BEVERLY HILLS, May 26, (THEWILL) – No sooner had Inter Milan ended the stranglehold of the Italian League by Juventus, by preventing them from a 10th straight successive title to evoke in fans fantastic thoughts of an Antonio Conte-led domination of Serie A, than the entire structure that brought about Inter’s resounding success began to tether on the brink of collapse.
The cause of the impending seismic shift about to take place is the question of Conte’s future as Inter Milan head coach due to the intending necessity of the club to downsize as a means of surviving the ravaging effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the club’s finances, which the club owners shared with Conte.
Club Chairman Steven Zhang met with Conte and disclosed the dire straits the club was enduring with a view to sell him the proposal that will see Conte cut his wage bill by 15-20 per cent and potentially sell players worth up to £70 million this summer to keep the club above water.
These are at odds with the intention of the manager to consolidate the club’s leadership position in Italy with more investment rather than less.
After guiding them to the title weeks before the season rounded up, it was Conte’s thought to do some transfer business in the summer that will improve the team ahead of the defence of their title when hostilities resume in Serie A. As such, the manager had the mind to keep up to eight “untouchables” with Romelu Lukaku, Milan Skriniar and Lautaro Martinez included.
As Zhang continues to hold discussions with senior staff on Wednesday morning, the club’s strategy, is becoming clearer. They intend to use the goodwill so far earned with the League victory to cash in on the higher value one of their star players could fetch in the market and focus on developing young talents to support with some of that amount.
Conte’s current deal can keep him at the Milan club until the end of the 2021/22 season but the prospects of him remaining at Inter yet without the necessary financial heft to mount a worthy defense of their title is not the kind of context a manager of Conte’s pedigree can stomach.
There are already reports linking the Italian with a possible opening in La Liga, to pick up from Zinedine Zidane if the Frenchman, facing an uncertain future, makes his way out of the Real Madrid club.
However, he may be in contention against a former successor at Juventus, Massimiliano Allegri, whose name had been tied to Zidane’s job recently.
Again, with Allegri, Conte is also being linked with a return to his old club, Juventus, after the tactically deficient season the Old Lady endured this season under senior coaching debutant manager and club legend Andrea Pirlo.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
