on August 15, 2022 © Reuters

Should Juventus decide to relieve Allegri of his duties, Il Bianconero claims that Conte would 'gladly' return to Turin for another spell in charge, despite his fractious relationship with chairman Andrea Agnelli.

Conte and Agnelli disagreed over the club's transfer policy during the end of the former's tenure in 2014, and the bad blood between the pair was still alive when Conte was pictured giving the middle finger to his former chief while at Inter Milan in 2021.

The pair's less-than-amicable relationship supposedly saw Agnelli block a return for Conte in 2019 as Maurizio Sarri instead replaced Allegri, but Agnelli could now look to bury the hatchet with Conte due to Juve's underwhelming performances so far this term.

In fact, the report goes on to say that Conte and Agnelli are now back on friendly terms, and the Tottenham boss has briefly returned to Turin for a family holiday during the international break.

Agnelli previously played down his spat with Conte in the wake of the middle-finger controversy, telling Striscia La Notizia: "Every now and then the passion of our work makes us go over the line of good manners. Collaboration with Conte ended well. Those were gestures of affection."

Andrea Agnelli, the chairman of the European Club Association and Juventus, pictured in July 2020 © Reuters

Conte was appointed as Nuno Espirito Santo's successor at Tottenham at the end of 2021 but was tipped to make a brief exit during Spurs' troublesome period in the 2021-22 season.

However, the Premier League and Serie A title winner stayed on to steer the Lilywhites back into the Champions League, although his contract now has less than a year left to run.

Juventus are said to be encouraged by the fact that the 53-year-old has not committed to a new deal in North London, and his long-term future remains unclear.

Conte has already spent two separate spells with Juventus, taking charge for the 2011-12 campaign before returning just a few months later for another turn in control of the reins.

The Italian won three Serie A titles and two Supercoppa Italiana crowns with the Old Lady, and his Tottenham side are third in the Premier League table after seven games of the new season.