Conte set to depart Napoli for Italy job

Latest reports from Italy say Napoli manager Antonio Conte is planning to leave the club and is planning a return to the Italian national team.

According to reports, Conte, who led the Naples club to the Scudetto last season, is likely to leave Napoli by mutual agreement, with a strong possibility of becoming the new Italy coach.

According to reports from Gazzetta and Corriere dello Sport, Napoli and Conte are set to part ways at the end of the season.

Conte had hinted about his exit a few days ago when he told journalists to ask Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis about his future.

The Pink Paper reported both parties have already decided to split during a meeting in mid-April.

Conte, who gave a hint of his exit again after Sunday’s win over Pisa, is likely to depart, but the decision has yet to be confirmed by the club.

Gazzetta reported that the former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager is eager to become the Italy coach after the FIGC Presidential election on June 22.

With a year left on his present deal at the Stadio Maradona,  Corriere dello Sport reported that, if the Italian tactician eventually leaves, it will be by mutual consent and without a payout for him, as he was leaving of his own volition. 

Meanwhile, Napoli are reportedly preparing for his replacement. The club have been linked with former manager Maurizio Sarri.

Sarri, who left Napoli for Juventus, is the leading candidate to take over at the Stadio Maradona, and Milan’s Massimiliano Allegri is also in the running.

Sarri had, in a recent interview, said he’s unhappy at Lazio, saying he’ll leave the club if his plans don’t align with the Biancocelesti’s.

Allegri is reportedly on the brink of being sacked after falling out with Milan Senior Advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Both are reportedly not on good terms, as is CEO Giorgio Furlani.

Therefore,  the Livorno-born tactician is expected to leave the Rossoneri if the club’s management doesn’t change next season.