CM: Milan and Juventus offered hope – why Conte is not fully happy at Napoli | OneFootball

Antonio Conte’s words about his future were certainly non-committal, which has worried Napoli and also given hope to both AC Milan and Juventus.

As Tuttosport (via Calciomercato.com) writes this morning, a simple sentence about his future – actually a non-answer to a direct question – was enough to create unrest throughout Naples. Conte is now very focused on the present and the Scudetto battle, but 2025-26 must be on his mind.

What worries Napoli fans is not whether they will win the title but rather the possibility of losing the man who has become the new leader. President Aurelio De Laurentiis has already begun to think about potential replacements.

After the 2-1 win over Milan on Sunday, Conte did not want to confirm that he will definitely stay, even if he did have some positive words to say about the way that he has been received: “My integration in Naples was perfect, even beyond expectations. They welcomed me very well.

“From the beginning I felt indebted to the Neapolitan fans for the welcome. Today we have partly repaid that debt. What we have to do now is be fierce and focus on the present. After these eight games we will think about the future.”

It should be remembered that Conte has a contract that expires in June 2027, but as has already happened in the past, at the end of the season he could be the one to make an independent decision on his future.

The possibility of leaving an existing contract exists regardless of clauses (upon payment of a penalty) or agreements that may have been made on the side by the parties at the start of the season. What doesn’t help is that Conte is not happy with how the mercato went.

He has not forgotten the summer difficulties. They spent over €150m but several players only arrived towards the end of the window, then in the midst of the Scudetto race in January Kvaratskhelia was sold without a replacement of equal calibre arriving.

De Laurentiis is happy with Conte and his work, he knows he is doing a small masterpiece and, in fact, he is focusing much more than in the past on off-field factors (such as the stadium) and not on the work of those who go on the field.

However, if the former Spurs boss were to leave the project after only one year, he does not want to be caught unprepared as happened after Luciano Spalletti. According to Tuttosport, the two names on the table in the event of Conte’s farewell are Max Allegri and Gian Piero Gasperini.

Juventus and Milan are implicated too. Juve sacked Thiago Motta and are searching for a replacement having put Igor Tudor in caretaker charge, while the Rossoneri are expected to part ways with Sergio Conceicao and Conte has been linked.