Antonio Conte retains the full support of Inter’s owners Suning, according to a report in the Italian media today.
Suning chairman Jindong Zhang published a letter on the Nerazzurri’s website on Tuesday, thanking everyone at the club for winning the Serie A title and assuring supporters that the scudetto was ‘the start and not the end’ for Inter.
Gazzetta dello Sport’s print edition focused on Zhang’s praise for Conte, whom he thanked for instilling ‘great fighting spirit and unity’ into Inter’s players.
Zhang believes Conte is crucial to Inter’s hopes of future success, the report explained, and has no intention of seeking any other coach to replace him for next season.
Suning made a ‘courageous’ financial decision to appoint Conte as head coach in 2019, despite still owing €25 million before tax to Luciano Spalletti for the final two years of his contract (which expires next month).
Conte was even more expensive than his predecessor on the Inter bench, but he has proven to be the right choice after securing the scudetto in an extremely challenging season for the club.
Zhang’s letter also provided definitive proof that Suning had never looked to sell Inter and were only ever seeking a minority shareholder, the Milan-based paper added.
Inter’s loan deal – perhaps with Bain Capital – will be finalised before the end of this week, at which point the Nerazzurri can turn their attention towards planning for next season.
Suning will be unable to provide fireworks in the upcoming transfer window, the report admitted, but they want Inter to begin next season with a competitive squad and the chance to defend their title.
Inter’s directors are due to celebrate the scudetto with Conte and his players when training resumes at Appiano Gentile today.
