Recent report says that Tottenham attacker Dejan Kulusevski has voiced his respect for “important man” Antonio Conte despite the uncertainty over his club manager’s future.
Although Conte’s tenure at Spurs looks set to end after Saturday’s explosive rant at Southampton saw him accuse his own players of being “selfish”, while he made repeated references to the culture of a club that has “never won something” during a passionate 10-minute monologue.
While Conte later clarified to the board that his comments were aimed at his underperforming squad, he is still expected to leave before Tottenham’s next match away to Everton on April 3.
READ: Man Utd closely monitoring Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Costa
It must be noted that Spurs had exited both the FA Cup and Champions League earlier in the month to increase the pressure on Conte, who had been expected to leave in the summer when his current terms expire.
That departure is now primed to be accelerated and first-team coach Ryan Mason could be given the reins for the final 10 fixtures of the season, the PA news agency understands.
Mason, who performed a similar job towards the end of the 2020-21 campaign, has been present at Hotspur Way this week to work with Barcelona loanee Clement Lenglet, Japhet Tanganga, Arnaut Danjuma and Lucas Moura, as well as back-up goalkeepers Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman.
Conte flew back to Italy after the 3-3 draw at St Mary’s, a trip which was already planned and has been the case during international breaks throughout his time at the club.
When the 53-year-old returns to London remains to be seen but Kulusevski insist he has taken no offence to the comments of his experienced manager.
