Pundit says Tottenham Hotspur should think twice before backing Antonio Conte in January transfer window

Former Tottenham Hotspur superstar Glenn Hoddle has warned Daniel Levy and co that they should properly back manager Antonio Conte only if he commits his future to the club.

The Italian tactician is in the final year of his deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It has been said that Spurs are offering him a pay raise of 1million Pounds a year in his wages, but he won’t pen a new deal with assurances of being backed in the January transfer window.

Hoddle has now said that it would be illogical for the Lilywhites to hand Conte a bucketload of money to spend mid-season without the assurance of the former Inter Milan manager being at N17 beyond the season.

He told Express:

“Why would you say ‘let’s go and get three players and give him £200m. At the end of the season, he might be going and you have to get a new manager. This is a little maze, the two of them go together.”

“If he signs an extension, I’m sure Tottenham will back him. The squad isn’t a finished article, it needs a bit more tweaking and yes, it will cost a bit of money.”

He makes sense with his comments. It’s a conundrum that could prove hard to solve but there has to be a certain level of trust between both parties.

It wasn’t that Conte was starved of signings this summer, while the club has done well to keep the likes of Son Heung-min, Harry Kane, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg committed to the Tottenham cause in the two transfer windows under Conte.

Fans could seriously doubt the ex-Juventus and Chelsea manager’s commitment to the project at Spurs if his contract renewal talks keep dragging on as the season goes on.

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There can always be contractual clauses that permit Conte to leave if the club doesn’t fulfil certain promises. But of course, such things are easy to theorise and hard to actualise.