Serie A saga ends with Conte staying at Napoli, Allegri back at Milan

Antonio Conte agreed to continue coaching Napoli on Thursday, committing his future to the club he led to a fourth Serie A title last week.

"Full speed ahead. Stronger than before!" Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis wrote on X.

Conte secured a salary increase and guarantees that the defending champions will reinforce their squad this summer, according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

His deal reportedly remains valid until June 2027.

Conte wasn't sure whether he'd stay at Napoli as recently as last month.

"I'm happy in Naples, and I'm working for fans who give me something emotionally. That's very important. But you know that whoever hires me knows that I bring with me expectations," Conte said, according to Agence France-Presse. "People hire me and think, 'You have to finish first or second. Even if you finished 10th the year before, and you have to fight for the title, qualifying for Europe isn't enough.'

"I can handle all of that, but I'm not stupid if there aren't the resources in place to achieve that."

News of Napoli's agreement with Conte comes hours after AC Milan convinced Massimiliano Allegri to return to the club for a second stint as manager. Allegri, who replaces Sergio Conceicao, helped the Rossoneri win their 18th Scudetto during the 2010-11 season.

Allegri reportedly signed a two-year contract worth €5 million per season, with the option to extend for an additional two years.

Milan moved quickly to hire Allegri as Italian media reports pegged the Tuscan coach as Napoli's backup for Conte.

Conceicao officially left Milan on Thursday, less than a week after the club closed the season in eighth place without European qualification. The Portuguese coach arrived in January as Paulo Fonseca's successor and captured the Supercoppa Italiana in his first matches at the helm but was unable to carry his early success into Serie A.

Juventus were strongly linked with Conte, who coached them to three consecutive championships before departing in 2014. Igor Tudor remains in charge, but it's unclear for how long. One of Conte's former teammates, Tudor led the Bianconeri back to the Champions League with a win over Venezia on the final day of the season and reportedly earned an automatic one-year contract extension. But it remains to be seen if Juventus will head to the Club World Cup next month with a different coach on the bench.

Gian Piero Gasperini, one of the architects behind Atalanta's impressive rise over the last nine seasons, emerged as a option after questioning his future in Bergamo. Gasperini coached Juventus' youth team in the 1990s after coming through the ranks as a player in the '60s and '70s.

But the 67-year-old is now in advanced talks to succeed Claudio Ranieri as Roma's next manager, according to Romano. Gasperini and Ranieri are good friends, and Ranieri had already indicated he'd step down and retire from coaching at the end of the season.

Ranieri steered his hometown club to fifth place after a nightmarish start to the campaign cost managers Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Juric their jobs. The club's then CEO also resigned as fans protested.

Conte seems convinced Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis will build a good enough team to compete in both Serie A and the Champions League next year. De Laurentiis already confirmed Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne bought property in the area and that he'd likely arrive on a free transfer. Lille forward Jonathan David, a pending free agent who finished fourth in Ligue 1 scoring with 16 goals, is reportedly under consideration as well.

De Laurentiis showed last summer he was willing to spend, dropping an estimated €150 million on transfer fees alone.