Tottenham told they face a fight to keep Antonio Conte away from Paris Saint-Germain

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.”

Rod