Conte unconcerned about Tottenham contract running out at end of season

Antonio Conte has suggested the length of his contract at Tottenham is not relevant to how long he will stay as he dismissed links to Juventus as “disrespectful” and sought to focus on Saturday’s derby at Arsenal.

The manager has been touted by the Italian media to return to Juventus at the end of the season and the story rumbled for much of the international break. Conte’s old club have struggled this season under Max Allegri, winning two of nine games.

It has not just been Allegri’s difficulties that have driven the narrative but Conte’s situation – his deal runs until the end of the season and there is then the option on Spurs’s side to extend for another year.

Conte joined last November and he repeatedly called on them to match his ambition, mainly with regard to transfer activity, which led to fears that he would quit if they did not do so.

Conte surely sees the benefit of being able to leverage his position, reinforced perhaps by having a short contract, and he was vague about when he might discuss an extension. What he was keen to stress was how much he was enjoying working at Spurs – with the chairman, Daniel Levy, and the managing director, Fabio Paratici. And the biggest factor for him is, and will remain, the overall direction of travel.

“There is not contract, there is not option … if the club and the manager want to work together they will continue to work together. If they don’t want to work together they finish,” Conte said.

“The most important thing for me is that I’m really enjoying to work with Tottenham, with these players, especially, and the relationship with Daniel and Fabio is good. I’m OK and I think the club is happy about this situation.

“Now the most important thing for Tottenham’s present and