Brendan Rodgers has warned that Tottenham will have a fight on their hands to keep hold of Antonio Conte if Paris Saint-Germain come calling.
The Leicester boss suggested that the Italian’s track record suggests he wants to work with the very best - and the Qatar-backed club ooze star quality.
From Sergio Ramos in defence to Marco Verratti in midfield and Lionel Messi up front the galaxy of stars has made the PSG job one of the best in world football. And Conte’s name was front and centre in the French press this week as potential replacements were touted for under-fire Argentine chief Mauricio Pochettino.
And although 52-year-old Conte has dismissed the speculation as ‘fake news’ at his pre-match press conference, Rodgers said he wasn’t surprised that the name of his managerial counterpart was being aired. He said: “Antonio’s clearly a very good coach. And he clearly wants to work with the best players. And that’s everything. The game is about having the top players. If you don’t have them, then you are helping others to be the best they can be. Some coaches only want to work with the very best and Antonio strikes me as someone who wants to do that.
“At Juve, he had a great spell there with some excellent players. Then he came into Chelsea who were strong - and did very well there, too. He’s talked himself at Tottenham about how he wants more top players. That’s something we’d all love - but it doesn’t always work out like that. He can organise teams to play a certain style. He knows exactly what he wants to achieve. If he leaves Spurs and goes to PSG, then they will be getting a very good coach. But then Mauricio Pochettino was an excellent coach. As was Thomas Tuchel - and Unai Emery who both went before.”
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Rodgers is likely to mix and match his line-up in north London ahead of the Europa Conference League semi-final against Roma on Thursday. However, it is unlikely he will tinker too much at the back with prodigy Wesley Fofana back from a long-term lay-off. The 21-year-old was plucked out of St Etienne for £30m in October 2020 but has just recovered from a broken leg - and the centre-half will be needed to stop Harry Kane in his tracks.
The Foxes are among Kane’s favourite victims - he has scored 18 times in 17 outings against them - but Rodgers has been given comfort by Fofana’s return. He said: “Wesley will develop into a world-class central defender. He’d only played 17 games before we took him from St Etienne - he might have been a risk for some of the bigger clubs. We just saw something in him to suggest he had the characteristics to play at this level and that’s been reinforced now we have been working with him.
“He has things to improve on - such as his positioning for Roma’s goal the other night - but the raw ingredients are there. His speed, his competitiveness. Some players have physicality but don’t use it. He does. He’s aggressive and doesn’t mind contact. In the Premier League, you need to be able to head the ball. You look at Virgil Van Dijk, Ruben Dias, your centre-halves have to attack the ball. Once he gains experience with his positioning, he will go on to be one of the elite centre-halves in world football. I have no doubt about that.”
