Antonio Conte wants to return to Serie A in view of next season.
The former Italy national team coach has been on a hiatus since leaving Tottenham. He has been taking some time off to spend it with family and it seems that he is ready to get back to work next season.
The latest update, exclusive to Sportitalia and Michele Criscitiello, reveals that Antonio Conte has met with Napoli for the second time, specifically with Aurelio De Laurentiis.
According to Michele Criscitiello, in recent days, Antonio Conte met with Napoli's president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, for the second time. It was a cordial meeting to delve deeper into a three-year offer from the Napoli club. Antonio didn't decline; he courteously listened to De Laurentiis, asked for time, and requested to meet again later. It's a sort of halfway refusal, following a complete refusal just under two months ago when the discussion was brought up.
The reality, as reported by the Italian journalist, is that Conte has a fixed idea in mind: returning to Milan. This time, he would like to do so with the Rossoneri, where Stefano Pioli's position is more uncertain than ever. At least a month, maybe a month and a half, will be required to wait for AC Milan's decision before reconsidering Napoli's offer or considering other options.
Within Napoli, Conte is the number one target because the team aims to consistently establish themselves as the fourth major team in the league, vying for the Scudetto every year.
Antonio Conte, for now, continues to wait for the call from Milan management. However, there hasn't been any approach made. No meetings have taken place between the parties. But, internally within Milan, Antonio Conte is a topic of discussion. There are two factions within the Rossoneri:
The first faction, represented by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Geoffrey Moncada, is in favour of Conte. These two Milan executives want Conte and are eager to start negotiations, convinced that they can "easily" convincing him, relying on his desire to coach the last major Italian team in his collection.
Above all, Zlatan and Moncada believe that the Salento-born coach can rebuild a winning mentality, something lost after the 2022 Serie A title.
The second faction, however, led by Milan's CEO Giorgio Furlani, prefers a less "dominant" and up-and-coming profile: Thiago Motta. The Bologna coach has not yet renewed his contract expiring in June with the Bolognese side, and his results speak for themselves.