Antonio Conte is shaping his Tottenham Hotspur team to be suited to compete with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, as well as other elite clubs across Europe.
Conte’s arrival in North London last October sparked an upturn in Tottenham’s form and fortunes, and now the Italian manager is looking to kick on and transform Spurs into a genuine trophy-challenging outfit. Conte suffered a single loss in his first 10 games in charge as well as one defeat in Spurs’ last 11 league games of the season, which was enough to earn them UEFA Champions League qualification for next season.
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Last term Spurs beat Premier League champions Man City home and away, and Conte’s men twice avoided defeat to runners-up Liverpool with two stalemates against Jürgen Klopp’s world-class team. Spurs also claimed an emphatic 3-0 win over Arsenal in what was Conte’s first North London derby.
Spurs have steadily become accustomed to the tactical nous of Conte and they continue their acclimatisation to the 52-year-old’s trademark 3-4-3 formation which is characterised by wing-backs and three centre-backs.
The mid-season acquisitions of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus proved instrumental in Spurs’ second half of the campaign. The Uruguayan instantly became a prominent figure in Conte’s midfield unit and the Swedish winger was a breath of fresh air in attack, registering five goals and eight assists in 18 Premier League games.
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Kulusevski and Bentancur have each been signed twice under the jurisdiction of Fabio Paratici, who served as Juve’s sporting director from 2010 until 2021. Paratici’s current title is Managing Director of Football at Spurs and he was pivotal in Conte’s appointment in the English capital last year.
Football correspondent David Ornstein revealed earlier this month that Spurs were to name Gretar Steinsson as its performance director. Steinsson worked as Everton’s chief scout for more than two years before leaving Goodison Park at the end of last year, and the Icelander is set to work as Paratici’s deputy in dealing with footballing matters at both senior and youth levels.
Spurs have so far made three additions to its senior squad ahead of the 2022/23 season. Fraser Forster joined on a free transfer from Southampton and the 6ft5 goalkeeper will serve as backup to club captain Hugo Lloris. Ivan Perišić also signed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after his contract expired at Inter Milan, where the Croatian wide-man played under Conte from 2019 until 2021.
Spurs then acquired Yves Bissouma from Brighton & Hove Albion for a fee of £25million, a considerable bargain when taking into account the midfielder turns 26 in August and already has four years of Premier League experience to his name. Bissouma won the second-most tackles as well as the fourth-most interceptions in the league during the 2020/21 season, and there is little doubt Conte will be looking to integrate the Malian as a mainstay in the Spurs engine room.
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Most recently Spurs signed Richarlison from Everton, with the possibility that Anthony Gordon and Harry Winks may also trade clubs. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and his Everton counterpart Bill Kenwright were spotted having dinner together earlier this week, and they presumably would have discussed terms of a reported £60million deal which sees Richarlison swap Merseyside for London this summer.
Spurs are in contention to lure young English right-back Djed Spence, who was a shining light in Nottingham Forest’s campaign in which they achieved promotion to the Premier League following a 23-year hiatus from the English top-flight. Conte is also said to be in the market for a new central defender, with FC Barcelona’s Clement Lenglet touted as a target on a loan deal.
In addition, reports suggest Spurs were battling it out with London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea to sign Leeds United ace Raphinha, although the Blues are seemingly on the verge of securing the services of the Brazil international. Raphinha’s stocks have peaked this past season and Leeds are looking to recoup a fee in the region of £60million for the 25-year-old.
Spurs already boast significant firepower in its ranks, particularly in attack with the potent pair of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son who netted a joint 40 league goals last term. Son’s 23 strikes in the league saw him share the Golden Boot with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, whilst Kane has climbed into the top five goalscorers in Premier League history.
The England skipper has found the net 183 times in the top-flight and he is just five goals shy of eclipsing Andy Cole into the Premier League’s top three scorers. Alan Shearer is the all-time recordholder of PL goals with 260, while Wayne Rooney notched 208 goals during his 16-year Premier League career.
Since their first appearance together in 2015 Kane and Son have combined for 41 league goals, which is a record goal-assist combination between two players in the Premier League era.
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Several players have uncertain futures, including those who return to Spurs following loan spells this past season. Tanguy Ndombélé enjoyed a short-term stay at Lyon, from whom he joined Spurs for £55million in 2019, and it remains to be seen whether the French midfielder features in Conte’s plans going forward.
Bryan Gil is due a comeback from his native Spain after a six-month loan at Valencia, and Giovani Lo Celso also returns to his parent club following a successful season at Villarreal who progressed to the Champions League semifinals.
Steven Bergwijn appears likely to move to Ajax, who initially explored the chance to sign the winger in January, and Joe Rodon has been linked with a switch to José Mourinho’s Roma. Spurs and Roma will meet in a pre-season friendly in Israel on July 30th, as Mourinho encounters his former employers for the first time since he was dismissed in April last year.
Conte’s revolution at Spurs is full steam ahead and, having previously won a Premier League title and the FA Cup with Chelsea, he knows what it takes to succeed in English football.
