Antonio Conte will stay at Inter if they can keep winning trophies and leave if they cannot, according to a report in the Italian media today.
Gazzetta dello Sport’s print edition said Conte wanted ‘extreme clarity’ from Nerazzurri president Steven Zhang when they meet to discuss the club’s future.
Conte’s future as Inter head coach depends almost entirely on how competitive his squad would be for next season, the report explained.
He is only interested in staying if Inter have a chance of defending their Serie A title and improving in the UEFA Champions League; otherwise, he would rather step back and leave the job for someone else.
Inter’s president Zhang will therefore need to give Conte clear reassurances in terms of their summer transfer plans, which could see the club sacrifice one or more key players.
As explained by the Milan-based paper, it would be one thing to give up one member of Conte’s starting XI and a completely different thing to sacrifice several of them.
Inter could find it easier to sell a defender than a forward player like Lautaro Martinez, GdS suggested, given that his eventual replacement would cost less than a top striker.
Conte does not want to start again from scratch, neither at Inter nor at another club, and does not wish to repeat another season like this one.
He will also ask Zhang and Suning to be more present next season, having gone through almost an entire season with nobody from the ownership to talk to in Italy.
Either way, Conte’s future is expected to be settled by the match against Udinese on May 23, or immediately after that.
His decision will also impact those of Inter’s directors, such as Beppe Marotta, who are also out of contract in 2022 like Conte.
