Andrea Radrizzani reveals he tried to bring in Antonio Conte, Claudio Ranieri and Andrea Favilli at various points of his Leeds United ownership.
Leeds ultimately hired former Lazio boss Marcelo Bielsa and signed Patrick Bamford to reinforce their attack over the summer, but Radrizzani confessed there could have been a second Italian invasion at Elland Road.
“I won’t deny that I made an attempt for Conte. I have a soft spot for him,” the Eleven Sports founder told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Andrea Radrizzani reveals he tried to bring in Antonio Conte, Claudio Ranieri and Andrea Favilli at various points of his Leeds United ownership.
Leeds ultimately hired former Lazio boss Marcelo Bielsa and signed Patrick Bamford to reinforce their attack over the summer, but Radrizzani confessed there could have been a second Italian invasion at Elland Road.
“I won’t deny that I made an attempt for Conte. I have a soft spot for him,” the Eleven Sports founder told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I’d have offered €20m to convince him. With him, the Premier League would’ve been assured.
“There was then an interview with Ranieri, who is an exquisite person. He was flattered by our interest, but he rejected us as he was holding out for a top-flight club.
“I also contacted [Roberto] Martinez, but there wasn’t much of a chance because of his agreement with the Belgian national team.
“In any case, we’re extremely satisfied with Bielsa, who is one of the best Coaches in the world.
“We showed concrete interest in Favilli. We’d been following him for two years. He’s potentially a top player, who could do very well in England, but we chose to go with more experience for our promotion push.”
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