Bari coach and former Juventus star Antonio Conte has ended media speculation that he will be returning to Turin as a manager.

Conte renewed his contract with Bari on Wednesday, penning a one-year deal with the club that he led to promotion from Serie B.

"I chose and accepted Bari when the Juve bench has not been assigned to anyone yet, so with this choice and this signature I have what I was looking for", Conte told the press on Tuesday.

"I tried to get a two-year deal, but then we thought about it and superstitiously preferred to limit it to one year, not for particular reasons, but because that's what I did last year and it brought me luck."

Conte was a hot favourite to take over at the Old Lady as he spent eight years there as a player. However, he chose to remain at the Stadio San Nicola to make a debut Serie A campaign as a manager.

"The moment I sat down it didn't take long to work out an agreement and take this decision."

Conte plans to build on his success with Bari in Serie B, and the club is reportedly already looking to the transfer market and are reportedly hot on the heels of Reggina striker Bernardo Corradi, Palermo's Mirko Savini and creative Torino midfielder Alessandro Rosina.

"The objective will be, of course, to stay in Serie A, but we have no intention of resting on our laurels, we want to surprise."

With Conte no longer in the running for Juventus, the leading candidates, at least according to the Italian press, are current caretaker-manager Ciro Ferrara, Bordeaux boss Laurent Blanc and Roma boss Luciano Spalletti.