Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League • England
‘It’s obvious’ – Ex-Tottenham star furious with Levy amid Traore snub; warns Conte of ‘weak’ decision
Former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega has said that chairman Daniel Levy and the club’s owners need to be held to account for their failures in the transfer market.
Spurs were going places under Mauricio Pochettino and reached the Champions League final in 2019. Since then, though, the north Londoners have gone through major struggles on the pitch.
In fact, Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo have both come and gone from the dugout in recent seasons.
Spurs have particularly struggled in the transfer market. While Tanguy Ndombele was their record signing in summer 2019, he has struggled to make an impact.
Skip forward to the current transfer window and Antonio Conte wants Tottenham to back him for major additions to help get the club back in the top four.
But Spurs have so far made no marquee additions. The fact that the club are trying to balance the books with Ndombele and Dele Alli’s futures up in the air is part of the problem.
Nevertheless, former Switzerland international Vega has insisted that the club should never have got to this position.
“I can see the frustration in the fans and I’m part of that because we’ve got a potentially good manager, some good players in the squad but you need to add onto that to make that extra play to be in the top four,” Vega told the Daily Mirror.
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“The fans can see that, anyone can see that, it’s obvious. But this has been building for three or four years. Now they are in a situation where they have to get rid of players, move them out, to get players in.”
Conte does not typically stay at clubs for the long-term. However, he has a track record of quickly stamping his mark and a fantastic silverware record to boot.
The Italian won the Premier League in his first season at Chelsea before bowing out with FA Cup triumph. Meanwhile, he led Inter to the Serie A title last term.
Conte has insisted that he will see out his Tottenham contract, which runs out next summer. Although, he has insisted that he needs backing and Vega warned of the 52-year-old making the “weak” decision to walk away early.
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“The danger is always there with Conte. The guarantee is always there that a manager will be sacked or will leave,” Vega added.
“Conte got into this wanting a race horse but got a donkey. But if he walks away, then he will be weak and it’s the easy option to do it.
“If he manages to turn the donkey into a race horse, get them into top four, then he deserves all the respect as one of the great managers in the world.
“But you can’t fix it in one window. It’s like climbing a mountain without any mountain climbing gear. It’s a very difficult task.”
Vega added that there “has to be some accountability” for Levy and the ENIC Group in control of Spurs’ finances.
The comments come amid Spurs looking like they will miss out on a deal for Adama Traore. The Wolves winger does not reportedly want to play wing-back in Conte’s system and he is subsequently close to moving back to Barcelona.