PSG talk is fake news: Conte

In the clearest indication that his future lies in north London, Tottenham manager Antonio Conte yesterday branded rumours linking him to French champions Paris Saint-Germain as "fake news".

The 52-year-old Italian, who has been the subject of intense speculation with Mauricio Pochettino mooted to move the other way, was addressing a room of about 20 print and broadcast journalists at the Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre in Enfield ahead of tomorrow's English Premier League match against Leicester City.

PSG secured the Ligue 1 title with four games to spare but were knocked out of the French Cup and were eliminated by Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League, leading to questions over the Argentinian's future.

When asked if he would be back at the sprawling facility that features 20 full-size pitches for the senior men's and women's team as well as the academy next season, Conte said: "It's good that other clubs appreciate my work, but I don't like it when people try to invent news only to create problems.

"This is not right for me, for the clubs involved, for the players, because we are really focused in these five games to try to get a fantastic result for us. This type of situation makes me smile."

Maintaining he is happy at a club where he has a good relationship with everyone, Conte, who replaced Nuno Espirito Santo in November and is contracted until June 2023, urged those involved in the speculation to "not invent fake news and tell a lot of lies".

Meanwhile, at a separate press conference on Thursday, Pochettino also declared: "As of today, I'm 100 per cent staying and it's the same for (Kylian) Mbappe."

Conte, known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, was full of expressions with the press. He smiled broadly and had the room laughing when he claimed to be clueless about reaching 100 EPL games tomorrow.

When asked if he can imagine himself managing another 100 EPL matches, Conte said: "I hope so because we are talking about a fantastic league, the best league in the world, the most competitive league. It's great to work here and have the possibility to face the best players and the best coaches to understand your level."

The Foxes are 10th and drew 1-1 against Roma in the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-finals on Thursday.

Spurs will be without left-back Sergio Reguilon, who has a groin complaint.

With five matches to play, Tottenham are fifth and two points behind bitter rivals Arsenal in the race to finish fourth and qualify for next season's Champions League.

With a big clash against the Gunners on May 13, Conte knows the equation - win all five and Spurs will be back among Europe's big boys for the first time since they made the round of 16 in 2020.

Reiterating the need for enthusiasm, passion and energy, three words he repeated no fewer than 10 times in total, he said: "I want to underline that we are fighting for a target that at the start of the season, I think no one can imagine.

"Especially in November because when I arrived, the situation wasn't good, otherwise they wouldn't change the coach.

"With five games to go, to have the possibility to get this result is a great achievement for us. We have to face this situation with great enthusiasm because we have nothing to lose and everything to gain because we are doing something special for the situation we have faced this season."