Conte and Napoli to hold decisive end-of-season talks amid Italy links
Quick summary
Antonio Conte and Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis are expected to meet after the 2025-26 Serie A season to decide the coach's future. Conte is being linked with a return as Italy national team manager following Gennaro Gattuso's exit.
Full article
Attributed to original sourceAntonio Conte continues to be linked with a return to the Italy national team set-up, and reports on Thursday indicate that there will be a meeting between the Napoli head coach and the club’s President, Aurelio De Laurentiis, once the 2025-26 season comes to an end.
Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News and Content – Free Trial – Click Here Conte and De Laurentiis set for Napoli and Italy talks at end of 2025-26 sesaon Antonio Conte Aurelio De Laurentiis Napoli Conte’s name is at the top of the shortlist of candidates to replace Gennaro Gattuso as head coach of the Italy national team. Gattuso left his position by mutual consent last week following Italy’s World Cup play-off final defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which cost the national team a spot at the final tournament for the third time in a row.
It would be a return to the national team for Conte, who already held the role of CT from 2014 to 2016.
Conte has just over a year remaining on his current contract, and De Laurentiis has recently admitted that he would not stand in the coach’s way should he decide to leave the club in order to take on the Italy job. “If Antonio asked me, I think I’d say yes,” said ADL .
According to Thursday’s reports from the Corriere dello Sport , Conte and De Laurentiis will sit down for decisive talks over the coach’s future as soon as the 2025-26 season comes to an end.
The location for the meeting has been set: On the island of Ischia, and will take place within a few days of the final round of Serie A fixtures, which will take place on May 24.
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What happened
Reports in Italy say Antonio Conte and Aurelio De Laurentiis will hold a decisive meeting on Ischia shortly after Napoli's final Serie A match on May 24. Conte is reportedly the leading candidate to replace Gennaro Gattuso as Italy coach after the national team failed to qualify for the World Cup. De Laurentiis has already indicated he would not block Conte from leaving for the Italy job. The situation leaves Napoli facing uncertainty over their coaching position once the season ends.
Chance analysis
This matters because managerial uncertainty can affect squad planning, tactical continuity, and market confidence around Napoli heading into the offseason. For Italy, Conte's possible return would be a major structural change given his track record and previous experience with the national team.
Napoli face short-term uncertainty over coaching continuity, while Italy may be moving toward a high-profile managerial appointment.
Flag late-season and post-season Napoli markets for managerial uncertainty, and upgrade Italy monitoring if Conte's appointment becomes official.