Antonio Conte tells Tottenham star Lucas Moura that he can follow in the footsteps of Ivan Perisic and Antonio Candreva by transforming from winger to wing-back, but ‘the player has to be 100 per cent sure.’
The former Juventus, Chelsea, Italy and Inter coach has for many years been committed to his 3-5-2 tactical approach, whether he has the players suited to those roles or not.
Conte therefore also has a long history of transforming attacking wingers more accustomed to a trident attack and making them play up and down the entire flank, helping out the defence.
Speaking to the media after a 1-1 friendly draw with Sevilla in South Korea, Conte confirmed he plans to do the same thing with Lucas Moura.
“In the past with Perisic, Moses and Candreva, it was the same: before, a winger, and became a wing-back,” Conte told reporters.
“For sure he has great quality. I spoke with Lucas and I think that this will be a good option for me.
“The most important thing is the player has to be 100 per cent sure to do it. Moura is a great resource. He can play in many roles — behind the striker, on the left and on the right, as a wing-back.”
It was the issue of commitment that saw Conte send Perisic out on loan to Bayern Munich in 2019-20, because he did not believe the Croatian was truly trying hard enough to adapt in pre-season training.
Perisic returned with a different mentality and proved decisive in their Serie A title triumph, contributing five goals and five assists under Conte.
Candreva was an attacking winger who was transformed to wing-back under Conte, scoring seven goals and providing nine assists for Inter in 40 matches.
He was also a regular for Conte in the Italy squad from 2014 to 2016, contributing four goals and assisting five.
that be interesting, but i dont think lucas has the determination to do this
imagine having lucas as wing back and kulu as a winger ..thats actually more threats to for the opponents