Tottenham Hotspur have looked to Antonio Conte to turn things around in North London and the Italian coach could re-build the team completely.
The coach has been given guarantees that the Spurs squad will be reinforced already in January and the former Inter tactician has reportedly targeted Dusan Vlahovic and Franck Kessie in the upcoming transfer market.
Many players are under scrutiny and the former Inter coach is very careful when he selects his group, meaning there are some at Tottenham who can’t feel certain of a place in the squad.
Conte changed things around at Inter and helped the Nerazzurri to the Europa League Final in this first season and then won the Scudetto in the second campaign at San Siro.
The former Juventus coach helped the Bianconeri to three Scudetti and picked up the Premier League trophy in his first year at Chelsea.
Managing director Fabio Paratici convinced Conte to join him at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but reports in Italy claim he has also been given guarantees that there will be many changes already in January.
Il Corriere dello Sport and La Gazzetta dello Sport claim there are few players guaranteed a future at Spurs under the new coach but stressed that Harry Kane and Heung-min Son will continue to be important pieces in attack.
La Gazzetta dello Sport claims the budget at Tottenham won’t permit any crazy expenses and that the club must therefore find accommodation for the players deemed redundant by the coach.
Steven Bergwijn is expected to top the list of expendable players, while Argentine Giovani Lo Celso is not expected to be given too many chances to convince the Italian tactician.
World Cup winner Hugo Lloris’ contract expires after the season and Pierluigi Gollini has been brought in on loan with an option to buy from Atalanta.
Conte might not be fully convinced the Orobici loanee will have the capacity to replace the captain and could thus start looking for a new goalkeeper, if he’s forced to replace the France international next summer.
Players like Lucas Moura and Bryan Gil shouldn’t feel too safe either, due to Conte’s usual 3-5-2 system, but the newspapers highlight it would be more natural for the new coach to start by addressing the problems in the middle of the park.
Dele Alli has been on the sidelines of the project for months and Tanguy Ndombele has struggled to convince, meaning Conte and Paratici could have to evaluate the duo’s future in the team.
The former Chelsea coach could either try to recover their form or look for replacements in the transfer market already this winter.
Il Corriere dello Sport claims that Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp – two midfielders from the academy – are uncertain in the new project too, as they haven’t proven to be ready for the big games.
Conte, la lista dei desideri per gennaio: Vlahovic e Kessie nel mirino https://t.co/PkV40eo93B
— La Gazzetta dello Sport (@Gazzetta_it) November 1, 2021