Antonio Conte seemingly sent Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy a pointed message about the transfer market following the 2-0 loss to Chelsea today.
The Lillywhites suffered their third loss in three weeks to the Blues at Stamford Bridge this afternoon, with Hakim Ziyech and Thiago Silva scoring to secure a 2-0 win for Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports after the loss to Chelsea, Conte first reacted to the defeat.
“I think that in the three games against Chelsea I think today was for me, for the effort in the game, I liked it maybe and also the second half in the second leg of the Carabao Cup we played a good game.
“We are improving to play against Chelsea but in this moment it’s very difficult to face this type of squad, not team, because they don’t have 11 players, they have 22 or 23 players of an important level.
“This is not the right moment to speak in front of media. The club knows very well what I think and the time we need to close this gap, because it does not take one transfer window to close the gap.”
The Italian coach discussed the gap between Spurs and the top four teams, and the work that needs to be carried out on the transfer market.
“I think in the last few years, this gap became very, very big and it’s not simple to find a solution. For this reason, I am only focused on the players who work until the end.
“We will see, we have four months to give everything, but if we think we can solve the situation in the transfer market, it is not reality.
“You need many years, for sure we can start and we have to start, because in the last few years the level of the squad decreased instead of improving.”
Regarding the decision not to play Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso, Conte refused to discuss their futures.
“I don’t want to comment on single players. That’s for the club to make the best decision on this aspect for the players to buy or sell.
“There’s also a sporting director and chairman who I have to speak to. They take the last decision. They speak, not me.” He concluded.
Tottenham currently sit 7th in the Premier League table, two points behind 4th place Manchester United, although they have two games in hand. Today’s loss against Chelsea was Conte’s first Premier League defeat with Spurs.