ANTONIO CONTE is set to return to the Premier League and take over as Tottenham manager.
The Italian boss is on the verge of replacing sacked Nuno Espirito Santo and get back to work after leaving Inter Milan in the summer.
Conte had a successful first spell in Prem management when he was Chelsea boss.
He led them to the Premier League title in 2017 and won the FA Cup the following season in west London.
The 52-year-old will need funds in the transfer window to get Tottenham back on track.
SunSport revealed how he will be given a £150m war chest at Spurs.
But his past record in the transfer market, and for Chelsea especially, is sketchy at best.
Conte spent around £200million while in charge of the Blues, and that included the £60m signing of Alvaro Morata.
The Spanish striker scored just 16 league goals in two seasons before leaving west London for Atletico Madrid.
Davide Zappacosta and Tiemoue Bakayoko were also signed during Conte’s Chelsea reign.
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Zappacosta played just four league games in his second season at Stamford Bridge and the £24m signing was sent on loan to Roma the following year.
Bakayoko, meanwhile, has been on loan ever since the 2018-19 season after his £40million move to Chelsea in the summer of 2017.
Danny Drinkwater also arrived from Leicester while Michy Batshuayi was signed from Marseille.
The 28-year-old forward Batshuayi joined for £33m from Marseille but never managed to cement a place in Chelsea’s first team.
He is currently on loan at Besiktas, his fourth loan move since joining the Blues.
Drinkwater, meanwhile, played only 12 games in his first season before being frozen out and sent out on loan to Burnley and Aston Villa.
But there were some successful signings at Stamford Bridge under Conte’s reign.
Antonio Rudiger and N’Golo Kante are still first-team regulars and both were integral to Chelsea’s Champions League victory last season.
And Conte turned Inter Milan into Serie A champions by bringing in the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Christian Eriksen and Achraf Hakimi.
But £20m signing Valentino Lazaro didn’t work out at Inter Milan and has had three loan spells since.
Spurs fans will be hoping Conte can turn around their fortunes like he did at Inter, if and when he takes charge in north London.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk