Spurs fans have long grown used to their club making peculiar decisions. The team seems to sway from massive ambition to a paucity of the same attribute from season to season. For some time, then, fans have become accustomed to watching good things petter out before they can reach their peak. The Mauricio Pochettino era will be marked as a ‘nearly’ period with close run things in the league, domestic cups, and in Europe. The Jose Mourinho era was a disaster, as was the Nuno Espirito Santo era. Antonio Conte, though, has done more than most fans would have imagined possible in a few short months.
Yet, despite that, the Italian is likely to leave this summer if Spurs cannot make the UEFA Champions League. Given they need to win at Anfield on Saturday, beat Arsenal next Thursday, and navigate a tough end to the season, that might seem a touch less likely than most would assume. With that in mind, then, an exit for Conte is already being considered as likely at the club – and names are being drawn-up.
At the head of the list would be Graham Potter, according to sources in England. The coach has made a big name for himself with a developmental project in Sweden with Ostersunds. Since then, a good time at Swansea City was followed up by progress at Brighton and Hove Albion. Despite easily keeping the Seagulls up and playing a good brand of football, fan frustration was met with near-anger by Potter this season.
After a 0-0 draw that took Brighton further up the league, fans booed. Potter responded by claiming he ‘would need to check’ the history of the club, intimating he was unhappy with criticism of the work done so far.
Could Spurs capitalise on Potter uncertainty?
Those comments did not go unnoticed at the time by other clubs. Teams in England have long regarded Potter as a fine coach, but his work at Brighton was received positively by most. With some fans seemingly unhappy with the project, though, Potter might look to move on and go to a club that could likely meet his ambitions.
It is believed a compensation cost of around £10m would be needed to get Potter out of Brighton. It would, though, be regarded as a best-case scenario for Spurs fans who have grown attached to Conte. Though Potter carries nothing like the cache of winning trophies and progress that Conte does, he is an excellent player development coach.
If Spurs are unable to play in the Champions League then funds would likely be tighter anyway. With a likely big-name exodus if that took place, though, Spurs could push for a coach like Potter to develop exciting young talent in and around the academy.
Though most Spurs fans would rather that Conte just stuck around, a failure to play in the UCL would likely see him leave. If that is the case, then there are few better options on the market than Potter himself.
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