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English Club Were Ready To Spend £18 Million To Sign Antonio Conte

English Club Were Ready To Spend £18 Million To Sign Antonio Conte

The former Chelsea manager was a wanted man even before he'd left Stamford Bridge but the team ended up going for someone else.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Antonio Conte waited all summer to keep hold of his job only to find out he'd been sacked after returning to Chelsea. If the Blues had made their decision earlier things could have been very different.

You start to wonder what keeps you your job at Chelsea. Antonio Conte won the Premier League and FA Cup in his two seasons at Stamford Bridge but the Italian was still sacked following their inability to make it into the Champions League.

Conte's first season in the Premier League saw him follow the season where Jose Mourinho had taken the club into an early season relegation fight before they finished 10th and the Italian managed to lead them to title glory against all odds.

In the second season things went bad for the former Juventus boss and despite winning the FA Cup they missed out on the Champions League places and after a summer of speculation he was finally sacked and replaced by Maurizio Sarri after returning from holiday.

Conte reportedly turned down an approach by Real Madrid in order to make sure he got his full severance package but Los Blancos weren't the only ones who wanted him.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani revealed he wanted Conte, saying:

"Conte [was on the list] and with him, we would have been certain of promotion to the Premier League.

"I would even have offered him €20 million [£18m]."

It's unlikely Conte would have dropped into the lower division. Image: PA Images
It's unlikely Conte would have dropped into the lower division. Image: PA Images

Radrizzani explained there were two more former Premier League managers in the running too, adding, "Then I interviewed [Claudio] Ranieri who was attracted by our interest, but declined as he was waiting for a call from a top-flight club.

"I even spoke to [Roberto] Martinez, but Belgium were an obstacle."

Of course it's not like Leeds are spilling any tears over missing out on the three high profile managers after the actual appointment.

Marcelo Bielsa was appointed as Leeds manager and is doing pretty well. Image: PA Images
Marcelo Bielsa was appointed as Leeds manager and is doing pretty well. Image: PA Images

The Championship side hired former Athletic Bilbao manager Marcelo Bielsa and so far things are working out really well for them.

The Elland Road side have won three from three in the league and are already the only team with a perfect record, sitting just one point behind Middlesbrough who have played a game more.

Getting Conte would have been quite the coup but Bielsa could still lead them back to the top tier.

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Topics: Football News, Chelsea, Premier League, Transfer news, championship, Antonio Conte, Football News, Chelsea, Premier League, Transfer news, championship, Antonio Conte, Football News, Chelsea, Premier League, Transfer news, championship, Antonio Conte

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