Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Antonio Conte claims to have avoided ‘foolish’ transfer approach with Tottenham, explaining how squad has improved

Antonio Conte Tottenham July 2022

Antonio Conte has insisted that Tottenham Hotspur have shown common sense in the transfer market and have not been “foolish” to spend too much.

Conte is notoriously demanding in the transfer market, but Tottenham have backed him this summer. They have welcomed six new players for their first team, although only three have cost them any money. The other half were free transfers or a loan deal.

Still, Spurs have spent almost £100million in transfer fees. Conte will be hoping his new recruits – such as Richarlison, Yves Bissouma and Djed Spence – can justify their values.

Tottenham continue to be linked with other targets, since the transfer window remains open until September 1. However, Conte has accepted they cannot immediately overhaul the rest of their squad.

Despite their busy summer so far, he told a press conference: “We improved in this way but I know I can’t have everything quickly. But it would be foolish to ask for a lot of players and spend a lot of money.

“We’re doing the right things with common sense, not to spend the money on many players. Also this is not the politics of the club, I understand this. We have to go in the right way, doing the right things.”

He added: “I’m very happy with our squad because compared to last season we improved, with Richy but we lost Bergwijn. Gil went on loan but now he’s in the squad of 20 players. I think in midfield we improved with Bissouma and with Winks, and then with Lenglet behind.

“We signed players with common sense, to find players with right characteristics, to help us have the quality. To have reliable players, players ready to have a good impact.”

Antonio Conte discovering different attacking solutions

Particularly with the addition of Richarlison, Tottenham have increased their depth in the final third. In theory, it could reduce the burden on main goalscorers, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane.

Conte explained: “You know very well that for us Harry and Sonny are vital. Don’t forget that Sonny scored 23 goals last season and was top scorer in the league and Harry scored 17.

“These are two important players but at the same time we need to find different solutions. The way we attack gives us different solution. A team with ambition needs many solutions to score goals. At the same time we have to sure solidity defensively.”

Conte was speaking ahead of Tottenham’s away game against Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday. Clement Lenglet and Oliver Skipp are likely to be unavailable for the match due to injures.

For his part, Conte will be managing against his own former side.

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