Tottenham have confirmed that manager Antonio Conte has left the club by mutual consent.
The Italian departs after just 16 months in charge, after his position became untenable in recent weeks.
His former assistant Christian Stellini will take charge of the team for the remainder of the season.
Conte’s exit leaves Spurs searching for their fourth permanent manager in four years.
How it got to this
Conte first got the Spurs job in November 2021 following the abrupt departure of Nuno Espirito Santo.
The team initially struggled for consistency, but eventually found its footing to secure a top four finish in Conte’s first season.
Invigorated by their Champions League qualification, the club invested 150 million pounds on new players, with Richarlison and Ivan Perisic among the new arrivals.
They started the current campaign well enough, but signs of trouble slowly started to creep in.
Slowly but surely they began dropping points in the league…before eventually getting knocked out of the FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League.
During this period, Conte came under fire for the team’s perceived negative style of play, while rumours also began emerging that he had lost the support of most senior players.
Things came to a head following their 3-3 EPL draw with Southampton earlier this month, when the Italian pretty much threw everyone under the bus, accusing his own players and even club officials of being selfish and acting only for themselves.
By then any remaining goodwill had gone out the window, and it was only a matter of time before Conte and Tottenham parted ways.
What next for Spurs?
According to the rumour mill, recently-sacked Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann is one of the favourites to take over.
The German first came on Tottenham’s radar back in 2021, but he ended up going to the Bundesliga giants instead.
Former Spain coach Luis Enrique and Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi are some of the other names reportedly being considered as well.
The firm fan favourite, however, has to be former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, under whose management they enjoyed their most stable spell in recent years.
The Argentine is currently out of a job since he was sacked by PSG in July last year and is technically available.
However, it is uncertain if Pochettino or Spurs would be open to a reunion, given their less than amicable split in 2019.
