Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Fabio Paratici stops Tottenham transfer talk and deflects Harry Kane question

Tottenham director of football Fabio Paratici watching his side from the touchline

Tottenham’s managing director of football Fabio Paratici has cooled speculation about new arrivals at the club following the appointment of Antonio Conte.

The pair have worked together previously at Juventus and Spurs tried to lure Conte in the summer to replace Jose Mourinho. With Paratici not officially in his role, Conte turned down Daniel Levy’s advances only to take up the role five months later.

Conte has been handed an initial 18-month contract following the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo after just four months in charge.

Already a number of players have been linked with the club, including Frank Kessie, Dusan Vlahovic and Stefan de Vrij

The former Chelsea boss has indeed spent big in the past. However, Paratici was coy about what might happen in the January transfer window.

Asked whether the pair had spoken about new players, Paratici said: “Not at all. Because we trust a lot in our players. We are focused to be better, like a club, like a team.

“We haven’t spoken about players, we have to be focused on our team and then we will see. I think the team is competitive, we trust in the players, we have very good players so we don’t speak about (new) players now, it is not the right time. It is not the right time.”

Asked whether the arrival of Conte would help Harry Kane, Paratici said: “I don’t think it’s just about Harry Kane. We are here to work, to achieve our ambitions like a club, as a club, not as personal people.

Franck Kessie close to Spurs transfer

Franck Kessie close to Spurs transfer

Reports suggest AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie is closing in on a move to Spurs as Antonio Conte's first signing, with more news on Stefan de Vrij and Spurs' January transfer budget.

 

“We search to do the best for this club every day to build something good, not just for this season but for the long-term project. This is the answer. It’s not just about Harry, but about everybody else.”

The 52-year-old Conte, who has won league titles with Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan, will be tasked with getting Spurs competing with the Premier League’s best.

Paratici, says everything is in place for success.

“We are here to do our best to win trophies, big trophy or small trophy,” he said.

“We try to win every game, we try to do the best every game and to build the best in this season and the next seasons.

“Sometimes you have to be patient to achieve results, you have to be ready to suffer, to sacrifice yourself for the group. This is our mentality and we have to improve in this way.

“When I spoke about patience, to improve you need time. To achieve something we need to go day-by-day, work hard. What we can do is this.

“But for sure we believe that we can achieve our targets, otherwise we are not here. We have to believe we can achieve our targets.

“Big infrastructure, big club, players, history, we have everything to achieve big things. We are here to improve ourselves every day, and if we improve ourselves we improve the club.”


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Conte ready to ‘repay trust’

Paratici and Conte have both said that talks in June broke down because they were too soon after Conte’s exit from Inter Milan. But at the time it was understood that there were differences in stances on key issues.

It has been a disappointing two and a half years since Spurs were in the Champions League final, which was the culmination of four years of challenging for top honours under Mauricio Pochettino.

 

Conte, who led Chelsea to the Premier League title in 2016/17, has vowed to provide a team that will compete.

He said: “To be Tottenham manager is a great pleasure, a great honour. Now for sure I want to repay this trust.

“My coaching philosophy is very simple, to play good football and attractive football for our fans with passion. To have a team stable, not up and down.

“The fans deserve to have a competitive team with a will to fight. I’ll do everything to deserve their support.”

READ MORE: Conte reveals immediate plan to revolutionise Tottenham after Nuno spell