Luciano Spalletti sacked as Inter Milan manager with Antonio Conte likely to replace him

Inter Milan have sacked Luciano Spalletti with former Chelsea and Juventus boss Antonio Conte rumoured to take over.

The Italian giants struggled this season only just beating rivals AC Milan to qualify for the Champions League by one point after the Nerazzurri beat Empoli 2-1, thanks to a late Radja Nainggolan goal.

However, this wasn’t enough to save Spalletti’s job as the 60-year-old, who had two more seasons on his contract, was released despite qualifying for the Champions League twice in his two seasons with the club.

Even though they finished fourth in the Serie A, in Europe Inter disappointed in their Champions League group. The Italian side needed to better Tottenham Hotspur’s result but ended up drawing with PSV while Spurs drew in Barcelona, meaning the English side progressed to the knock-out stages.

This meant that the Nerazzurri dropped down into the Europa League however they only made it as far as the last 16, losing 1-0 to eventual semi-finalists Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg at the San Siro.

Inter president Steven Zhang said this on Instagram about the departing boss:

View this post on Instagram

A Coach, a teacher, a friend. You have always given your best, either rain or shine. This 2 years of adventure means so much for Inter and for me personally. We will never forget your dedication to this team, and we all thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Once you are the coach of Inter⚫️?, you would be always my coach. Grazie Mister Spalletti. ??

A post shared by Steven Zhang (@stevenzhang91) on May 30, 2019 at 1:41am PDT

Antonio Conte is the favourite to replace the former Inter manager, the former Chelsea boss is rumoured to want to return to his native Italy.

Conte was last in the dugout when he was the head coach of Chelsea back in the 2017-2018 season. The Italian enjoyed two seasons with the London club, winning the Premier League in his first season and the FA Cup in his second season.

Before his time in England, Conte had only managed in Italy, most recently managing the national team, after his time in as Juventus boss. He won three back-to-back Serie A’s during his time in Turin.